A few days ago I opened up an issue on GitHub and the forum related to problems with JavaScript and NodeBB.
To be more specific DFP, and an Anti-AdBlock script. However, @julian closed the issue, with the following argument:
Showing advertising via DFP is not a core functionality of NodeBB, and so it would be up to whoever implements the script to debug it. There's no plugin for DFP as far as I know, let me know if I am wrong.
I agree, this is correct. DFP support might not be a core functionality of NodeBB, but what else we can do? Use the non working AdSense plugin for example, which supports only 1 ad network? Despite that something is more than wrong if 2 scripts which work elsewhere just fine do not work with NodeBB.
However, lets focus on the ads. As mentioned earlier DFP support is not a core feature - I agree on that. But a forum software which has no ad features at all? How can this comply to the goal of the devs? Don't you want your software broadly used? If I would have known that NodeBB would be so ad unfriendly I would have never chosen it. Even though I really do enjoy its UX and performance, just like the spirit and work behind it. Webmasters like me have to look how to pay server bills, ourselves and other stuff.
I know no forum which has no ads by the way. Except the few product ones like Microsoft or Steam.
It will be annoying and stressful for the developers to identify the issue, but at the same time it should be rewarding as well as they know that such a fix could mean potentially more users and so a bigger reach for the project. And yes, this fix would allow a 100% perfect integration of ads (a few lines in the Custom HTML is needed as well).
Not only to mention that this would finally allow a "professional" use case for NodeBB, instead of some LEET kiddies having issues with a shitty hoster.