No more Major Nelson....

[Badger3920]

No, what I said was ads was:

- Dance Central songs!
- Watch UFC 344112!
- 25% sale off all TV shows!
- 30% off Christmas sale!
- etc.
- Kia Sportage.
- etc.

Which of course they are. (Those are all actual examples from that time back then, by the way.)

Wow I'm surprised to see people are still irked by all that. "Not ads, just Highlighting System Content" was funny times though.

[hdinred]

No, what I said was ads was:

- Dance Central songs!
- Watch UFC 344112!
- 25% sale off all TV shows!
- 30% off Christmas sale!
- etc.
- Kia Sportage.
- etc.

Which of course they are. (Those are all actual examples from that time back then, by the way.)

Of course most of those are ads, but here is your quote:

announcements for paid products I do not own: also known as advertising.

Then you must think "Inside Xbox" videos are ads as well, many of them ended in “available in stores today” or something similar. Of course developers do interviews to build up hype for a game. Advertisement. Review copies are sent to the media to create awareness. Advertisement. Teaser trailer? Advertisement. Free demo? You guessed it. Etc..

Obviously there are real advertisements on XBL, no one claimed otherwise, but the discussion was surrounding the spotlight channel which, IMO, is not just a huge ad. Around there was when you left context behind..

[RedRedSuit]

Of course most of those are ads

...and most of what you see in that UI are things like that, thus rendering your entire defense of that aspect of the UI (that it's filled with ads) entirely wrong and false.

Q.E.D.

So, "of course most of those are ads." That's good. So I guess having a Trine 2 thing in the middle of the screen is an ad according to you now. Good to see you changed your mind; see the bottom of this post, which quotes a few months ago mocking that very idea and calling it system content highlighting instead.

Anything else you might say is verbal gymnastics of the highest order.

Plus, by not linking to the thread where one might see the entire conversation, you're misleading.

I said:

Wait, are you saying that the fact that you now start directly on the Game tab, instead of on What's New or whatever (a difference of all of one button press, Up, to get to the My Xbox/Game/whatever tab), somehow compensates for the giant ad in the middle of all the main tabs that you see afterwards? Trying to glorify the auto-focus on the Game page instead of What's New (or whatever it was) is a silly stretch. Sure, that was a little annoying, but it was really not a big deal. A big fat ad is a bigger deal.

The ads are more intrusive. Everyone but you acknowledges this. A more apt comparison is this:

A skip-this-ad page... annoying... yes... but after that the remaining ads are on the margins of each web site page. (NXE)

No skip-this-ad page... nice... but after that every page on the web site has a giant ad in the middle, while the actual content is on the left-hand side in the margin. (this new UI)

Calling the ads less intrusive now is quite absurd. All that matters is the perception, not some backwards Mobius-strip brain stretch, and the perception is that obviously the new UI is more ad-focused.

I think you'll have to just accept that people perceive the ads as more intrusive. You can't argue this away. It is what it is.

---

Also during my trek through the UI trying to find the videos, I had to cross a bunch of ads with the cursor. And some of those ads have sound. Loud sound. God that was annoying.

Notice how this isn't talking about the odd Inside Xbox video or whatever non-ad you want to mention. It's talking about ads. Period.

Your response to this?

This big “ad” in the middle of your content is debatable if that’s an ad or not.

...

If highlighting system content is considered an “ad” now, ...

Then I wrote:

The hell? It's an advertisement. It's trying to sell me something. Yeah, I'd say that's an ad "now." Now and since time immemorial.

Hell, I just turned it on. It's on the Home screen. In a smallish square in the upper left is my actual game. Below it is something called "Quickplay." In a much larger square straight in the middle is a thing cycling through:

- Countdown to 2012: Sales every day!
- Home for the holidays: Save on holiday classics and more!
- Find your favorite entertainment! VUDU Daily Motion, UFC

To the right of that are two more squares advertising a Brock Lesnar event and a Kia Optima.

That means not only is the central big panel an ad, but a 75% of the real estate is taken up by ads. That's 75%. 3/4.

Oh, under Game, here's what's in the big ad space in the middle right now: Dance Central (I don't own it), Puzzle through Trine 2 (don't own it), LA Noire (don't own it on 360).

Not ads though... it's only "highlighting system content." I don't mean to belabor the point... but you're joking... right? I'm a Russian Jew... one of the whitest people I know. If there's anything called "Dance Central" in the middle of my 360 desktop, you'd best believe it's a freaking ad.

to which you seriously wrote:

I used to buy game magazines to tell me what new content is coming out.. $5 per month.. and they also had ads in them. I simply don’t consider highlighting available content to be an ad. Yesterday, I had no idea that Trine 2 came out and by the spotlight channel showing me what’s new, I was pleasantly surprised to see it was already available for download. When I go to the video tab, I see apps for download that are already included with my Gold membership, so it’s not just MS trying to sell me something.

But hey.. if you think it’s an ad.. that’s fine..

So, I talk about ads. You say you doubt that big thing in the middle is an ad, but rather "system content highlighting." So yeah, you did deny it's ads. Then I'm like... here are some examples of ADS! Just like above! And you're like, "sure, if you want to call that an ad, go ahead." So the things you claim "no one's denying are ads" you WERE in fact denying were ads. Everything except the car ad was "highlighting system content." Including Dance Central track ads. *vomit*

The whole Inside Xbox thing is just a silly diversion you came up with after the fact to cover up the absurdity of the "it's not an ad, it's system content highlighting" defense.

Though on the positive side you did get drawn into the whole content highlighting thing.

[CorruptedDragon]

...and most of what you see in that UI are things like that, thus rendering your entire defense of that aspect of the UI (that it's filled with ads) entirely wrong and false.

Q.E.D.

So, "of course most of those are ads." That's good. So I guess having a Trine 2 thing in the middle of the screen is an ad according to you now. Good to see you changed your mind; see the bottom of this post, which quotes a few months ago mocking that very idea and calling it system content highlighting instead.

Anything else you might say is verbal gymnastics of the highest order.

Plus, by not linking to the thread where one might see the entire conversation, you're misleading.

I said:



Notice how this isn't talking about the odd Inside Xbox video or whatever non-ad you want to mention. It's talking about ads. Period.

Your response to this?



Then I wrote:



to which you seriously wrote:



So, I talk about ads. You say you doubt that big thing in the middle is an ad, but rather "system content highlighting." So yeah, you did deny it's ads. Then I'm like... here are some examples of ADS! Just like above! And you're like, "sure, if you want to call that an ad, go ahead." So the things you claim "no one's denying are ads" you WERE in fact denying were ads. Everything except the car ad was "highlighting system content." Including Dance Central track ads. *vomit*

The whole Inside Xbox thing is just a silly diversion you came up with after the fact to cover up the absurdity of the "it's not an ad, it's system content highlighting" defense.

Though on the positive side you did get drawn into the whole content highlighting thing.

You should sell your xbox. It apparently causes you nothing but misery and hatred.

[twonunpackmule]

HBO Go has kept me with the 360. Honestly, I it didn't have HBO Go, I wouldn't have renewed my XBL account.

I'm getting fed up with the increasing ads and the increasing XBL rates. I see no justification to whole thing. It's pissing me off. Like, I'm angry over it.

They need to tier their service. Paying to access additional content that we already pay for is ridiculous.

But, this isn't the smackdown forum. So I need to clam down.

[hdinred]

...and most of what you see in that UI are things like that, thus rendering your entire defense of that aspect of the UI (that it's filled with ads) entirely wrong and false.

Q.E.D.

So, "of course most of those are ads." That's good. So I guess having a Trine 2 thing in the middle of the screen is an ad according to you now. Good to see you changed your mind; see the bottom of this post, which quotes a few months ago mocking that very idea and calling it system content highlighting instead.

Anything else you might say is verbal gymnastics of the highest order.

Plus, by not linking to the thread where one might see the entire conversation, you're misleading.

I said:



Notice how this isn't talking about the odd Inside Xbox video or whatever non-ad you want to mention. It's talking about ads. Period.

Your response to this?



Then I wrote:



to which you seriously wrote:



So, I talk about ads. You say you doubt that big thing in the middle is an ad, but rather "system content highlighting." So yeah, you did deny it's ads. Then I'm like... here are some examples of ADS! Just like above! And you're like, "sure, if you want to call that an ad, go ahead." So the things you claim "no one's denying are ads" you WERE in fact denying were ads. Everything except the car ad was "highlighting system content." Including Dance Central track ads. *vomit*

The whole Inside Xbox thing is just a silly diversion you came up with after the fact to cover up the absurdity of the "it's not an ad, it's system content highlighting" defense.

Though on the positive side you did get drawn into the whole content highlighting thing.

I stand by what I said. It’s like when I come to HDD, the home page highlights content, it also displays ads. There is a clear difference between the two and the same is true of the spotlight channel.

Your line about race/ethnicity paying a part in determining an ad… now that’s funny.

[Godstar]

Wow I'm surprised to see people are still irked by all that. "Not ads, just Highlighting System Content" was funny times though.

I think that's mainly why I went from loving the XBL interface to despising it. It just took the whole advertising trope too far and it's so cluttered with crap right now it's hard to filter out the actual crap from content. I don't want to have to work that hard for entertainment that I supposedly own.

That said, I know prefer the PS3 interface, mainly because now it's functionally better, less oblique, and less cluttered with advertisements that have nothing to do with gaming.

[Pyrochaos]

I think that's mainly why I went from loving the XBL interface to despising it. It just took the whole advertising trope too far and it's so cluttered with crap right now it's hard to filter out the actual crap from content. I don't want to have to work that hard for entertainment that I supposedly own.

That said, I know prefer the PS3 interface, mainly because now it's functionally better, less oblique, and less cluttered with advertisements that have nothing to do with gaming.

Aren't the ads that show up on the dash board always in the bottom right corner? I never go to them, but I just always thought they were in the same spot.

[CorruptedDragon]

HBO Go has kept me with the 360. Honestly, I it didn't have HBO Go, I wouldn't have renewed my XBL account.

I'm getting fed up with the increasing ads and the increasing XBL rates. I see no justification to whole thing. It's pissing me off. Like, I'm angry over it.

They need to tier their service. Paying to access additional content that we already pay for is ridiculous.

But, this isn't the smackdown forum. So I need to clam down.

Haven't they only increased the cost of XBL once in an 11 year period? It used to be $50 a year now it's $60. Where is this "increasing rates" happening?
I do agree that they should have tiers though. I pretty much only use the online multiplayer. I would use HBO GO, but Time Warner Cable thinks I shouldn't. I want to switch to Directv like I had years ago, but im not sure the dish will clear the tree line.

[CorruptedDragon]

Aren't the ads that show up on the dash board always in the bottom right corner? I never go to them, but I just always thought they were in the same spot.

No they are apparently EVERYWHERE and as RRS says, they

and most of what you see in that UI are things like that

. So apparently when I see one ad on the home screen, it's a lie. Over 50% of the stuff on there is an ad, because as he says "most" of it is ads.

[TheAnalogKid]

lol, you've got 47 people in here all complaining about the ads and CD seems to think its one persons biased opinion.

Good stuff.

[CorruptedDragon]

lol, you've got 47 people in here all complaining about the ads and CD seems to think its one persons biased opinion.

Good stuff.

No, I'm saying that RRS makes a much bigger deal about it and claims that it's "most" of the UI.
Do you think that over 50% of every screen on XBL is ads? It's the exaggeration that is just plain silly.

[michealo]

thread moved to smackdown instead of cleanup.

XBL dashboard is riddled with ads, thought we were past this?
i'd prefer them to be removed with a gold membership, but unlikely.

[CorruptedDragon]

thread moved to smackdown instead of cleanup.

XBL dashboard is riddled with ads, thought we were past this?
i'd prefer them to be removed with a gold membership, but unlikely.

I'd agree with riddled, but that's not "most" or over 50% of the screen as RRS claims.

If people feel so strongly about it, why are they supporting it? Cancel XBL and sell your 360. By paying and playing you are just supporting what you hate.

[TheAnalogKid]

No, I'm saying that RRS makes a much bigger deal about it and claims that it's "most" of the UI.
Do you think that over 50% of every screen on XBL is ads? It's the exaggeration that is just plain silly.

Oh, come on..You of all people, whining about exaggeration? Now that, is silly.

I don't know how much of the screen is covered with ads, but 49% isn't acceptable either. Personally, if its that big of a deal, just dont use the xbox and let them know why.