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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > Feedback > What's with these "sponsored" words showing up in our posts?

What's with these "sponsored" words showing up in our posts? (Page 2)
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ChrisF
Senior User
Join Date: Apr 2002
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 01:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by Simon
Telling PithHelmet to block *intellitxt* doesn't do the trick either.
Disabling javascript in the site prefs for forums.macnn.com seems to work. Might cause the loss of some functionality, but haven't noticed so far.
     
Dork.
Professional Poster
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Rochester, NY
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 01:25 PM
 
I still can't see them, and I have javascipt enabled and no ad-blocking software installed.
(all I do is block pop-ups and third-party cookies directly in the Safari prefs.).
     
tooki
Admin Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 01:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by Athens

here is a easy copy paste link to all the macnn staff members on there contact page. Copy and paste it into hotmails to send them all a email about how you feel about it. Spam the mofo's


Uh, 2/3 of the people you mention there have no more control over advertising than I do. And don't spam. Send MacNN's owner/publisher a concise, non-whiny email explaining your opinion.

tooki
     
iLikebeer
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: /OV DRK 142006
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:07 PM
 
[FONT="Arial Black"]LOL, come on now!!!! The ads even show up in PMs!!!!??? Somebody needs the Clockwork Orange treatment with these things.[/FONT]
     
Athens
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Great White North
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:10 PM
 
Tooki join in on the green treatment
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
tooki
Admin Emeritus
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:12 PM
 
The ads affect any word shown on any page of the forums, since the ad program seems to be embedded in the page footer.

tooki
     
keyser_soze
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: park city, ut usa
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:21 PM
 
That is SO not cool. Do you know how hard it is to cyber with somone over PM with instant messages underlined in green giving us links to edible panties and blow up dolls!?
Not that I would know...

Ok posters time to let them have it. MacNN Staff It's our duty to let MacNN know we hate intelliTXT!
     
keyser_soze
Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: park city, ut usa
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:23 PM
 
Originally Posted by keyser_soze
That is SO not cool. Do you know how hard it is to cyber with somone over PM with instant messages underlined in green giving us links to edible panties and blow up dolls!?
Not that I would know...
ARRRRRRRRR!!!!! Avast ye Instant Messages!!!!! Walk thee plank!
hmm, that's interesting. instant messages was just double underlined a second ago, now it's gone. Do they have it set on random so only a few people will get mad at a time?

Ok posters time to let them have it. MacNN Staff It's our duty to let MacNN know we hate intelliTXT!
     
Nick
Guest
Status:
Feb 4, 2006, 02:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by iLikebeer
I might be a MacNN conspiracy theorist, but sometimes I swear I think you're Misha. [/u][/color]
I assure you, he is long gone.
     
brapper
Professional Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:31 PM
 
Originally Posted by tooki
Do not use "gay" as an all-purpose negative. It is offensive and will get you banned if done again.

tooki
I meant school yard gay tho, not homosexual. Still, I understand.
My bad.
     
iLikebeer
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: /OV DRK 142006
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:32 PM
 
Originally Posted by Nick
I assure you, he is long gone.
Figured as much, but I'd heard rumors he was still here, although not in an official capacity. How far back can you check IP's? I bet he left a trail.
     
jasonsRX7
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: North Carolina
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:34 PM
 
In Safari I see the spam links, but in Firefox using Adblock + Filterset.G I don't see them at all. Of course, now I don't see any advertisements on MacNN. So the managements decision to incorporate these spam ads have resulted in me seeing fewer ads on their site.

I had actually bought some things from the banner ads (Booq bag, Griffen Powermate) but now I don't see them either. Way to shoot yourself in the foot :/
     
iLikebeer
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: /OV DRK 142006
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 02:38 PM
 
Also, just so we don't confuse feedbackers, the 2nd sentence of the 2nd paragraph has a typo.

Should be "Semi-permanent icons are generally rotated among three or four different advertisers; pricing varies and must be determined by individual contract.
     
ThinkInsane
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Night's Plutonian shore...
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Feb 4, 2006, 03:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by Athens
Im reporting every single one I see as spam and I think every user should do the same.
Don't do that. None of the mods were told about his, and I think thee are still some that don't know, so posts that were reported as spam got deleted, even though it wasn't spam and not the posters fault. Reporting these links as spam will do nothing to help the situation, just make it worse. You're just making more work for mods that DO NOT support this move.
Nemo me impune lacesset
     
Athens
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Location: Great White North
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Feb 4, 2006, 03:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by ThinkInsane
Don't do that. None of the mods were told about his, and I think thee are still some that don't know, so posts that were reported as spam got deleted, even though it wasn't spam and not the posters fault. Reporting these links as spam will do nothing to help the situation, just make it worse. You're just making more work for mods that DO NOT support this move.
Tooki gave the ok, he is forwarding to the publisher
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
macintologist
Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Smallish town in Ohio
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 04:19 PM
 
Um guys this is easy to fix.

If you're using Safari, download and install Pithhelmet.

Go to the Pithhelmet Rule Editor

Click "new" on the bottom right corner.

Type
Code:
macnn.us.intellitxt.com
into the "Matching Pattern" box.

Click "apply" on the bottom.

Done!
     
icruise  (op)
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Illinois
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 04:46 PM
 
I don't really care if it's easy to "fix" or not. The issue is how the MacNN boards appear to the majority of users, most of whom will not be manually disabling these ads (nor should they have to). Whether I can disable it for my own computer is irrelevant.
     
CharlesS
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Dec 2000
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 05:14 PM
 
Hmm, I see these inline ads in Safari, Camino, and Firefox, but not Shiira. So anyone who is annoyed by these ads may want to try using Shiira, since it seems to be incompatible with IntelliTXT...

edit: Modifying the /etc/hosts file seemed to work for the other browsers. Just edit /etc/hosts with vi, pico, emacs, TextWrangler, whatever, and add this line:

127.0.0.1 macnn.us.intellitxt.com

Then reboot and I think you shouldn't see those ads anymore, no matter what browser you're using.
( Last edited by CharlesS; Feb 4, 2006 at 10:40 PM. )

Ticking sound coming from a .pkg package? Don't let the .bom go off! Inspect it first with Pacifist. Macworld - five mice!
     
rparke1
Banned
Join Date: May 2005
Location: on top of Ghoser777 :-)
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Feb 4, 2006, 06:32 PM
 
using shiira i can not see the links ether, and its super easy to get your bookmarks from firefox and safari into it. theres a built in option to import. very nifty
     
ReggieX
Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Toronto, ON
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 06:52 PM
 
Originally Posted by CharlesS
Hmm, I see these inline ads in Safari, Camino, and Firefox, but not Shiira. So anyone who is annoyed by these ads may want to try using Shiira, since it seems to be incompatible with IntelliTXT...

edit: Modifying the /etc/hosts file seemed to work for the other browsers. Just edit /etc/hosts with vi, pico, emacs, TextWrangler, whatever, and add this line:

macnn.us.intellitxt.com localhost
Wrongo! The proper format for /etc/hosts on OS X is: 127.0.0.1 macnn.us.intellitxt.com
The Lord said 'Peter, I can see your house from here.'
     
alphamatrix
Senior User
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Mount Vernon, WA
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 07:11 PM
 
Wow, I goto sleep for a bit and look what I miss!
     
Chuckit
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 07:38 PM
 
Apparently it's still going on, but for some reason, both my Safari and Camino nightly builds seem to be immune. Works out well enough for me.
Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
     
Athens
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Great White North
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 09:04 PM
 
Originally Posted by macintologist
Um guys this is easy to fix.

If you're using Safari, download and install Pithhelmet.

Go to the Pithhelmet Rule Editor

Click "new" on the bottom right corner.

Type
Code:
macnn.us.intellitxt.com
into the "Matching Pattern" box.

Click "apply" on the bottom.

Done!
and what about new users to the forum and stupid ones lol
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
Tesseract
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: california
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 09:28 PM
 
     
Eriamjh
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: BFE
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 09:51 PM
 
Sponsored links suck. Please turn them off.

I'm a bird. I am the 1% (of pets).
     
CharlesS
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Dec 2000
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 10:40 PM
 
Originally Posted by ReggieX
Wrongo! The proper format for /etc/hosts on OS X is: 127.0.0.1 macnn.us.intellitxt.com
Argh, you're right. My apologies. Editing now...

Ticking sound coming from a .pkg package? Don't let the .bom go off! Inspect it first with Pacifist. Macworld - five mice!
     
macintologist
Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Smallish town in Ohio
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 11:07 PM
 
Originally Posted by Athens
and what about new users to the forum and stupid ones lol
http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?t=284637
     
Scifience
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 11:13 PM
 
These things are terrible.

Not only are the ads themselves annoying, but the script generating them slows down the loading of the page rather nicely.

I remember when all we had was one banner at the top of the page. Gradually, more and more ads have appeared, yet over the same time period, the cost of bandwidth and servers has fallen. (I'm not just saying this, I have three dedicated servers that I personally rent, and handle over 5TB of traffic a month.) Very strange.
     
Scifience
Mac Elite
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Status: Offline
Feb 4, 2006, 11:19 PM
 
By the way, as vBulletin Admins, unless MacNN's vB 3.5.3 is different than the one I use, you guys should have access to the forum template and therefore be able to remove the offending code or inclusion block until this gets sorted out.
     
DigitalEl
Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Not Quite Phoenix
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 12:16 AM
 
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't find this horribly offensive. Is it somewhat of an eyesore? Sure. Is it gonna make me stop coming here? No. I have used this site for free for the past 4 or 5 years, solved dozens of problems quickly and easily - without the hassle of calling an 800 number and waiting on hold, etc.

MacNN is a business. If the site went belly up due to lack of ad revenue, that would bother me a lot worse than the green links. Even if the owners are doing well and these ads are greedy gravy, hell, good for them. They're providing a service.

I'd sure like to see them get the database problems fixed though. Maybe more revenue can help them with an upgrade. It can't be cheap running such an expansive non-subscription site.

I've been lurking on the forums at Airliners.net forever, because they want $25 for a "membership." They also offer an ad-free version of their site/forums for $5 a month. I'd much rather see a green link or 10 than have to pony up just to use the site.

Just my 2 cents.
Jalen's dad. Carrie's husband.  partisan. Bleu blanc et rouge.
     
Chuckit
Clinically Insane
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: San Diego, CA, USA
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 12:54 AM
 
You know, who cares if MacNN is a business? Wal-Mart is a business too, and if they had people paying them for the privilege to sit by the door and smack me in the face when I walked in, I'd be pissed at them too.
( Last edited by Chuckit; Feb 5, 2006 at 01:03 AM. )
Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
     
ThinkInsane
Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Night's Plutonian shore...
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 01:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by Scifience
By the way, as vBulletin Admins, unless MacNN's vB 3.5.3 is different than the one I use, you guys should have access to the forum template and therefore be able to remove the offending code or inclusion block until this gets sorted out.
That would be all well and good if it wasn't for the fact that this abortion was added quite intentionally, so an admin removing them would probably have some repercussions.
Nemo me impune lacesset
     
Tesseract
Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: california
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 01:29 AM
 
Originally Posted by ThinkInsane
That would be all well and good if it wasn't for the fact that this abortion was added quite intentionally, so an admin removing them would probably have some repercussions.
abortion? did you mean aberration?
     
effgee
Caffeinated Theme Master
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: hell (says dakar)
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 01:46 AM
 
Mixing editorial content and advertising in such an intrusive manner has got to be one of worst ideas on the face of this planet.
     
MacMan4000
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2004
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 02:03 AM
 
this is probably the worst idea ever. if this sh:t doesn't dissapear soon then MacNN can lick my left testicle while Im on the way out... this buggy sh:t's not worth it.

ironic:
     
MacMan4000
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2004
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 02:20 AM
 
like my new sig? i dont really care if i get banned for it... MacNN has gone down hill for the past 6 months. its worthless. good bye.
     
Rumz
Forum Regular
Join Date: Feb 2006
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 04:13 AM
 
Google ads on the right hand side of my email in g-mail based on the content of the e-mail I don't mind too much... but these links are just annoying.

Now I understand why IE keeps asking me to download some javascript file or something (which I haven't downloaded and apparently keeps the links from showing up in the forums for me). So far I've only seen the links when browsing on a Mac.
     
Simon
Posting Junkie
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: in front of my Mac
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 04:24 AM
 
Originally Posted by ThinkInsane
That would be all well and good if it wasn't for the fact that this abortion was added quite intentionally, so an admin removing them would probably have some repercussions.
Yeah, but at least he'd show some balls and put his money where his mouth is.

Up to now all we get is tooki's helpless whine and that is rather pathetic coming from somebody who otherwise likes to be the tough guy.

Is the macnn owner gonna run this forum on his own? With no more contributing users? Of course not. So just send him this thread and turn this intelli crap off yourself. Let him get some sense in his head.
     
Maflynn
Professional Poster
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Boston
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 08:59 AM
 
Originally Posted by MacMan4000
like my new sig? i dont really care if i get banned for it... MacNN has gone down hill for the past 6 months. its worthless. good bye.
I hate it and reported it. There's a reason why obscenity filters are in place for posts and I think its offensive. I hope you get banned too since you have such a disregard for others and are unable to a sig that is civil but still protests the inline adds.
     
baw
Mac Elite
Join Date: Jun 2005
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 09:02 AM
 
These ads are causing IE on my work computer to crash. Thanks 'NN.
     
euphras
Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Germany, 51°51´51" N, 9°05´41" E
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 11:18 AM
 
Just wanna show off my new sig, nuff said!


Macintosh Quadra 950, Centris 610, Powermac 6100, iBook dual USB, Powerbook 667 DVI, Powerbook 867 DVI, MacBook Pro early 2011
     
Mastrap
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Toronto
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 11:34 AM
 
It is still going on. Installing and configuring PithHelmet solves the problem, but why should I have to go through that hassle. I actually liked the google ads that were relevant to the threads, but with PH running these have disappeared now as well.

Way to shoot yourself in the foot.
     
Athens
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Great White North
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 12:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by Maflynn
I hate it and reported it. There's a reason why obscenity filters are in place for posts and I think its offensive. I hope you get banned too since you have such a disregard for others and are unable to a sig that is civil but still protests the inline adds.
oh give me a f*ing break. If that word offends you so much go learn another language. Be a adult. I will never understand why people get offended by words.
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
Silky Voice of The Gorn
Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Some dust-bowl of a planet
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 12:20 PM
 
Wow. Just..wow.

After a half-ass site redesign which places more emphasis on "branding" (read: revenue) than usability, now we have these abhorrent inline ads.

Nice show of utter contempt for your users, MacNN.
     
Athens
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Great White North
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 12:22 PM
 
Originally Posted by euphras
Just wanna show off my new sig, nuff said!

you know you could just use the orginal image instead of taking a screen shoot and using that

Here is the link http://brian.is.a.rootboy.net/sayno.jpg
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
Athens
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Great White North
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 12:24 PM
 
just a side not my mom was surfing the boards last night and clicked a ad that sent her to dell. She thought DELLS WHERE MAC!

These ad's have gone WAY TO FAR!

I told my mom to go to macrumors.com for now. It really screws up her IE.
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
Athens
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Great White North
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 12:33 PM
 
[PHP]I wonder if that stupid ad program will hit anything in this php mode. Apple, PC,
network, printer, computer, Dell, Internet, hosting, ads, google, yahoo,
Macintosh, store, sales, nic bah blah[/PHP]
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
Dork.
Professional Poster
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Rochester, NY
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 01:04 PM
 
Originally Posted by DigitalEl
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't find this horribly offensive. Is it somewhat of an eyesore? Sure. Is it gonna make me stop coming here? No. I have used this site for free for the past 4 or 5 years, solved dozens of problems quickly and easily - without the hassle of calling an 800 number and waiting on hold, etc.

MacNN is a business. If the site went belly up due to lack of ad revenue, that would bother me a lot worse than the green links. Even if the owners are doing well and these ads are greedy gravy, hell, good for them. They're providing a service.

I'd sure like to see them get the database problems fixed though. Maybe more revenue can help them with an upgrade. It can't be cheap running such an expansive non-subscription site.

I've been lurking on the forums at Airliners.net forever, because they want $25 for a "membership." They also offer an ad-free version of their site/forums for $5 a month. I'd much rather see a green link or 10 than have to pony up just to use the site.

Just my 2 cents.
I hear ya, DigitalEl: after all, this forum does cost money to run and administer, and even the unpaid time put in by our volunteers doesn't settle the tab. I'm all for appropriate advertisements on a forum like this, mostly because I'm a cheap bastard and would prefer seeing ads to subscribing. I won't run software like PithHelmet for precisely this reason: if I'm freeloading, I don't mind seeing ads from time to time.

However, I view the inline ads as very inappropriate, because the forums' value comes from the sum of the individual contributions, and inline advertisements dilutes the value of these contributions. Not only are those green links in posts confusing to the novice user, but they're unfair to the prople who post here regularly because they don't know precisely what their words are going to be linked to.

For example, I try my best not to talk about my work in detail here, and my workplace has a very strict policy as to what employees may or may not talk about online. As my rule of thumb, I try not to talk specifically about my company's products or the competition's products in relation to my job function. Now, however, when I make a post about that line of business (without getting into specifics), my post may link to my employer's site, or that of its competitors, and I have no control over that. If someone were to discover that with a corporate axe to grind, it's not out of the question that I may get disciplined over it. "MacNN put the links there" would not be a sufficient excuse, I'm afraid. Am I getting too paranoid? Perhaps. But it's still an issue.

That, combined with the fact that the script does not work on all browsers and crashes some, combines to dimish the potential value of the forums, and consequently the value of all the advertising in it to the MacNN owners. I think MacNN would be better off not re-writing what other people post here, since they're essentially getting that content for free, and using it to generate ad clicks that bring in revenue!

(Once again, if we all were able to keep the © to our posts, MacNN would not have been able to "re-write" our posts in this manner....)
     
euphras
Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Germany, 51°51´51" N, 9°05´41" E
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 01:58 PM
 
Originally Posted by Athens
you know you could just use the orginal image instead of taking a screen shoot and using that

Here is the link http://brian.is.a.rootboy.net/sayno.jpg
I don´t want to abuse other folks bandwith. So i just copied it and transfered it to my photobucket account. No need for screenies


Macintosh Quadra 950, Centris 610, Powermac 6100, iBook dual USB, Powerbook 667 DVI, Powerbook 867 DVI, MacBook Pro early 2011
     
Athens
Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Great White North
Status: Offline
Feb 5, 2006, 02:05 PM
 
hehe abuse away its for all to use
Blandine Bureau 1940 - 2011
Missed 2012 by 3 days, RIP Grandma :-(
     
 
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