Well, a brief history of the site. We started off being hosted for free, because of a connection I had at Webhosting.com. As the site grew, we realized that we needed to move to a dedicated server. Thanks to a donation, we had our server, and ran it (also for free) in Webhosting.com's facilities. However, in the last year, the free hosting program was terminated, and we had to move back onto a (tiny) Shared server. Most of you have noticed the slowdown, and the fact that the site isn't always available. That sucks.

Anyway, we want to move back to a dedicated server, but the costs are pretty astronomical. So ads came primarily as a way to offset our internal costs. (I've been running the site out of pocket for the past few months, and it's not cheap, even on a shared server.)

So, the decision was made to take banner ads. First of all, we're stoked that our first banner is from Bad Religion. I dig Bad Religion, so it's really cool that the first ad is from a band, and a label I respect. We've got some more coming from labels that have always been supportive of us. In a lot of ways, it's a win-win situation. The labels want to promote, and we want to run the site.

1. What Does this Mean for the Site and Content?

Well, frankly, nothing will change. We have an open policy to publish as much news as we can get. Our editorial policy is to be oblivious to our advertisers. You might have noticed that while we ran Saves the Day ads, we posted reviews that were both positive and critical. That won't change, and the advertisers we deal with will understand that.

2. What kind of ads will you run?

We're starting off with punk labels, and I'd go as far as skateboarding and related stuff, but as a policy, I will never run ads for alcohol, tobacco, gambling or pornography. As well, to take a page from MRR, we won't run racist, homophobic or fascist ads. We've also explained to our advertisers that we don't like pop ups, so we'll be sticking with banner ads. Also, we'll keep copies of the ads on our server, so it doesn't slow down the loading of the site.

3. Are you doing this to make a million dollars

Are you kidding me?

Seriously though, I started this site because I love this music, and the reason for taking ads is so I can afford to keep it up. That's the goal. I don't think this will become a full time job for any of us, but it'll keep the site up, and that's what I care about.

4. Can I advertise?

Sure, drop me an email. We're going to start with a couple of ads, and we'll also run one (1) free ad for a good cause (i.e. a benefit compilation, etc) per month. This is free because we want to support things that are good for the community.

5. Does Blink-182 suck?

Probably. I don't know. Maybe you should ask them.

Well, thanks for reading this, and for understanding why we're doing this.