VRM Portal update: Advertisements?

Q&A and troubleshooting
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can you please pretty please at least add an opt out button for the advertisements on the VRM portal homepage. Neither me nor my customers need this.

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Are you referring to the product news?

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I believe it’s just like any streaming platform… Youtube, HBO Max, etc… If it’s free, you’ll get advertising. :wink:
Probably you’ll say that you’ve paid for the equipment… Yes, but the equipment works without VRM.
Good thing, at least, that the main domain is redirected, by default, to the installations page and you won’t see those.

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I haven’t seen any (external) adverts yet. I’m fine with the product news. Maybe some people are not.

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Please post a screenshot as I don’t see anything that resembles ads and only news when logged in.

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My customers pay for the system as a whole including VRM monitoring, the idea that anything thereof is free is a fallacy. What I ask for is the option not to have dynamic corporate communications of any sorts on display on their system.

I noticed a distinct pattern Victron is gradually moving away from it’s original ‘open collaborative platform’ towards a ‘closed proprietary platform’, a bit like Linux becoming Microsoft, with the gamification / commercialisation of VRM in the lead. Needless to say this is, in my humble opinion, unattractive.

Now don’t get me wrong here, Victron can do as it pleases. But I can speak my mind just the same. I do not ask Victron not to extend their marketing and branding efforts, only to have an option to opt out and keep the user interface technical, in a way that doesn’t require abandoning the platform completely.

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Are we now not only moving messages but editing them (without comment) as well?

Barbara recently requested input on plans for VRM gamification / developments, which I provided (‘don’t do it’). I never seen any feedback on that though.

The topic of personalisation is not new either, including the request for installers to decide what to display to their customers themselves:

And neither is the request for an opt out of advertisements new:

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Moderator intervention is usually done when something posted is not following community guidlines.

I hear you though. I prefered the clean VRM and my news from Professional. But there have been a lot of posts about. “i didn’t know that” so i do also see the need for a news feed somewhere more accessible.

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It is not a community question neither a feature request but instead a direct request for an op out of this ‘feature’. I am not in the habit of pinging Victron staff but pinging Barbara seems logical as she recently requested feedback herself. See message above.

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And I agree with that, as long as I can opt myself and my customers out.

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Cick on the X and it’s gone and shouldn’t come back.
I think that “advertisements” are useful to make users aware of new features.

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Users?.. Maybe installers, as almost everywhere it says that only “experts” should configure the features…
For users sometimes is confusing…
Just kidding… :sweat_smile:

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What ‘X’? If that was the case, I’d probably not even posted this in the first place.

Instead of ‘discussing the discussion’, how about sharing your opinion on the plans for gamification of VRM, the phasing out of Node-RED DESS and not updating it to 15 minute pricing in favor of VRM DESS (without a full port of features) and the latest VRM GUI changes?

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Sharp :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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Indeed, which “X” ???..
Browser’s “X”?
Indeed, closing the web browser closes the problem and if you don’t come back… :zany_face: :grin:

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Better documentation would be my preferred solution. Let’s not pretend this is not marketing. Now if I could put my news feed there for my customers, that would be a game changer because I would put all customer specific instructions and manuals up there.

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Ah, you mean the new start page.
Next time add a screenshot to show what you mean.
I thought you meant the banner that comes up sometimes.

That new start page was in beta for around two weeks.
If I remember correctly there was an option to select what you want to see, that seems to be missing now.

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Next time I should …? Maybe next time you should … :wink:

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Sounds an awfully lot like ‘we are agreeing to this unless you’

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You are the one having issues.
How are we supposed to help if we don’t know exactly what you mean?
A screenshot would have helped to avoid misunderstandings.

I already asked the devs about that.