Since we do not have the ability to opt out of the Discover “More Ways To Watch” ads update – this update is an ad integration in every way – I can’t help but wonder when we will see ads spread into other areas of Plex.
When will we see ads or commercials injected into our content? Don’t think this is possible? Not long ago, I wouldn’t think it were possible … but now we know the real reason why they borked up the search function that has caused much grief … they did that so they could show us ads…
Please refrain from posting the same message all over the forum.
I appreciate that users have issues with the new feature but that last post/title is just clickbait and wild conspiracy. Let’s stick to the forum rules and refrain from that too. https://forums.plex.tv/guidelines#heading---tidy
Just to play devil’s advocate, what makes this post either of those things?
I can understand an “Tsk Tsk” from a Mod if someone is just copying and pasting the same thing over and over into other peoples threads.
But they created a new thread and asked a question based on their opinion of what they see. I asked a similar question not to long ago about added ads that seem to be injected into my subscribed podcasts, does that make me a “wild conspiracy” person to make such a claim? (turns out it’s being injected from the 3rd party sources that Plex gets the streams from)
To me a “wrist slap” from a Mod on a forum (especially from a company that has no other means for a paying customer to voice a grievance) for asking a question (no matter how “wild” you think it might be) is an insult to your customers and just blatant bullying because they are questioning your future intent for a product they already paid for.
I stand by my response.
There’s a difference in asking a question vs. rhetoric questions pushing a non-factual message. Especially if you see the different iterations as the post popped up in different threads.
You can argue about asking provocative questions to push a feedback – however that’s not what I see here.
As for the underlying questions… there’s already a number of threads where those are being discussed and Plex have commented (certainly no final answers given the features were only released 2 days ago).
a sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information.
Rhe·tor·i·cal ques·tion noun
a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.
Ok, the title of the post starts with the rhetorical (With Plex foisting…) but askes a legitimate question in the second part (when does Plex start…). But it’s “Your opinion” that it’s non-factual.
It’s a question (albeit brought on by anger about something else) that is being asked.
How else can someone get the facts, without asking the question?
Why is asking a question now considered non-factual?
By this statement, you are saying that there has been no concrete answer in the posts where this is being discussed, so asking the question again in their own post to get some kind of clarity is not unreasonable by Plex guidelines is it?
The “feature” you say were released 2 days ago isn’t the question being posed here.
I get it, new things ruffle some feathers but Plex has made it perfectly clear, we as customers have only these forums to voice questions and grievances. If there was a direct customer service avenue we would not be having this debate. But to tell any customer that they can not ask a question is very poor customer service. If this was a call center and this person called to ask this question, I would assume Plex would not have their people say… “Dear customer, what your asking is just clickbait and wild conspiracy and we don’t want you to call again”.
Some people may see one new thing and make assumptions based on that new thing (and be correct or totally wrong in the outcome) but as a company Plex can do one of two things…
Answer the question posed (yes or no)
Ignore the question because they don’t want to answer it. (never a good method for customer relations)
But at no time do I believe someone should be told not to ask a question.
The new way of “customer service” (like Plex’s User Forums) is Plex (and a lot of other companies) using it as a cheaper alternative to direct customer contact and I get that. But the “Sit down and Shut up and Don’t ask questions” mentality isn’t going to fly IMO.
If a question asked can not be answered there is a simple way to do that…
“We do not have an answer at this time”. Simple and direct.
But you end up stoking the flames of what you call “clickbait and wild conspiracy” by only saying “Please refrain from posting the same message all over the forum.”
Do you not see this?
Carl Sagan once said “There are naïve questions, tedious questions, ill-phrased questions, questions put after inadequate self-criticism. But every question is a cry to understand the world. There is no such thing as a dumb question.”
The question about Plex adding commercials/ads to user’s personal libraries has been asked a lot of times and Plex have declined they’re doing it or having any plans to do that.
The intent of the OP was not to get an answer but to spread some alarmist narrative, implying Plex is about to do just that. The form is what I’ve called clickbait.
In such a case I take the liberty as a mod to point the OP to the forum guidelines.
Current discussion reminds me of the South Park episode “Dances with Smurfs”… when any answer is wrong and further stoking the drama.
Cartman: But hey, I’m just a normal kid, like you, except that I ask questions. And because I’m brave enough to ask questions, I come under scrutinies. Is Wendy using your lunch money to buy heroin? Probably not, but how can we know? I don’t want my lunch money going to drugs! Who’s taking these drugs? What would be the point? I’m asking questions!
Butters: Hey Wendy! Wendy! Is it true? Wendy: Is what true? Butters: That you hate Smurfs? Wendy: I don’t have time for this. Butters: Hey now! Me and us fellers were just asking questions! Melvins: Yeah, that’s right. We can ask. Wendy: Try to understand this: all I do is try to help run student council. I don’t give a crap about Smurfs! Butters: It is true! Melvin1: Oh my God! Melvin 2: Yeah, bemememe! Melvin 3: Oh my God! Wendy: Maybe you guys should check into what student council actually does, before you just blindly listen to what some idiot with a microphone tells you! [storms off] Butters: What did the Smurfs ever do to you! Ya ■■■■■! I just called the president a ■■■■■.
Edit: no longer stoking this from my side and leaving this thread.
Sorry you disagree with the facts we have before us. Plex has added ads to the user interface. Fact. Plex altered/degraded the search function in order to add those ads. Fact. That they have already gone so far out of their way to put ads in Plex would naturally lead to speculation as to what they will do next to force more ads on us.
This is a major problem. Anything I type in search is sent to plex and ads are being added to search results for content not in my library! This is a privacy concern (family and friends now have their searches sent to plex too!) as well as a betrayal of trust to us paying users.
I realize that this is not quite the same thing as you are discussing, but Discover is actually adding ads to a users personal library. Plex was my personal library and now I have to put up with the ads in the search, watchlist, Movies & Shows, Live TV. All of these cannot be turned off.
No one is adding ads to anyone’s personal media on Plex. This gets asserted all the time on the forums and it always turns out to be because someone picked an entry from the online sources instead of one for their own media.
I concede that it’s easy to gorge yourself on nightmares about ads but, as I recall and might be mistaken, you can turn off all those online resources and they shouldn’t continue to show up in search. Reminder that “Discover” is a beta feature that you do not have activate.
So instead of saying this to the OP question, you instead feel as a Mod to wave a finger at them and tell them to stop asking based on forum guidelines? This makes no sense to me.
So again I’ll ask “what makes this post either of those things?”
You (as an employee of Plex) decided what the OP intentions were, decided not to find out by answering the question (as quoted above) and then in defense of these actions, when questioned, decide that a quote from a adolescents’ cartoon and a (to use your logic) “Screw you guys I’m going home” attitude is how customer service should work?
Pleax have stated that currently Discover can’t be completely disabled. As a result, ads are absolutely being added to my personal media. Baking this garbage directly into the code without giving me the option to adjust the setting so that things work properly is not acceptable. The only means to remove this abomination currently is to migrate everything over to a managed account.
You cant say something is untrue… unless you can prove it. You say something is non-factual … ok where is the proof that he is wrong? It seems quite a number of people are concerned about this. I think the only one being provacative is you. Nothing you have said adds any value to the discussion.
This is the second one of your posts that I have responded to… I wasnt even looking for them. In one of them you were addressing some ones tone instead of the content which is against the guidelines you posted in the same post.
If your input has no value other than to attempt in invalidate the input of someone else then you are a troll and wrong.
But hey … it takes all kinds and if you arent doing this on purpose for the lols … then you might want to examine your motivations and find out why you actually do it… because it sure doesnt seem to be about helping anyone.
I think you missed a word in here
"Reminder that “Discover” is a beta feature that you do not have to activate.
You don’t have to activate because it has been done for you! The entire argument is we can’t shut it off.
I really think someone from Plex doesn’t understand what the word “Beta” means, because I never signed up to be a Beta tester for this. I only run the Stable versions of the apps, for the exception of Android Mobile App that I had to sign up via email to be a part of.
Maybe you can learn what Beta means from this website (dedicated to Software Contracts) before regurgitating what you read on a different post.
@tom80H is a volunteer, guys. He’s not a Plex employee. He does a really good job of helping people around here and i dont think hes trying to intentionally antagonize anyone. Hes probably having a rough time being a punching bag this week, so consider cutting him a little slack.
I’m trying out Discover and I’m not seeing any ads on my personal media. I am seeing search results with hits/ads/recommendations that includes copies I may have in my personal media. There’s a difference.
@AmazingRando24 I honestly forget that Plex Ninja’s are volunteers (probably because they seem to answer more questions than Plex Employees) but it doesn’t excuse my actual issue of why a question is only answered by pointing out the guidelines and saying not to do that.
Having been a Mod in my past, I can understand the “spot fires are a little large this week” mentality, but I would rather see a Representative of Plex (which is what he is perceived as) ignore a post then just blanket statement that a question shouldn’t be asked.
I can cut him some slack, which is what I thought I was doing by playing devils advocate and asking for clarification on his response.
I took your sentence as a plainest meaning of the words that you chose to use.
If you click on the link that goes to your media, you will not see ads before it plays, you will not see ads in the middle of it and you will not see any ads after it plays. I think “no ads on your media” is a very accurate way to describe that situation.
On the other hand, at “Plex Moves and TV”, the ads seem to outweigh the rather meager content over which I have no control or pay anything for because ads. There’s no escaping those ads if you want to watch something from there. Always been that way with Plex online content, Plex Pass or not, but consequently I have no interest in those freebies and so turn them off.
You chose to use Discover (you did click on it to add it, right?), which will of course get ads/trailers that may include your media but there’s no changes, no ads, when you watch your own media.
