All The Tropes Wiki Project, Part XXXII

[Bob Schroeck]

I get this kind of message sent every few weeks to the att.j.bgcloon address (via a mail redirector) that I use on the wiki. Mostly they're just "please use our ad server" emails. I have in the past often sent responses telling them that we couldn't possibly do any kind of business with someone whose marketing research is so shoddy that they completely miss the prominent "We're proud of being ad-free" notices on our front page, and if they can't do that much due diligence before emailing us, they can't possibly be competent enough to actually provide any worthwhile service.

Interestingly, yesterday I got an email from someone who did read the front page and wanted to pitch something to us anyway:

Hi, I know All The Tropes takes pride in being ad-free, and I respect that.

curious, with donations as the main funding source, is that sustainable long term? A few wiki and community sites we work with found ways to generate revenue that didn't compromise the ad-free reading experience for their users.

if that's ever worth a conversation, happy to explain how it works.

The footer on the email says something about a "website testing platform". Honestly, I dumped it directly into my trash. But it's the first time one of these spammers has shown any indication they've even actually looked at the wiki. I did a little research because of that, and as far as I can determine from the reviews and whatnot, they are basically an adserver, however they want to dress it up. interestingly, the BBB thinks they're out of business, and I had trouble actually finding a building at the street address they give in the email and elsewhere using Google Streetview. So, yeah.

Regarding the one you got, do what you think best. It's not like we're actually going to sell the wiki, right?