Products and services seems to restrict things like Team recruiting ads (which are also something I'm glad to see, and may be interested in posting some time).

Getting more exposure for help wanted posts for good indie teams could be a big motivator in getting the GDNet+ and joining the ad circulation.

Can we nail down a broader range of advertising subject matter?

I would want to say, anything game, software, or gamedev related, but keep it PG-13.

Here's a thought:

To automate, maybe use the Screenshot Saturday system (under a different title), and display only the top X% of ads. Or display ads that have a higher ranking more frequently, and submit any under a certain rating for moderation?

So, if somebody wants to get an ad displayed, they'll have to polish it up a bit to make it look nice in the banner.

This is cool, because subscribers could even use it to promote community contests and things like that, relieving dependency from staff members promoting it, reducing pressure on them.

I think GameDev.net should continue to accept and pursue corporate sponsers as well, and have "Donate to GameDev.net" | "GameDev.net Amazon Referal Link" | "Advertise with us" links present on the headerbar, either under the banner, or to the side of it.

Potential problem: As a Crossbones+ member, I can post ads for free. That doesn't really help support the site.

Crossbones+ members should also help moderate the user-submitted ads, and providing feedback to the ad submitters, so moderators/staff wouldn't need to do it entirely by themselves, and also to increase response time.