@silverguitar said:

I like debate.

Hard to knock anyone giving to a worthwhile charity like Mockingbird, but does it have to be glow sticks? I'm just glad this guy doesn't sell motor oil and isn't asking us to pour a quart down the aisle during set break.

But I will say this $300.00 to get on the first page of phish.net is a good deal considering
"Phish.net incurs considerable costs to allow up to 30,000 users to access this site at the same time during shows without "crashing", and provides somewhere on the order of a million pageviews per month during Phish's tours. These are impressive statistics for any website, even "corporate" or "commercial" sites."

So as a fan of the band and a fan of going to their concerts I say donate to Mockingbird by the bucketful. I encourage every business to tie in to each show. Come to think of it why didn't Hanes� get in on this "white out" for the 29th? Come to think of it why don't they? At least I don't have to dodge things when people wear specific clothing.

S

The Board and Site Team have discussed this idea of online advertising from time to time and have been asked by advertisers to consider it. But the sentiment of the Board and Site Team is strongly "contra" doing this for several reasons. This site, one of the first www sites on one of the first www webservers, netspace.org, was established in 1994 to discuss, among other geekly things, Phish setlists and Linux (the latter which evolved into the Slashdot.org site), and has never had banner advertising clutter.

We think that the busy "quilt like" look of the site like most other newspaper or popular websites like Facebook etc. only adds a lot of visual clutter and detracts from the look and efficient serving of the site. We also don't want to track users and by selling ads, and lose control over the content of the ads and the site. (You sell space, "they" decide what ads to put there). We don't want to support whatever ad companies like Google choose to stick on the site, like "Lower my monthly bills" or "How bad is my credit score" or "10 incredibly easy tricks to lose a fat belly".

Like NPR or PBS, we like being "non-commercial" and every time the idea has been floated, even as recently as a few months ago, it's been shot down.

It is easy for users to contribute with our front page PayPal button, though, :-) and unlike NPR or PBS, we don't badger our users with endless "fund drives" or nag screens to click through to access our content. Even the APIs are free (except for licensed "apps).

I only raised the issue today because of this outcry about "planned" glowstick wars that overlooks the benefit to the fan community and kids we try to help with music education programs.

Thanks for your thoughts @silverguitar and providing the opportunity to respond directly to the "banner" ad issues we've discussed amongst ourselves.

BTW, to clear up one other thing: just by being a fan and going to a lot of shows, you are not donating anything to Mockingbird or Phish.net. The only donations we get from your Phish fandom itself are a small portion of Phish's profits from downloads purchased from LivePhish.com/nugs.net separately from the "free" downloads that come bundled as part of a ticket purchase.

The Mockingbird Foundation is an independent not-for-profit corporation that is otherwise not connected officially with Phish, Inc. or funded by Phish other than the LivePhish.com downloads mentioned above. Phish has its own charitable organization, Waterwheel, and we likewise have no official connection with them. The Mockingbird Foundation and this website have always been an unofficial organization run and managed entirely by Phish fans for the benefit of charity and "giving back" what Phish has given to us.