Please forbid animated ads. At the very least only allow animations for the first 10 seconds or less. 

Animation affects the usability of any web page deleteriously, especially a forum site where sometimes you really have to concentrate on the writing. With an animated ad doing its thing, I find it impossible to read a single word, let alone parse a technical answer. I usually end up uninstalling Flash and restarting my browser. Indeed, Flash makes the infamous <blink> tag seem tame.

At least you have compelling enough content for me to write. At other sites, I simply leave. Surely, many have left your site for the same reason.

Thanks for providing a valuable service. I hope you can improve on the usability.