I'm speaking as a member of this community, not merely as a representative of Innogames:
I did not promote the idea to add advertising to ingame as it's unpalatable to me, and likely to most of you, but also because it wouldn't change anything, only provide more revenue for Innogames. They would still have wanted more worlds to be opened up and implemented more premium features. When it comes down to it, if you pose additional means for revenue, they will be just that, additional means for revenue. It won't change the existing events, as they'll still add more worlds, still attempt to increase player/premium revenue ratio.
This is a game, it's a free game for most of the players here, but ultimately it's a business. I respect that aspect of this game, because I respect the notion that these sorts of games are geared to bring in lots of people to play for free and to provide features that allow paying customers the opportunity to benefit from their financial contribution to the development of this game. All the non-paying players are very important to Innogames, of course, but you're also an expense because your actions and activities cost them money. To offset those costs, they need players who pay for features. To make a profit, they needs lots of paying players. But they also need lots of non-paying players in order to make this a large community, and that's what paying players like... lots of other players to play alongside.
It is the paying players, not the non-paying players, that provide the financial support for the development of this game. When I hear some non-paying players threatening to leave, it saddens me, because I like to play alongside some of you. But, I also know that you're not a paying player, and thus you're not going to lose them revenue. That's one of the facets here often forgotten.
Another facet often forgotten is that this forum community is only a small fraction of the player base. Granted, a vocal fraction, but not a fair representation of the overall playerbase. The new premium features are popular, they demonstrate a strong attraction, and they help to retain participation through a sense of financial investment in addition to the time investment most of you feel. Obviously, if you're not purchasing these features, you're not going to be sharing those same feelings. But a survey made on all the German worlds resulted in a very high percentage (majority) being "in favor" of the new premium features, which contrasted sharply with their far smaller forum survey.
As a player first, a community manager second, I look at the game and want to have fun just like everyone else. If I didn't like this game, I wouldn't have played it for so long. Am I keen with these new premium features? To be honest, I'm conflicted, but I know they're popular with paying customers, and I know they provide a lot of revenue for The West. And you know what? That additional revenue means we get more developers putting time into this game, to add new features, to repair existing problems, and to satisfy some of the "community" requests that we recently presented to them.
So look, you can't have your cake and eat it to. In order to get the things you want, the extra features you're craving, Innogames needs to make a substantial profit. As I indicated earlier, I made the call, but I didn't make it without input, and it is likely I will make more calls in the future that will rile up the haters, but I'm going to keep the eye on the ball. I'll listen, I'll consider, I'll pose your reasoned arguments in contrast to the reasoned arguments of Innogames upper management, and I'll try to impose a compromise, as I'm doing here with worlds 11 & 12.
And I'll tell ya, I have no doubts that the decisions I make, the actions I take, will be a mixed bag. But, as another community member, Buffalofred, indicated, it's not about me; it's about Innogames, the paying players, and the non-paying players. My impossible chore is to appease everyone.
If you wish to pose questions in private, I am open to discussion. I am not, however, open to insults, bashing, derogatory remarks, or anything else along those lines.