I experimented yesterday by placing ads before the first post, under the topic title, and today when I checked my account I noticed that my CTR went up by over 300%! So if any of you want to try it out and see how it works, go ahead. I only made the ads viewable by Guests though, and left it the same for Members, so I probably could've made even more if I left it open to everyone. Cheers
Anyone care to take a look at my forum? I think the ads are placed quite well and I have seen a steady stream of visitors but my adsense performance there is not so good compared to the main site http://forum.bismikaallahuma.org/ - MENJ
I have seen similar placements like this in other forums a while ago but not sure if it violates the TOS or not. Could be listed as misdirection.