I was playing around with the forum settings and it seems to have put black lines around the boxes. I'm not quite sure how I did it. So I am not quite sure how to undo it either. I was careful to copy the colors so I could put them back to original. Do you find it distracting?
I currently have what is called a Gold Forum, which means I pay for it and there are no ads. I am thinking of going to a free forum. It would mean no header or footer and a couple of other bells and whistles are not included. It would have small adds. You can see an example here: Activeboard. Although there are not a tremendous amount of people posting I pay per impression. And the price went way up this month. Evidently there are lots of "lurkers" who don't post but glean info. That is perfectly okay. It is a public forum and it is good if they get the info they need for their trip without posting.
Here is a side-by-side comparison of the free and Gold forums: Example.
That is the dilemma...continue to pay or get a free forum?
The grid is a little less professional, old fashioned style appearance?? not sure how you Hide them on your software.
Pay or no pay is an accounting decision, I have add blocking programs so how that would compute? I am guessing most forums have adds running it might be a case of what adds and how many.. Not sure what the pay per "Impression" translates to? hits or actual input?
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Two rules for Ireland, Take your time & bring a sense of humour
I figured out how to get rid of the grid. Per impression means hits and posting. So virtually everything that is clicked on, each new post or page, etc. Unfortunately I am my own accountant too. So I have to weigh the pros and cons and then make a decision.