  Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 4838 Registered: 11-2004 |
Even though I've got the pop-up blocker on my Mac running full bore, I'm still getting those absolutely annoying as all hell pop-up ads appearing after I click on an article in the Freep.com site as well as the DetNews.com site. When the hell did they start that crap?? Who do we talk to in regards to having them stop that? As a point now- I'm almost avoiding any companies that advertise like that. I know I sure as heck wouldn't want to annoy a prospective customer so why do advertise like that?? Does anyone really look at those accursed ads or do we just try to click them off ASAP? | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 8683 Registered: 12-2003 |
I was wondering if some setting had changed in my computer. I spend a bunch of time on the Freep site, IF this continues, I'll be more than happy to let Click on Detroit, Channel 4, give me all I need to know about the city. They are often the first and only source for stuff anyways, so obviously have a more on-point news team. This desperate attempt to capture the ADD crowd only serves to chase this 43-year old away. Cannot count the number of articles we've posted and discussed here, so they stand to lose a shitload of linked traffic if we all stand together, although I'm sure we'll hear a wee bit from the pop-up apologists. As a matter of principle, I also NEVER look at what these ads are touting, probably EXACTLY the same reaction they cause in you Smogger. So...their brilliant application of whatever shoots these things past pop-up blockers has officially backfired with the two of us. I'm going to remove them from my favorites now. Someone let me know when they are done playing around! | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 702 Registered: 10-2006 |
If you get the hard copy of the newspaper you can avoid almost all of the pop up adds. | ||
Stephenvb Member Username: Stephenvb Post Number: 20 Registered: 02-2006 |
I noticed this pop-up behavior too. I get the hard copy, but I like to watch both web sites for "breaking" news. I don't like it either. Aren't there enough ads plastered on their sites? | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 8689 Registered: 12-2003 |
What is this 'hard copy' of which you speak?! Heh. I'm going to miss Susan Ager and my other friends there...perhaps I can appeal directly to Heather Newman to see what she knows about this bullshit. | ||
Genesyxx Member Username: Genesyxx Post Number: 697 Registered: 02-2004 |
A small price to pay for keeping 50 cents in your pocket for the meter.... hey, don't ticket my car! | ||
Bvos Member Username: Bvos Post Number: 2129 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'd recommend using Firefox for your browser and using some of the ad-blocking add ons. I installed it a few weeks ago and it's made browsing all sites more enjoyable. I've never seen pop-ups on the Freep or Snews since downloading it. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 4839 Registered: 11-2004 |
Bvos- my Safari browser keeps nearly all of the pop-ups away. The Freep & Snews' are about the only ones that somehow manage to elude this. They must be using some sort of new technology that the Safari filter just doesn't detect yet. I'm wondering whether an email to Apple might even help to let them know there's a slight crack in the armor might help. | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 4843 Registered: 11-2004 |
This is almost annoying enough for me to switch over to the TV station's websites or possibly mlive.com. | ||
Mcp001 Member Username: Mcp001 Post Number: 2481 Registered: 11-2003 |
I haven't come across any pop ups when I hit their sites. The only thing that I'm using is Netscape with its pop up filter turned on. | ||
Tiorted Member Username: Tiorted Post Number: 74 Registered: 02-2006 |
horribly annoying pop ups, i need to upgrade my firefox pop up blocker | ||
Smogboy Member Username: Smogboy Post Number: 4844 Registered: 11-2004 |
Just out of idle curiosity, has anyone ever really been informed,enlightened or bought anything by a pop-up ad? Or is it general disgust for these things?? | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 441 Registered: 07-2006 |
If you are getting popups, you may need to check your browser settings, or even upgrade your browser, since i believe all of them have pop-up blockers. even when using ie7, i do not see any pop-ups. normally, i use firefox w/adblock, and don't see any ads, ever, except for that bar down the left side of the freep page, and the near-identical one down the right of detnews. anyone that does use firefox, i highly recommend adblock and the filterset.G updater. I don't blame you for avoiding pages that use popups, they are definitely annoying, and i've never understood why companies insist on continuing to use them. Unobtrusive banner ads are fine, but the in-your-face popups are just insulting. | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 71 Registered: 02-2007 |
All - no question pop-ups are a PITA, and so are commercials on TV & radio, & ads in magazines. But does anyone really believe that the News & Freep publish only for our amusement? Any publisher with professional staff is a business and they depend upon advertisers to pay the freight. Kill the ads and either the papers go bankrupt or they adopt the "public" model and suckle off of tax money and pass the hat during pledge drives. The presence of any kind of advertising tells me (this is a believer in capitalism speaking)that "they work" because if they didn't the advertisers would pull out. I feel that I'm pretty unique among my age group: I buy my music because if everyone just takes it then my rock heroes will go out of biz, just as the papers will if the advertisers pull out. | ||
Scottr Member Username: Scottr Post Number: 443 Registered: 07-2006 |
Craig - I don't have a problem with advertising itself, it is the manner of advertising that I complain about - the popups, or the obnoxiously flashing banner ads. There are better ways to advertise than that. Pissing off your reader is never a good business practice, and these do that well. Fortunately for the freep and news, pop-up blockers are standard in all the major browsers these days, so many people never even see them enough to get pissed off. I have actually put google ads on my adblock whitelist, because they don't take away from the content of the site, and i want to support the sites I frequent. However, if a site has 50% of the screen with google ads, and 50% content, i'll do something about that, but an unobtrusive ad along the side or top or bottom, does not bother me. | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 478 Registered: 11-2005 |
In a dying industry, when no one is buying the paper anymore, you've gotta do something to stay in business. Their daily circulation is half of what it was in the 1980s, my friend. Literally. | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 1742 Registered: 12-2005 |
I don't seem to have a problem with these websites. There's an old trick for blocking ads that worked very well, as I recall. It's discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H osts_file. The hosts file on your computer acts as a local Domain Name Server. It can be used to redirect links intended for an advertiser's server back to 127.0.0.1 (your own computer) instead which won't deliver the ad. It's a pretty shrewd little trick. I've used the hosts file at http://accs-net.com/hosts/ before but the resources listed at the end of the Wiki article may be more current. These hosts files can be enormous because there are so many advertisers. It took a while for my system to digest the file the first time but thereafter I noticed no lag. (Message edited by Jimaz on March 21, 2007) |
