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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsGold ads appear on official Blizzard forums [updated]
by Eliah Hecht 
Jan 22nd 2009 at 3:30PM
At the moment Blizzard forum moderators are apparently deleting all threads pertaining to the ads, which seems appropriate enough; they clearly know about the problem. Oh, and folks: don't buy gold.
Update: Blizzard has responded officially to the matter, stating: "Recently, there was a temporary error with our forum advertisements that caused a gold-selling ad to be displayed. At this time, we have resolved this error. Our stance... remains firmly against the buying or selling of gold, and we may take action against accounts that are involved in these activities."
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 6)
FlameFlash Jan 22nd 2009 4:32PM
Just another reason why putting the ads was a bad idea in the first place.
Serves them right IMHO. Maybe this will finally get them gone.
But I doubt it.
Utakata Jan 22nd 2009 5:28PM
It should be pointed out...that this problem never existed before they decided to put ads in the Forums.
msingletary Jan 22nd 2009 4:33PM
So... what was the website for that company?
Someone Jan 22nd 2009 4:35PM
They shouldn't have placed those ads anyway, they're just annoying and take valuable space away. For a company that receives so much money it just seems greedy. Now they're paying the price for it.
Shadgalaul Jan 22nd 2009 4:36PM
I'm thinking that the unemployment claims's for January will be 1 higher.
Highawatha Jan 22nd 2009 4:46PM
I was looking over the forums and saw this and had to grab a pic for guild website. Having had my toon hacked I was not real happy to see blizz advertising.
The Observer Jan 22nd 2009 4:39PM
Owned! LEGENDARY fail.
Buying gold is bad, mmmkay.
Risa Jan 22nd 2009 4:40PM
I did visit the advertised site (link to a screen shot in the wow forums showed the URL on the ad to the right of the page) and I wanted to see if their advertising was accurate. Turns out they don't offer 1k gold for $3. For my server they asked a bit over $20 for the amount.
This plus the fact that they misspelled trial as trail (with regards to trial characters) twice in their FAQ and have details on how to lie to Blizzard about buying an account really just shows what a slimy business model they have.
Zasziden Jan 22nd 2009 4:46PM
Seems like at least one of the things we (the forum posters) warned them (Blizzard) about when they first started putting ads there, has come to pass. I didn't notice them myself, but then I'm running without scripts and ads turned on.
Silly Blizzard, you knew this would happen.
TherionHellgate Jan 22nd 2009 4:52PM
Reminds me of a Ragnarok Online fan website (similar to WoWhead) that had private server-adds
okay, such adds in the official forum is much worse
Jyotai Jan 22nd 2009 4:56PM
Give it a year, and Activision will be selling gold for use in WoW...
Instead of just selling ad space to people who sell the gold.
If you think that's absurd, consider that Sony just went that route for EQII, despite years saying it would never happen. And unlike Blizzard, they haven't been bought out by a bigger fish that has no understanding of their fanbase. Sony's betrayal was all internal. WoW now has to fend itself off from its own management / marketing departments (see the other wowinsider-blog post today just before this one).
Stahl Jan 22nd 2009 5:11PM
Are you referring to Station Cash?
You can't buy in game money (Platinum in this case) using Station Cash, it is only for certain items that are for entertainment and convenience in game. You can't buy anything that affects the balance of the game. Buying in game currency would obviously have an effect on balance and thus is not part of the Station Cash program.
I suggest you research before claiming falsehoods.
konoo Jan 22nd 2009 4:59PM
Problem: Blizzard is pulling content from a 3rd party service in order to deliver ads to the users.
This is an issue because Blizzard has no control over the content and security of the ads that are presented to their clientbase.
Info about the advertising company: (fyi they are just like google adwords)
Accipiter pioneered online ad serving since the day it began in 1996. Today, with headquarters in both Raleigh, North Carolina and London, UK and additional offices around the world, Accipiter continues to serve and enrich the online advertising industry. Web publishers, media networks and eTailers take advantage of Accipiter’s innovative ad management and behavioral targeting solutions to effectively manage their online advertising revenue.
Accipiter’s established industry experience and substantial investment in technology provides their customers with the very latest in advanced online advertising solutions. Accipiter’s technology supports and delivers ads in any emerging rich media format, including RSS feeds, podcasts, blogs, photocasts, and streaming audio and video. With more than 350 customers worldwide, over 50 billion online ads are served each month using Accipiter’s technology.
AdManager, Accipiter's online advertising solution, stands as a testament to our continued investment in state-of-the-art technology. Based directly on client feedback, AdManager addresses the industry's need for a more comprehensive ad management solution and allows publishers to increase targeting capabilities, speed ad delivery, and monitor and control inventory projections in real-time, leading to higher CPMs and less unsold inventory. For those clients that prefer an outsourced solution, we offer AdManager as a fully hosted service.
benedikto Jan 22nd 2009 5:23PM
Is anybody surprised?
tonedeff Jan 22nd 2009 5:12PM
I dont buy gold, I see it as somthin that takes away from the fun of the game (making gold). each to there own.
But $3 for 1000g? That cant be right thats just dame cheap. $15 for a epic flyer?
Buying an epic tabard of ebay cost more then that! :O
Psy Jan 22nd 2009 5:23PM
I bet they use Google AdSense the cheap bastards, lol.
Hokuto Jan 22nd 2009 5:44PM
Fail of the YEAR, imo.
Bob Jan 22nd 2009 6:05PM
'Don't buy gold'?
Who are you to be telling people what to do. You're a pseudo news site with a bunch of losers turned bloggers. You supply the news, we'll make our own decisions.
darian Jan 22nd 2009 6:29PM
The reason why so many people, and particularly websites, tell you not to buy gold is the method by which it is acquired.
Back in the day the schism was more even as gold seller actually farmed their own gold. Many players felt this was wrong because it crowded out people who were trying to play the game or make their own money, but many others didn't see the effects on the economy as overly drastic and felt it was okay.
Fast forward to today. The vast majority of gold is not gained by actual farming but through viruses and account hacking. Buying gold encourages them to continue to inflict misery upon the playerbase.
This is why you are told to not buy gold. Your decision is not affecting only you but your server, the game and many other MMOs. So long as there is money to be made selling gold people will continue to be hacked.
Hoggersbud Jan 22nd 2009 9:17PM
Who are you to be telling people what to do. ---Who are you to be telling people what to do yourself?
I swear, some people don't get their own hypocrisy. Sorry, but Wowinsider doesn't pretend to be an unbiased news site, and there's plenty of personal opinion and commentary to be found.
If you don't like that, I suggest you go elsewhere.