mutube

jtdataworks: Thanks for that, I’ve gone with AdBrite which seems a pretty equivalent setup to Google. Might cover the hosting costs yet…

fragglebottom: I’m the developer of AdSense Manager. At the moment it isn’t clear whether using the plugin is a violation of the Google T&Cs or if it was just the feature which donated a share of Ads to me. I did ask specifically in my appeal for information on this (regardless of the outcome) but they will not discuss it.

In theory it should be impossible for Google to identify whether you are using AdSense Manager or not, but I can’t be sure. If you want to use it make sure you download the latest version (2.3). To be extra safe copy & paste code into the Code Units which replicate the Google code as is.

A few people have contacted Google on my behalf and as soon as I hear back I’ll post an update. Feel free to do the same.

Thanks,

After thinking about what you said Otto42 I’ve updated the pages to notify potential users of the potential violation and then leave it up to them to decide.

Hopefully someone will have luck asking Google for clarification …although I seriously doubt it! Time to move onto other projects.

Anybody know any other good ad networks?

Otto42: I made sure that didn’t happen! When it displayed my Ads on the site it displayed only my Ads. Of course it then depends on what your definition of ads “being on the same page” is.

The code generated should be identical although I can’t be certain of it at all times. I would just like confirmation that it can be used and then I’ll release it with the revenue generation remove.

I can’t get that confirmation because they refuse to talk to me! I have sent an additional ‘I am not arguing the outcome of the appeal but can you confirm that it is not against the rules to generate code from a plugin’ type email but got no reply. I am unable to access their contact form because of the ban.

If you want to ask please do. Word it in a general if you like, but let me know how it goes!

Otto42: Once you have added your first site you can then show your Ads using your same Google Id on other sites. Check the TOS, they specifically say you do not have to re-apply for each site.

I suspect too that certain people who were using the plugin were showing ads on sites which either contained invalid content or were against the Google TOS themselves. Unfortunately, as I’ve said, because Google refuse to state the reason for the ban this may be wrong.

It’s worth noting that in my appeal I specifically asked to be notified if the plugin itself was in violation. I also asked whether removing the donation would solve the violation problem being aware that this alone might be the cause.

If I knew that the ban was purely against income generated in this manner and not the plugin I would happily continue to distribute it (albeit without being able to develop it further).

However, given Google don’t discuss the results of an appeal I don’t see a way to establish this. I could of course take your word for it, but it would be a risk at other peoples expense.

Otto42: That’s not true. Google specifically say that once you have approved your original domain you can place your ads on any other domains as you see fit. They do not require you to re-approve every single site your ads are used on. It may be that these have to be your own sites (if that is what “Your Site(s)” refers to) but I wouldn’t read that as explicit.

It’s in the T&Cs too (I checked before adding the feature to the plugin) but I am banned from reading them now.

The toolbar issue should not be relevant as it relates to displaying ads on a non-content site. If it is against the rules to generate the ads themselves (AdSense Manager created the code on the fly) then the whole plugin is in violation.

Since Google have refused to clarify in what way I was in violation, I assumed the worst and removed the whole plugin. It simply doesn’t make any sense to continue distributing something which could result in people losing their AdSense accounts.

If someone else wants to take up development of the plugin minus the donations feature, it’s still in the SVN.

moshu: Thanks, links are plugin and post. If you can change them it would be appreciated.

Shameless plug: You may want to try my own AdSense Manager plugin which is regularly updated. Let me know how you get on!

Just to second this, I completed the survey back when it was announced on the wp-hackers list & it really did take about 5 minutes.

Your theme needs to be compatible with WordPress Widgets. If it isn’t the tab “Sidebar Widgets” won’t appear under Presentation. Try downloading / selecting a different theme and trying again.

If you want to be able to add AdSense Ads to a non-widget theme, or into posts, you can use my AdSense Manager plugin instead.

I’ve taken on paid work to update/modify my own plugins on an individual basis. Not all functionality is general and it doesn’t make sense to release all plugins.

If someone offers to pay me to add features I’ll happily accept it. I’m not mad. The first conversation I have is establishing whether the code is general / releaseable. If it is I have a GPL discount and charge less for the work.

Kind of backwards that, but I like it.

I think the tasteless thing is not people charging for plugins per se but when the plugins are simple, easily reproducible and available in free versions elsewhere. It’s profiteering of new users naivety.

james2002: To add code after the first post (in a loop) use something like this:

Before the loop do:

$postcount=0;

Then inside the loop (after the post) put your code e.g.

<?php
$postcount++;
if($postcount==1){?>
<div><!--adsense--></div>
<?php } ?>

This will count up posts and only display the ad after the first one (i.e. when $postcount is equal to 1). Obviously you’ll need to replace <!–adsense–> with either the code from Google or the plugin function to display an Ad.

You can do even, odd, every 3rd etc. by changing the condition on the if statement.

As the previous poster said some of this can be simplified by using one of the Adsense plugins. If you are using Widgets Adsense Manager (my own plugin) will allow you to drag and drop Ads around the sidebars.

If you need any more help let me know.

possum: You may want to have a look at my Adsense Manager plugin which simplifies some of the process.

There are instructions for adding code / etc. to sidebars and the like here. If you need any more help just drop me a note.

It made Version 1.0 in a day ??

Thanks for the feedback david.

You’re right that for smaller sites WP-Cache is a good system (I use it on my own site actually). However, it’s a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut. WP-Cache runs whether your site is experience heavy load or no load – no dynamic funstuff, ever. It also has no effect on bandwidth usage (and associated costs) because the pages are stuck at the maximum size.

What I hope to be able to do is hook WP-Cache into Throttle so that WP-Cache can remain switched off up until the point where the load is getting tricky. By this point minor plugins (e.g. “Top Links” “Most Comments” scripts) will have been disabled and the page output will be smaller as a result.

Of course, the success of Throttle is based on other plugins’ support. Without that few people will install – which is why I’m concentrating on building additional plugins myself. Hopefully one of them will justify installing the underlying API.

Any suggestions you have would be most welcome!

After a speedy development cycle it’s settling down to stable.

IM Online v3.4b available now!

More reliable, more likely to get correct status, intelligent & adaptive status-server choosing. You can see it running on my site now. Enjoy.