Please ATS Members and Non-Members alike, STOP Blocking Ads- Or there may be NO ATS at ALL

I'm seriously thinking of throughing in the towel here.. just for
giggles I loaded IE ( I Never do that), and loaded ATS home page.

So an ad grabbed my attention "Sparktrust.com" A link to
a *cough* "PC Cleaner".. As i work in IT i know what these so called
pc cleaners are.. normally malware that are anything but cleaners or antivirus..

Here is what pcthreatremoval.net has to say about this little nugget !

Don't forget this is the first one i picked out at random!!!

here is the link and instructions on how to remove.
If this post is removed I am gone!

it could be over-sensitivity but this continuing discussion feels somewhat tawdry; to the casual browser it might appear there's 'trouble at 'mill'. still, i suppose transparency trumps such probably minor concerns. good luck and here's to a happy ending, so to speak.

a reply to: rigel4

Next time you see an ad like that, try to see if you can get the redirect link and/or element HTML to identify the ad network.

Ads like those are supposed to be negated across all our ad networks.

Also, it's very strange that a low-quality ad like that would appear amongst your first impressions -- which usually deliver much higher quality ads.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

When you put it in that light, it makes things entirely different. I use adblock, I've whitelisted ATS but I never knew they actually charged websites to be whitelisted, for some reason I always thought it was an open source project and nobody made money from it.

However with that in mind, it's not fair to blame the users, I'm sure like me, most don't know there's actually extortion going on and to them it's just blocking ads they don't wish to see as there ARE intrusive ads that popup and keep giving you more popup messages when you try to close them down.

Also in terms of the business, most businesses when they are suffering loss in revenue generally downsize, isn't there anything you can cut to lower your overheads ? I'm think the whole image & video hosting, do we really need something like this when there's literally hundreds of free hosting options for that kind of thing ?

originally posted by: rigel4
I'm seriously thinking of throughing in the towel here.. just for
giggles I loaded IE ( I Never do that), and loaded ATS home page.

So an ad grabbed my attention "Sparktrust.com" A link to
a *cough* "PC Cleaner".. As i work in IT i know what these so called
pc cleaners are.. normally malware that are anything but cleaners or antivirus..

Here is what pcthreatremoval.net has to say about this little nugget !

Don't forget this is the first one i picked out at random!!!

here is the link and instructions on how to remove.
If this post is removed I am gone!

I can sell anything through an ad network as I long as I pay enough to out bid anybody else. the ad didn't give you cancer or your computer a virus. Your point is stupid.

a reply to: rigel4

Whaat? i click the (snip) out of everything i see on my screen, i don`t need dat, click to enlarge? well absofrigginglutely!

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord
a reply to: rigel4

Next time you see an ad like that, try to see if you can get the redirect link and/or element HTML to identify the ad network.

Ads like those are supposed to be negated across all our ad networks.

Also, it's very strange that a low-quality ad like that would appear amongst your first impressions -- which usually deliver much higher quality ads.

I'll be sure to do that !
Very frustrating time SO..

originally posted by: blupblup

originally posted by: Iamnotadoctor
a reply to: SkepticOverlord

You know what would be a good start?
Censor threads like this.
A thread like this is redundant.
Do you want to open the floodgates and have every clown on here making a thread about all of this?
Star and flag whoring, and the lameness of it....

You should make a thread asking for people to stop making threads!!

Your contribution to this thread... Wow.

originally posted by: rigel4
I'm seriously thinking of throughing in the towel here.. just for
giggles I loaded IE ( I Never do that), and loaded ATS home page.

So an ad grabbed my attention "Sparktrust.com" A link to
a *cough* "PC Cleaner".. As i work in IT i know what these so called
pc cleaners are.. normally malware that are anything but cleaners or antivirus..

Here is what pcthreatremoval.net has to say about this little nugget !

Don't forget this is the first one i picked out at random!!!

here is the link and instructions on how to remove.
If this post is removed I am gone!

Toodles bro.
Oh, you won't actually leave...

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord

originally posted by: Rabb420
that was pretty harsh equating ad block users with criminal thiefs....

Not really. Some additional clarity...

Back in 2002, an enterprising person was buying stacks of NYC newspapers, ripping out most of the ads and inserts, then reselling the "slimmed down" versions to people entering the subway. He was charging 50 cents more than the cover price.

He was arrested, and spent time in jail for criminal copyright violation.


There is caselaw in the US and Europe that specifies the HTML structure of a web page is a copyright protected asset of the publisher and/or creator.

In France, Germany and the UK, class action lawsuits are being started against the ad-blocking companies for criminal copyright violation. The case is relatively strong, the ad-blocking firms are profiting from modifying a copyright protected item without permission from the copyright holder.

There's rumors of similar class action suits in the US, but the IAB is trying to negotiate an alternative first.


The extortion of the ad-blocking firms have also recently caught the attention of district attorneys in the US. In NY, an investigation is supposed to be in progress.


There is strong evidence that much of what the ad-blockers do is in violation of more than one law.



It's not that harsh then, is it?

Now while I somewhat agree with you, this is a very bad example. No one is using ad-block to access your site and passing the ad-free content at a price.

In fact, what's happening here is people are taking your newspaper, and removing the ads for their reading pleasure. Nothing remotely illegal about that.

Though I do understand your frustration, I don't think asking users to remove ad-block will do much. Most of the revenue comes from people actually engaging the ad. I think there are other ways to monetize this platform - perhaps offering paid members the ability to post images for example.

So much salt.

originally posted by: VictorVonDoom
Why would I block ads? How else am I going to find horny singles in my area?

That comment made me laugh out load in room full of people and everyone just stopped what they were doing and looked at me.. lol...

a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

You don't understand my young apprentice .. go back to your comics
and live your life.. technical things are not for you!

originally posted by: VictorVonDoom
Why would I block ads? How else am I going to find horny singles in my area?

HA!

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

That didn't take long!

www.sparktrust.com...


sparktrust.com/lps/speedupslowcomputer/?gclid=COyH453possCFVEo0wodonEBjw

a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

No, but that ad IS virtual cancer

PC Cleaner is scareware, it tries to scam unsuspecting user into purchasing it when it does relatively little and lies about issues on your system in order to get you to pay up

THIS type of ad is the very reason most users use adblocking software

originally posted by: rigel4
a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

You don't understand my young apprentice .. go back to your comics
and live your life.. technical things are not for you!

Said the guy who doesn't understand ad networks... Maybe I will go back to my comics. Arguing with idiots is exhausting.

originally posted by: Discotech
a reply to: TheAmazingYeti

No, but that ad IS virtual cancer

PC Cleaner is scareware, it tries to scam unsuspecting user into purchasing it when it does relatively little and lies about issues on your system in order to get you to pay up

THIS type of ad is the very reason most users use adblocking software

Pretty much the purpose of any ad... To get you to feel an emotion and take action.

EDIT: Like Nef said. They're impression based. Nobody is asking to click on them. Don't like it? ignore it.