What's hurting Stratics - re: advertising - is the ads being pushed.
None of them in the header area are of any interest to me. I couldn't care less about browser based gaming, let alone those being "hosted" by companies that have, at best, dubious pasts, and, at best, are so shallow that it makes the kiddie pool look deep.
I have no objection to ads like the ones for things like the power glove for MMO's, etc - they, at least, have *some* relationship to UO. Evony has no relationship to UO at all. Nor do any of the others.
And if Stratics is going to force me to look at them, then, just like on television, I am going to reserve the right to ignore, or in this case, block them. I may have no say in what Stratics uses for advertising, but I surely have the complete and total right to say what content does and doesn't get displayed on my computer.
Given that the VAST majority of this site, excluding the Ultima Online section, is dead, I don't feel I should be obligated to pay for them, in any form - ad driven or not. I was a subscriber before, and would potentially be one again. But I also feel that, since EA is using this as their official communications portal, they should be footing at least a portion of, if not all of, the bill.