If You're Blocking Ads While On ATS, You Get A Big Ugly Message

a reply to: ForteanOrg

I do. That can make for some very outlandish contortions, and have unpredictable results, regardless of my reliability level.

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: ForteanOrg

I do. That can make for some very outlandish contortions, and have unpredictable results, regardless of my reliability level.

Oh, well. I am known to be predictable too - I'm ALWAYS unpredictable

But I do adhere to a rather strict set of ethical standards. The interpretation thereof is, alas, rather like reading tea leaves: if you can, you see the future. If you can't, you see - well, tea leaves.

a reply to: ForteanOrg

It all depends. Hero? Coward? Opportunist? Sensible User? Bandit? ATS critic? Hippie? Anarchist? Stupid?

What would one call Snowden?

Oh, well, Snowden. Okay, granted: Snowden is in a different league than the rogue ATS user that installs an AdBlocker.

Good Goddess, that is kinda dramatic.

I enjoy your posts, get back to what you do best, we need the members to strengthen the community, not continue on a pointless crusade over a nothing issue.

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
Good Goddess, that is kinda dramatic.

It is, isn't it?

I enjoy your posts, get back to what you do best, we need the members to strengthen the community, not continue on a pointless crusade over a nothing issue.

Thank you for the kind words.

I'm not on a crusade, I'm merely trying to find out what the correct (ethical) behaviour is for both ATS owners and the users. Also, I don't believe this is a 'nothing issue' - actually, I believe that it is VERY important. If we don't get this right, ATS will die, it's that simple.

We are supposed to have our discussion on this existing thread. Maybe we do't want to add to a thread where the voting [stars] have deliberately been disabled.
At least [mods], add the comments from the closed thread to this one, so we CAN continue with the discussion.
This thread feels like a pain in the arse for ATS but was put up to show us that 'they' 'let us' discuss this issue.
Only problem is that I had to hunt high and low to find this thread [first time round] and we can't express our agreement with posts with stars.

Ridiculous.

originally posted by: Hecate666
We are supposed to have our discussion on this existing thread. Maybe we do't want to add to a thread where the voting [stars] have deliberately been disabled.
At least [mods], add the comments from the closed thread to this one, so we CAN continue with the discussion.
This thread feels like a pain in the arse for ATS but was put up to show us that 'they' 'let us' discuss this issue.
Only problem is that I had to hunt high and low to find this thread [first time round] and we can't express our agreement with posts with stars.

Ridiculous.

If I had the option, I would have starred your post.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

IF you don't want Ads blocked, then make them more bearable . Not only that, but in addition to covering your site, your ads are blocking the actual content on this site, and they are also redirecting when you just pass over them. I do not want to be tracked, and adblock offers malware safety.

forced no adblock = no safety = risky

originally posted by: KaibaTheJedi
and dont shove 50 of them on each page!

There's never that many on any page.

There are no pages on the site where more than 8% of the available pixels are occupied by ads.

your ads are blocking the actual content on this site,

There are no ads that block content without a user-action of some kind.

and they are also redirecting when you just pass over them!

No ads are supposed redirect without a user action. If you encounter one, please post the details here.

Even worse, your ads are known to contain malware/adware/tracking devices.

This has never happened on ATS. While we've encountered ads that directed users to unscrupulous sites when clicked on, those have been dealt with quickly.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Thread drift, I know - but did you change the avatar display?

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Sorry for the rant, I wasn't in a good mood today.

As for the redirect problem, I've had this problem mainly on my ipad. When I pass some ads, I am immediately redirected to the App Store to some random game or app. This gets annoying. Also when clicking on a forum category , many times a few banner ads come up that blocks threads, thus making it harder to see what has been posted.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

I can understand wanting people to see the ads, but it's a real problem for some of us. On m cell, no real issues. The ads can be scrolled through, and I can browse the site fairly well.

Not so on the computer, not anymore. Used to have it disabled, but lately, I literally can see NOTHING of the site if it is. Video ads pop up, and will NOT go away, and the entire site itself is simply GONE. So, seems I can either not access ATS on my computer, or I can have it restricted. Neither seems like a good solution. Ads to the side are fine, but ads that take over the pages are not. That's all I get, too.

So, what are we supposed to do? If more than half the time I try to use the site, I can't, because of some full screen ad, and I can't block without violating TOS, what's the solution?

I ignore ads, as a rule. Being a stubborn sort, I tend to avoid companies that saturate the internet with ads. The more something is pushed the more I avoid it. I'm quirky that way. So, the ones that don't block the page, I can see, but I don't use them. The full screen, eat-the-site-and-make-it-unusable-while-trying-to-redirect-my-page stuff? There have to be better choices. Little banners at the top don't bother me, but when the site is useless, there is an issue.

So, if people see less of me, this is why. If I log in and can't see the site because of some stupid video, I will simply close it. No ad views that way, no content, nothing. I don't see that helping the site revenue increase, and I can't be the only one with that sort of issue.

All considered with some ways the site has changed in recent years, I guess I can deal.

I also don't think it's unreasonable for people to be able to see where the money goes. We do, after all, provide the usage and content that makes advertisers want to have ads here in the first place. If we can't use the site, what then?

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord

originally posted by: KaibaTheJedi
and dont shove 50 of them on each page!

There's never that many on any page.

There are no pages on the site where more than 8% of the available pixels are occupied by ads.

your ads are blocking the actual content on this site,

There are no ads that block content without a user-action of some kind.

and they are also redirecting when you just pass over them!

No ads are supposed redirect without a user action. If you encounter one, please post the details here.

Even worse, your ads are known to contain malware/adware/tracking devices.

This has never happened on ATS. While we've encountered ads that directed users to unscrupulous sites when clicked on, those have been dealt with quickly.

I had one this evening. Some video, wanted to redirect he page, and I had to close it completely to make it stop. Didn't listen, because the sound was muted, so can't say what it was. Some woman talking. Very annoying! Only browser seting that require me to approve redirect stopped that. And, no, I didn't click anything. All I did was refresh the top stories page, and BOOM< there it was, instead of ATS.