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FireWire · Jul 8, 2011, 12:23 AM

Ouch

And is it me or the link to go to the forums doesn't work from the main page?

imitchellg5 · Jul 8, 2011, 12:26 AM

All the adverts on the internet threw up onto one page?

Shaddim · Jul 8, 2011, 01:09 AM

The most annoying one zips in from the left side and blocks the middle of the screen. It needs to die.

besson3c · Jul 8, 2011, 01:20 AM

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but I'm honestly still surprised that there are tech savvy among us that don't block all their ads.

brassplayersrock² · Jul 8, 2011, 02:03 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but I'm honestly still surprised that there are tech savvy among us that don't know where the feedback forum is.

fixed

FireWire · Jul 8, 2011, 02:13 AM

Well, call me old school, but I prefer my browser plain vanilla with as few plugins as possible, and I think it's a good thing to let ads be displayed as it helps the site. If too many people block their ads, they will find a more annoying way to display them...

And I didn't mean to post this as a feedback for the site's owner, but purely for us to laugh about it, or, in contemporary parlance, "for the lulz"

Athens · Jul 8, 2011, 02:53 AM

If websites didn't put so MANY ads on the sites people wouldnt bother to block them, alas they do so most of us block them.

angelmb · Jul 8, 2011, 03:15 AM

IMHO, mostly a browser fail.

Stogieman · Jul 8, 2011, 03:34 AM

Originally Posted by FireWire

Well, call me old school, but I prefer my browser plain vanilla with as few plugins as possible, and I think it's a good thing to let ads be displayed as it helps the site. If too many people block their ads, they will find a more annoying way to display them...

That's why you click the Reader button in the address bar.

besson3c · Jul 8, 2011, 04:12 AM

Originally Posted by FireWire

Well, call me old school, but I prefer my browser plain vanilla with as few plugins as possible, and I think it's a good thing to let ads be displayed as it helps the site. If too many people block their ads, they will find a more annoying way to display them...

And I didn't mean to post this as a feedback for the site's owner, but purely for us to laugh about it, or, in contemporary parlance, "for the lulz"

About the only way I can think of the ad vendors getting around ads being blocked is playing cat and mouse with the ad blockers to constantly change domains, or else getting customers to host the ads locally, either which I don't think is terribly likely.

besson3c · Jul 8, 2011, 04:16 AM

Originally Posted by brassplayersrock²

fixed

A little pedantic lately, are we?

CharlesS · Jul 8, 2011, 04:51 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

I don't mean to sound like a dick, but I'm honestly still surprised that there are tech savvy among us that don't attempt to eradicate free websites from existence by cutting off their revenue.

Fixed...

Athens · Jul 8, 2011, 04:55 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

About the only way I can think of the ad vendors getting around ads being blocked is playing cat and mouse with the ad blockers to constantly change domains, or else getting customers to host the ads locally, either which I don't think is terribly likely.

Flashblock stops most ads which is nice

besson3c · Jul 8, 2011, 06:20 AM

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Fixed...

Except, it doesn't have any impact whatsoever. None. Ziltch.

AFAIK all the ad blockers do is set CSS flags to hide the content, they don't actually remove them from the markup. As far as the ad people are concerned the user is getting their ad.

However, even if this weren't the case a number of ads are based on product placement, not clicks. If a user hated the ads so much that they went out of their way to install an ad blocker, why would they be inclined to click on the ad even if they didn't have one installed?

turtle777 · Jul 8, 2011, 09:11 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Except, it doesn't have any impact whatsoever. None. Ziltch.

It DOES.

It's like saying stealing a $5 item from Walmart doesn't have any impact. It's insignificant, but still has an impact if EVERYONE did it.

-t

besson3c · Jul 8, 2011, 09:23 AM

How is that analogy appropriate here?

turtle777 · Jul 8, 2011, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

How is that analogy appropriate here?

I didn't expect you to get it.

-t

Athens · Jul 8, 2011, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by besson3c

Except, it doesn't have any impact whatsoever. None. Ziltch.

AFAIK all the ad blockers do is set CSS flags to hide the content, they don't actually remove them from the markup. As far as the ad people are concerned the user is getting their ad.

However, even if this weren't the case a number of ads are based on product placement, not clicks. If a user hated the ads so much that they went out of their way to install an ad blocker, why would they be inclined to click on the ad even if they didn't have one installed?

Um no.... most ad blockers block the domain of the ad sites, not just change CSS flags.

bstone · Jul 8, 2011, 10:55 AM

adblock. never see an ad.

besson3c · Jul 8, 2011, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

I didn't expect you to get it.

-t

It has been lovely talking to you.

besson3c · Jul 8, 2011, 02:41 PM

Originally Posted by Athens

Um no.... most ad blockers block the domain of the ad sites, not just change CSS flags.

Yeah, it looks like there are two techniques, and AdBlock Plus for instance incorporates both techniques.. From the Wikipedia page:

Like Mozilla's built-in image blocker, Adblock blocks HTTP requests according to their source address and can block IFrames, scripts, and Flash. It also uses automatically generated user stylesheets to hide elements such as text ads on a page as they load instead of blocking them, known as element hiding.[1]

I'm assuming the others work in similar ways... Proxy server + custom stylesheet. There was a Safari ad blocker in existence before Safari supported extensions that I think only did the custom CSS thing.

Anyway, I stand corrected on the ad vendors being oblivious to having sent the ad, but I stand by my claim that users that would be inclined to install an ad block extension would otherwise possibly click on the ad.