I hope you'll excuse me Pub, while I talk about you in the 'third person' here. At least I'm not doing it behind your back, huh? You should admire that :) I don't mean to sound like I'm defending Publius here, but sometimes his comments do come across as "nasty". It's unfortunate because he's really a pretty smart guy. I think people dismiss some of the things he has to say because of his manner, which is controversial at best and downright insulting at worst. I, for one, would like to see his articles get more attention than they do. He's a very talented writer, and his articles are always well researched, well thought out, and well written. In my opinion he is one of Xomba's most talented writers. His "I'm good, and I know I'm good" attitude comes across as arrogant and cocky. But I think he is merely speaking the truth as he sees it. There's something about that which I find admirable. Too many people nowadays are afraid to speak their mind or to stand up against something they believe in for fear of not being popular. I would like to see him tone it down too, but by now, I know better than to hold my breath. Don't take what he says to heart...and don't let him piss you off...it's just one man's opinion. Lady:P (You know I love ya' Pub!:)

Well dreah, I guess if you weren't talking about LadyP, then that would just leave me. So, let me respond. A funny thing happens when you decide to post your writing in a public forum: you become vulnerable to comments and criticism. If you're not prepared to get such criticism, then you should reconsider sharing your writing publicly. Here's the problem though. I wasn't being "nasty" as you say. I simply said I don't think you're a particularly good writer from what I've seen. And I also said I wouldn't be clicking on any of your ads. This is because I don't click ANY ads. I don't come to this site looking for ads to click. If these are "nasty" comments, then yes, I was certainly being nasty. I get criticism all the time, but you don't see me whining and complaining about it. Why not? Because when I decide to make my writing public, I accept the fact that people may disagree with what I'm saying and that I may not like some of their comments. It's all part of the game. If you don't like it, then don't play.

and it was nice of you to take the time to sit down and REALLY compare the numbers. That was what I wanted, was an honest comparison. So I'm pleased to know my comments prompted you to do that. I didn't ever say that I wasn't going to click on your ads...if I see an ad that interests me, I click on it, regardless of who's post it's on. I only said that I would not bother to read your "experiment" posts because they were clearly biased toward AC. You had clearly not taken the time yourself to do a true comparison. That was what I wanted to see. I didn't mean to come across negatively, or to make you weary. I merely wanted you to do a true comparison, and to share those numbers with us. It seemed to me that you already had your mind made up when you hadn't even bothered to do the comparison yourself. I'm not in the least surprised at your conclusions and I'm glad to see that you see it too. I don't begrudge you the right to write wherever and however you want. I understand your need to put food on the table and the need for immediate remuneration. Unfortunately there are sites like AC who will gladly take advantage of that need and fool you into thinking that they are the best way to go because you see immediate results. They know that most people won't take the time to stop and run the figures because they know that our society is geared to pay attention to the immediate. Having people like you, here to write for Xomba, dedicating your time to drawing traffic to your own work, is not just for Xomba's benefit, but for your own benefit as well. That is what will increase the traffic here. I'm glad to hear that you realize that. I sincerely wish you the best of luck, and the best of earnings for your work. Lady:P