Ad free Membership?

SparkPoints: (2,241)
Fitness Minutes: (1,909)
Posts: 91
4/29/13 6:35 P

I mostly try to ignore the ads. The ones that get to me are the ones with popup windows that cover what I'm trying to read.

current weight: 259.0

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Posts: 372
4/27/13 7:41 A

Would never have considered joining if it hadn't been free! Gym membership, food programs, etc. I would not even consider, and the fact that they cost a lot of money was an excuse for me. Here I had no excuse!

current weight: 178.0

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SparkPoints: (13,647)
Fitness Minutes: (10,135)
Posts: 406
4/15/13 10:40 P

I hate the ads but love SparkPeople. I also that this site is free.

current weight: 171.0

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SparkPoints: (2,512)
Fitness Minutes: (1,156)
Posts: 14
4/13/13 1:30 P

I am glad this site is free because I am a college student who does not have a lot of money and I have fallen In love with this site.

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SparkPoints: (4,458)
Fitness Minutes: (7,147)
Posts: 4
4/13/13 12:55 P

Actually, that's how they're designed! The advertising company (AdChoices, in this instance) reads your public web history info to display ads they feel are most applicable to you. For instance, right after I made a reservation online at Westin's site, their ads starting showing up for the first time! It's a great idea - it gives each user ads for products/services they use, visit, or are similar to their other web history sites, to ensure that the ads will be most appealing to that user (or that web history, in the case of multiple users on one computer) specifically!

Posts: 597
4/13/13 7:57 A

Actually, I find that the ads are quite often for things that interest me....
Different strokes, I guess.

current weight: 160.0

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SparkPoints: (4,458)
Fitness Minutes: (7,147)
Posts: 4
4/12/13 4:45 P

Oddly enough, I found this post because I had the exact same question!

I love love LOVE that Sparkpeople is free! I sincerely appreciate the effort everyone has put in, and given the incredible amount of CONTENT available, I can only imagine how expensive that would be to maintain!

However, now that I have gotten accustomed to Sparkpeople, and it has remained a site I visit daily after many months, I would be willing to sign up for a "Premium" membership - one for which you pay (monthly, yearly, etc) and is ad-free.

Ideally, I would love SP to remain free - I've gotten some friends using it by saying "It's free! You've got nothing to lose!" - but _in addition_ have an option to pay SP in exchange for an ad-free user interface.

People could still have free accounts with total access and ads; people could also have a paid membership with total access and NO ads.

Not sure if it's feasible, but I would be willing to pay!

SparkPoints: (86,902)
Fitness Minutes: (77,195)
Posts: 3,182
3/19/13 5:12 A

Only that it is free enables me to have access.PLEASE keep it free. Some MUCH richer people can afford the convenience of avoiding ads - but advertisers would soon realize that all the people who can afford their products have opted out of seeing their messages. It would destroy the site for everyone. I hope the rich people are gracious enough to realize we're not all as lucky as they are - but we need SparkPeople, too!

current weight: 99.0

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Posts: 2
3/14/13 7:03 P

Same here. I appreciate the free option, but I find the ads very distracting.

SparkPoints: (14,461)
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Posts: 371
3/11/13 6:04 P

I think I might sign up for something like that

Posts: 51,591
3/9/13 10:44 A

Thanks for the feedback! I will pass it along.

Coach Jen

Posts: 110
3/9/13 10:30 A

Free is great. And advertising makes it happen. But many sites offer a paid membership that avoids the ads. I would like that option. Especially if those slots in the web page were replaced by motivational images and quotes.

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