Personally, I think it's better to be safe than sorry, but if I'm grossly overreacting here, I apologize.

How long do we theoretically have if they decide to shut us down?

Lots of if ands and buts. Don't go too nuts. We have operating reserves through November.

I have emails in to other display ad/click-through networks. Haven't heard back from them yet, but there is some hope one of them will pick us up and we'll just get our ad revenue from them rather than Google.

Would we be able to continue operating as we previously have if someone else picked us up?

Hard to answer without knowing the details of the deal. That's the hope.

Well, I recommend we all either pray to whatever God/ess/es we believe in, or else just cross our fingers and toes very very hard.

Or make donations.

Well that would be a great idea except I'm sixteen and I have no job.

In other words, I'd love to, but unless you take donations that are >$1.00 I don't think I can help.

You know, there is no point at all in freaking out before FastEddie even got a message back from Google. At this point, nobody knows these reason, but its probably just some technical difficulties on Goggle's site. If it isn't, then you can start to panic.

I'm not panicking, really, at this point (I was earlier, because I have poor crisis-management skills). Just worried.

Also, sorry if I seemed testy, Glowsquid. I just don't have any money.

You think you panicked? This happened on the same day I got the hosting bill.

edited 27th Oct '10 3:15:14 PM by FastEddie

Oh, you poor man.

STAY STRONG, RAPID EDWARD. WE BELIEVE IN YOU.

Edmund, actually.

*slaps Somesort with a fish*

Um...I'm still getting ads.

I see the ads on the left, but not under the first post of a page or at the bottom. It looks like Amazon came through.

^Me Too, I just didn't notice the missing ads at the top and bottom of the pages when I made my last post.

^^ From Google or from Amazon? Nevermind

edited 27th Oct '10 3:39:51 PM by Madrugada

The ads you see now are the Amazon ads, which, while more appealing than the typical half-naked anime women, is apparently only a temporary substitute while Eddie tries to get things worked out with Goog.

Oh, hey, yeah I'm getting an ad for a PS3 right now.

The Wii for me.

It keeps changing...now it's about Star Trek....

oh well, better than nothing.

Finally heard from Google. Here it is:

This means a site-wide purge of adult-like stuff is needed. The Fetish stuff, the Porn stuff, anything else we might find. Like any image the least bit iffy.

This is a survival issue. Also, I don't think these things are important to the mission. They are just fun for the interested parties.

All advertising will be dropped on any page that accept comments. That includes the forums. That likely means we are at the level of performance we're going to have for the forum for a good long while.

I'm going to start in immediately on the things that got us in trouble, I think, cutting the fetish/pron tropes.

However!

What we will do is move these topics to another wiki on a different URL (one of the 'mediatropes' domains). That wiki (running the same software) will not run Google ads and will be linked to from here where appropriate.

The last step: edit accounts will be hardened. No anons. Email requirement for edit account.

Thanks go out in advance to the mods and all other tropers of good will in managing the coming shitstorm from the "IT'S RUINED FOREVER" crowd. Knuckle up.

I'll busy doing the doing and won't people to hold any hands.

So the pages will still be here just on a different site is that it?

Um....I'm thoroughly embarrassed to ask this, but the above has no bearing on what's done over PM's, right? (I imagine not, but one can't be too careful)

edited 27th Oct '10 4:09:11 PM by SpainSun

By the way, we have to show the steps taken to meet the policy and submit them and the changed site to a Google appeal process for re-reinstatement. This will take time. Every day of which will eat our one-month operating 'cushion' down toward zero.

I'll have to make sure there are no ads on the mail display.

Freaking out, now. This is a massive amount of work.

edited 27th Oct '10 4:09:28 PM by FastEddie