Become an F1 Fanatic Supporter and go ad-free
F1 Fanatic
I began F1 Fanatic in 2005 as a handful of hand-written HTML files.
Today the site runs to thousands of pages of articles, thousands more forum pages and tens of thousands of images. We have live discussions during races, quizzes, videos and much more.
But hosting, developing, writing and everything else associated with running F1 Fanatic isn’t free. And doing it well – or at least trying to – doesn’t come cheaply.
Adverts are a necessary evil of running a popular website. No-one likes to see them, but on F1 Fanatic they are by far the greatest source of income. No ads means no revenue, which means no F1 Fanatic.
But now, following a request from a number of readers, I’m launching a new way for you to put something into the website and get something back in return.
Become an F1 Fanatic Supporter
By becoming an F1 Fanatic Supporter you can contribute £1 per month towards the cost of running the site, and in return your F1 Fanatic account will become ad-free.
This will allow you to browse the site with no external ads, giving you more screen space and quicker-loading pages.
If you would like to contribute towards running and improving F1 Fanatic, and get to browse ad-free in return, simply fill in your F1 Fanatic user name below and click Subscribe.
You will be taken to an external page hosted by PayPal to complete the transaction (you do not require a PayPal account).
Sign up here now
We aim to process all new subscriptions within 24 hours of payment.
If you have any problems trying to become an F1 Fanatic Supporter, please send details using the contact form.
You can find out more about becoming an F1 Fanatic Supporter here:
If you have any other questions, please ask below and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Biggles209 (@biggles209) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:10
I’d pay to get rid of the lame “…is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.” notice at the top and bottom of the RSS feed messages
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:34
@biggles209 Given the number of people who’ve been stealing content from the site and trying to pass it off as their own using the RSS feed, the only alternative would be to limit the length of the content in the feed. Which people have also complained about before.
James (@goodyear92) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:10
What’s wrong with that? People watermark photos that they have taken. It’s just laying claim to something you have taken the time to do in order to generate viewers and revenue for your site. People who benefit from it after putting no effort in to creating it are idiots.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:09
If the people who take articles like nothing and steal them for their own site or whatever without even asking start kindly paying an author for the nicked content, those messages will become obsolete.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:21
I’d gladly pay, if paypal didn’t want my credit card details. Mostly because I don’t have a credit card and even If I had one, I wouldn’t use it in the Internet for safety reasons. I wonder why Paypal doesn’t want to use the money which already is on the paypal account. Same thing happens to me on many websites using paypal payments.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:37
@cyclops_pl Not sure why that is, I’ll look into it. I have tested paying using money already on a PayPal account, which worked, but that was an account that already had a card associated with it.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:43
@keithcollantine
Yeah, I constantly get the message asking me to associate one with the paypal account. I opted for associating an online bank account instead (mine is secured in various ways and by definition prepared for Internet transactions) and I use bank transfers for sending money to paypal. It worked for instance with Steam, didn’t with several online games and Facebook which just like here require me to provide credit card details or cancel the transaction. I really feel uncomfortable with credit cards so if you’d find a way of contributing without using one, I would be really happy.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:14
@keithcollantine, @cyclops_pl, I just signed up for the subscription as well. Paypal did ask for a card, but it does not have to be credit card (I added my debit card number, but as Cyclops writes a bank account should work as well).
I understood, that Paypal uses the balance in one’s paypal account, but because its a repeated transaction ask for another account/card it can charge to in case you do not have enough in the Paypal account sometime in the future as a backup solution.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:21
@bascb
I tried that too, but my Visa Electron doesn’t seem to be working with any online payments.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:22
Oh, and I also tried simple donation to F1 Fanatic via paypal. Worked perfectly fine, deducted the amount straight from my paypal balance without asking for any credit or debit card details.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:41
yeah, guess the difference is in backup solution for repeated payments @cyclops_pl, shame about the debit card, my MasterCard worked faultlessly. Maybe you blocked your card for on line payments? I had that done by my bank in the past as well (and have since learned, that this is the default for many banks now when issuing new cars)
Oblong_Cheese (@oblong_cheese) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:47
This mode of thinking really is outdated. Millions of people make transactions online with credit cards every day. The only time you hear about problems is when stupid people make stupid mistakes. The solution? Be aware of what you are doing. I’ve personally been purchasing things online for the better part of 10 years and I have never had an issue. There was one occasion where my credit card was frozen by my bank due to a strange transaction they saw; they immediately gave me a courtesy call and sent me out a new card. I lost no money and it was a minor inconvenience.
Keith is dealing with PayPal, and while I don’t agree with some of their business practices and past cock-ups of fundraising events, having them process a $1-per-month transaction for you is surely the safest way to shop online.
IanMD said on 23rd May 2012, 16:38
Lack of knowledge there Oblong_Cheese, credit card fraud isn’t solely down to “stupid mistakes”, many companies still store credit card details in excel format and quite often get exploited when their systems are hacked. Happened to me a few years ago, only used the credit card with a single company and when their system got hacked, my account was taken for thousands (returned by the bank fortunately).
As for using Paypal, yikes, no chance, their system is one of the weakest going! Direct Debit would be a better route for Keith to take.
Mike (@mike) said on 24th May 2012, 3:46
Based on…
If you make a claim like that, you need to back it up.
Personally I think paypal is about as safe as you will get.
IanMD said on 24th May 2012, 16:03
The ability to recover funds from the seller by way of reversal with no waiting period. Paypal is owned by eBay and is all about protecting the buyer, never the seller; the system has many flaws.
Meander (@meander) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:28
Hi Keith,
I will definitely sign up for this and was doing just so until I thought I’d ask this first: Is there a way to pay for a whole year in one go? It would clean up my paypal transactions list which is messy enough as it is! Thanks!
Meander (@meander) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:29
Sorry, @keithcollantine
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:34
@meander Not at present but it’s something I’ll consider for the future.
Meander (@meander) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:41
@keithcollantine Will I be able to “swap plans” if this happens?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:50
@meander If you sign up for a monthly subscription you can cancel at any time and no further payments are taken. So you would be able to do that and then set up a new one if/when an annual option is in place.
Meander (@meander) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:51
Thanks a lot.
Tom Haxley (@welshtom) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:19
@keithcollantine
+1 from me on the annual fee.
For £12 it’s hardly a bank breaker and you are done for a year then. £1 every month is just a teeny bit annoying especially as i tend to empty my personal paypal regularly so there is no money in it.
As a shopkeeper who uses paypal i will hazard a guess that users need a card (be it credit or debit) to sign up to this system as paypal will require a backup funding source to guarantee the £1 a month is available to pay you. This is another reason a “One off” payment of £12 might be popular.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 21:33
Thanks @welshtom – anyone else who prefers the annual fee approach let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
Sinnr (@sinnr) said on 22nd May 2012, 21:47
I am in the “One off” club as well. I live in the US and have had problems with on line payments in the past. Even had to change my bank account because of fraud. I would gladly send money by wire, Western Union, if that’s possible.
Xusen (@xusen) said on 22nd May 2012, 22:01
Hi Keith,
Me too, I hate paypal with passion due to various incidents in the past, the less times I have to use them the better, so one off will suit me nicely.
Also like to add my thanks to you for running this great site, I am on here almost everyday and have even won a price in the past (a 2011 Review DVD!), so giving back to help you keep the site running is a no brainer.
F1Yankee (@f1yankee) said on 22nd May 2012, 22:24
i would jump on the annual package without hesitation
Slimboyfatpauly (@slimboyfatpauly) said on 22nd May 2012, 22:51
I agree with the annual fee too Keith and would also gladly pay it for your hard work (and of course, no ads!)
dirgegirl (@dirgegirl) said on 22nd May 2012, 23:04
Annual fee please!
Lemon (@lemon) said on 22nd May 2012, 23:54
+1 to the annual fee
Mad Eric (@mad-eric) said on 23rd May 2012, 1:00
Annual Fee – Much better, especially if it’s £10, up front to you, for the year ;=) ;-)
The improvements over the last three years plus access to old postings is INCEDIBLE, keep up the progress…
Buran (@buran) said on 23rd May 2012, 1:15
+1
Dane. (@dane-1) said on 23rd May 2012, 5:31
+1 for me too. I have been following since ’07. I do not comment very often, but visit everyday, and have no problem at all paying for an annual fee to help with your costs.
Alex (@alexde) said on 23rd May 2012, 16:12
+1
I would not like to pay a 2$ foreign transaction fee (to the bank) for a £1 subscription each month.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 23rd May 2012, 10:48
@meander @sinnr @xusen @f1yankee @slimboyfatpauly @dirgegirl @lemon @mad-eric @buran @dane-1
Thanks guys. I aim to have this set up next week, will let you know when it’s set up.
SirCoolbeans (@sircoolbeans) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:30
I’ve signed up. I hope this system works for you Keith, I’m desperate to know how this goes!
caci99 (@caci99) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:36
One more reason to enter the credit card generation (yes, I don’t have one).
It is very fair from your part, and as mentioned, it can not be that easy to run a free
website like this
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:37
@caci99 Thanks!
Alex (@alexde) said on 23rd May 2012, 16:26
The ads don’t bother me in the slightest but I know what it takes to run web sites with original content. I frequently click on the ads to generate some £ for Keith. He does an excellent job and I am just waiting for the setup of annual subscription to pay for a clean and original F1 content he provides from days to days.
Nick.UK (@nick-uk) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:40
The add free image does look good… maybe it’s just because my face is in it… haha! (joking abviously lol)
Max Thon said on 22nd May 2012, 18:50
Any decent browser can block ads, i never see ads here ;)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:00
If you block ads then you also block the site from generating revenue. As I explained here a few weeks ago, the level of revenue being generated by the site is not high enough, and I have had to cut back in some areas.
From comparing the number of pages generated versus the number of ads served, it is clear a significant amount of revenue is lost because of people blocking ads. If one day the site has to close because of a lack of revenue, you can rest assured that it will be partly your fault.
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey) said on 22nd May 2012, 21:32
As someone who also uses an adblocker, I also don’t see any ads. BUT, you’ve given me so much through this site over the past couple years and a little over a buck a month is really not much to ask for, so I’ve signed up anyways. (I also wasn’t aware or forgot that it was preventing you from paying for site costs. Or making a living for that matter. So this is my recompense).
Christopher (@orrc) said on 23rd May 2012, 23:15
As I’ve noticed a number of people recently saying they’re simply unaware that blocking ads on this site (or any site) is depriving the owner of revenue, perhaps there’s a way to give these people a nudge in the right direction.
I’ve seen a couple of sites who put a placeholder image *behind* where the adverts normally load, saying “Hey, it looks like you’ve got an ad blocker on. Please don’t / here’s a link to donate / explain why ads are important.” So if the ads load, fine. But if they don’t, the user sees the “please don’t block me” message.
Maybe that could work here? Certainly the large advert in the header would be an eye-catching place, and would stand out more than the wee “go ad-free” link at the side.
Estesark (@estesark) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:01
You’re denying Keith the chance to earn a living by doing that.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:46
So be a nice guy and make your add blocking software make an exception for F1 Fanatic.
Slimboyfatpauly (@slimboyfatpauly) said on 22nd May 2012, 23:04
+1
Julian (@julian) said on 23rd May 2012, 0:22
Thats what i do. It’s not as if the ads are in your face or anything, they are very neatly done and I don’t even notice them anymore.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:17
Exactly. Did that as well as soon as i installed an ad blocker.
And with the ads policy Keith has on F1Fanatic, its not as if the ads are horribly annoying.
But now that I can subscribe for an ad free view, thats even better IMO!
James (@goodyear92) said on 22nd May 2012, 18:57
I don’t really see what the bother is. The ads don’t slow down my little laptop, it’s still lightning fast at loading your site, and they certainly don’t ruin my enjoyment of it. Ads are a necessity of running a popular site as you said and anyone who makes a massive fuss about them is being a bit silly in my opinion.
Max Thon said on 22nd May 2012, 21:57
Its not about being slow, it’s about being ugly with ads all over the place.
I like it when it’s clean. And that is the case without ads.
James (@goodyear92) said on 22nd May 2012, 22:13
That’s being a bit OCD. It really doesn’t detract from the look of the site at all. They’re tucked away to the right side and almost everything you interact with and look at on this site is on the left or centre.
Max Thon said on 22nd May 2012, 22:40
There’s an ad next to the logo, half the width of the header. Maybe i like it better when the logo is on the right side (Not that i moved the logo there lol )
There’s a huge ad underneath “Search F1 Fanatic” (300x250px)
There is a (not that large in height but a very wide ad just above the comments)
There is an ad underneath “Championship points”
Maybe Keith can ask around in his town/neighborhood for a company willing to pay his bills to keep the site running (a bodyshop, a local computerstore, …) They pay the bill and get “free” commercial
BTW: why is the ad-free image not showing “New on F1 Fanatic”, its between “Search F1 Fanatic” and “Active F1 Fanatics” ?
James (@goodyear92) said on 22nd May 2012, 23:53
Wow, you really take this ‘clean website’ thing seriously don’t you. I could understand if you had really slow internet and the ads caused it to crash everytime you tried to access the site, but causing a fuss because it doesn’t look ‘clean’ seems extremely pathetic to me, sorry.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 23:07
Well then I hope you’ll be taking out an F1 Fanatic Supporter subscription.
James (@goodyear92) said on 22nd May 2012, 23:56
I would pay the £12 pound a year but;
1. The ads don’t bother me in the slightest
2. I don’t have a Paypal account
3. I don’t have a credid card
However if I did have the last two, I would donate purely to keep the site going, because it’s the most mature (in terms of quality of discussion) F1 site I’ve come across, so well done!
BasCB (@bascb) said on 23rd May 2012, 9:45
For me it worked perfectly with my debit card (as backup, as I do have Paypal)
Max Thon said on 23rd May 2012, 17:11
No need, i already have that ad-free look ;)
BTW: why is the ad-free image not showing “New on F1 Fanatic”, its between “Search F1 Fanatic” and “Active F1 Fanatics” ?
Estesark (@estesark) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:04
I was one of the people who suggested/requested this, and I’ll be taking out a subscription in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for implementing it!
Alfie (@alfie) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:07
For the amount of content and the quality, £1 for no ads is practically nothing! Take note sky, with your crappy shows..and ads..
hey (@hey) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:20
Keith, my boy! What if we aren’t bothered enough by the ads to subscribe to anything, yet still feel like chucking a few quid at you now and again in way of thanks/payment/support. How would we go about that?
Jake (@jleigh) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:22
@hey I think you can use the big green “donate to F1Fanatic” down the right of the page
hey (@hey) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:25
@jleigh lol. Ironicly I didn’t see that because of the ads! Well now I know.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 21:39
@hey As @jleigh says you can make a donation – it’s under Contact > Contribute > Donate or here:
Donate to F1 Fanatic
Shrieker (@shrieker) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:20
The adds on this site have never bothered me, I’ve hardly recognized they’re there most of the time.
Jake (@jleigh) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:20
Will definately do this once I’m out of my student overdraft! Even without improvements £1 per month would be worth it. Keep up the great work @keithcollantine
Guilherme (@guilherme) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:22
I’ll be honest, I use AdBlock, mainly because my internet is very, very poor and most of the time the page freezes trying to load the ads, but hey, £1 a month? Of course I’ll subscribe :)
(However I still see the ads. Does it take some time for the subscripition to be validated @keithcollantine?)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 22nd May 2012, 21:32
@guilherme To begin with I’m trying to process all subscriptions within 24 hours of payment being received.
xeroxpt (@) said on 22nd May 2012, 19:32
I must visit this website more than 60 times a month, Im surprised that despite all traffic cost you cant get more than one pound for user each month, the ads on this site are very good there arent no annoying pop-ups or heavy flash ads, i know that those ads could lower visiting numbers but sometimes they are worth it.