Attention members, as you can see, as of 5/25/2016, the site is now running the reconstructed 'Co8 Obsidian' style or forum skin. This style was made to approximate the old skin on vBulletin that most members used, and we hope you like it. However, if you prefer, you can still choose the Flexile style that we've been running during the interval over the last month or so. To do this, just scroll to the bottom of any page and locate the text that says 'Co8 Obsidian' on the left. Click on it and a chooser interface will open up that allows you to select Flexile. Likewise, the same thing works if you have Flexile selected and want to use Co8 Obsidian. If you see any obvious issue with the new skin, please report them here. Thanks and enjoy.
The search box is much better, but the gray text is harder to see than black would be. Overall, a vast improvement... thanks!
It's a combination of both since we've got several advertising providers in rotation and some do pay per view as well. All site supporters do get ad-free access as per this thread now, though.
I'm not familiar with that one, there are literally thousands of different ad campaigns in rotation. Why?