To ATS Staff...

This is a rant because I don't know where else to post this. I have been reading the forums for many years. I enjoy the content. I am not particularly active as far as posting and such but over the past few months I have been getting very irritated with your ad service. Now I understand that you all rely on ad revenue to keep up and going but the ads I get lately are the ones where I am reading an article and it takes me to one them pages saying "your phone has a virus" or "you won a prize". Its those ones that pop up on mobile and you cannot close them without totally closing your browser tab and restarting to continue reading. It is ridiculous! I am fine with the annoying ads with the "close ad" function but the ones that take over my whole browser are absurd and need to be get rid of. It disrupts the experience for the non subscribed user and considering that forums are a dying thing, others who stumble upon the site.

Imagine being someone who comes across ATS never hearing of it before and find the content to be awesome but being bombarded by those horrible spam ads on mobile would deter them from sticking around. Something needs to change. I will continue to like visiting this site but I am about to pull the plug as I hate the ad service interruptions. I have screenshots if you want to see what I am talking about. But I imagine I am not the only one who deals with this crap.

C'mon guys... you do have a bunch of people who like this site, keep it somewhat professional and not make it like some spam site for the typical user. Help keep us engaged with as little interruption as possible.

/rant

Amen brother! I keep getting the “congratulations” loop ad. It undoubtedly comes from here. I have missed several days checking the live feed because of it. I shut it down (phone), clear history, clear cookies and data, and then BAM! Right back in the loop.
Then when I log back on it says “website not secure”.

It really sucks because I like to come here first, then cross check stuff through other sources.

a reply to: TexasTruth

I understand completely. It's sad. This is one of the few "forums" I enjoy. This crap will kill it totally. No one wants that crap unless you click on a WaPo post
Lol

detected 12 potential trackers on this page.

What is a third party tracker?
When you visit a webpage parts of the page may come from domains and servers other than the one you asked to visit. This is an essential feature of hypertext, but it has also come to be a serious privacy problem. On the modern Web, embedded images and code often use cookies and other methods to track your browsing habits — often to display advertisements. The domains that do this are called "third party trackers", and you can read more about how they work here.

[snip]

Hint,hint.

The hell with it. ATS doesn't seem to want to do anything about this after it has been happening so long so you take the incentive and add Privacy Badger extension to your browser....

Privacy Badger detected 12 potential trackers on this page.

I don't get that crap.

a reply to: SkinnySteve

But I won an iPhone.
Oh, wait a sec ...

a reply to: Cymru

Hahaha! If it is too good to be true...

originally posted by: CharlesT
The hell with it. ATS doesn't seem to want to do anything about this after it has been happening so long so you take the incentive and add Privacy Badger extension to your browser....

Privacy Badger detected 12 potential trackers on this page.

I don't get that crap.

We shouldn't have to deal with it in the first place. ATS is not just some "low life conspiracy forum" as some would like to think. This is actually a rather educational site. I love checking in the Space Exploration and Science areas. I also enjoy coming here to read the political news that is the hot topic of the time. This forum has good material, there is really something for everyone here. Off-Topic forums can suck one compared to this.

[snip]

Hell, I tell the staff what, if I can get a minimal intrusive experience (no pop ups I cannot click back to leave page) I will happily subscribe and/or donate to help the site keep going. Don't let this site die, but also know you have a strong follower base and don't take that for granted these days. Let's all enjoy the last decade tops of these kind of sites existing before net neutrality becomes a reality and Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc take over and set the rules.

You can report intrusive adverts.

You can reach a certain number of postings and adverts disappear.

I get no ads and don't use an ad blocker.

That's life, not everything is free.

Why cant ats have no ads like reddit. Figure something out like ats gold or ats silver if you have to. Ads are the lazy way to make revenue.

a reply to: SkinnySteve

[snip]. I haven't seen an ad in like 10 years. Not ashamed, and I won't apologize, so come at me bro.

a reply to: and14263

This is a perfect example of somebody who has no idea what we're talking about.

What SkinnySteve and so many of us have experienced aren't even ads; it's browser hijacking, through the advertisements (the timing of the redirect always coincides with a reload of one of the banner ads). This isn't a "Pop Up". Whatever web browser you're using is suddenly bounced through 2, 3, or even 4 URLs in rapid succession. Then it ends on some fake-ass page from which you're unable to use the "BACK" button... a page that might show something that looks like a "Wheel Of Fortune" game, possibly even boasting a stolen jpg of the Walmart or Costco brand logo for added effect. Sometimes it ends at a page that quite effectively simulates an authentic warning screen for your phone/tablet/PC (tailored to your device), insisting that you have a virus and you must click "OK" to fix it, or else face permanent damage or failure of your phone.

These are all complete BS, of course. The web page to which these malicious browser hijacks take you exist for only one reason: to hope we take the bait and click something on that page, which will lead to a spyware and/or malware download and installation... and if you're naive enough to swallow the hook, they would no doubt end up with your identity and bank info. I really pity older folks, or those without any net experience at all, who stumble upon ATS looking for truth and logical discussion, only to end up at one of those pages.

I was just about to bail on ATS permanently for all these reasons; the experience was becoming absolutely unbearable. Then, about 10 days ago, these malicious browser hijacks finally stopped for me. I'm seeing 3x more banner ads now, but as Steve said, I've got no problem closing those out as long as I can finish reading a post, or writing a comment. When I'm about 250 words into a well thought out and organized response, and I'm bounced to some HORSES#!T website telling me I've won a $1k Walmart gift card, well...

It's enough to piss off the Pope.

-MWNN

It makes viewing this site on my phone impossible. It's not even a few seconds before I get to the homepage that I'm blocked by ads. I don't have any problems with the ads on my computer so that's the only time I come on. I don't miss much, but I no longer kill time on this site while waiting around town. I don't usually contribute while on my phone anyways since typing lengthy comments becomes a big convoluted mess.

a reply to: SkinnySteve

I also had no problem with the ads, didn't mind supporting. As soon as I started getting hijacked, HELLO ad block!
So now both PC and iPhone are ad free!

originally posted by: and14263
You can report intrusive adverts.

You can reach a certain number of postings and adverts disappear.

I get no ads and don't use an ad blocker.

That's life, not everything is free.

Which is odd, because ive been here since 08 and have countless posts, and still get tons of ads

I feel like I have to rush to post before a pop up happens.

Congratulations...

So frustrating when they pop up before you have time to send our your post

originally posted by: M4nWithNoN4me
a reply to: and14263

This is a perfect example of somebody who has no idea what we're talking about.

What SkinnySteve and so many of us have experienced aren't even ads; it's browser hijacking, through the advertisements (the timing of the redirect always coincides with a reload of one of the banner ads). This isn't a "Pop Up". Whatever web browser you're using is suddenly bounced through 2, 3, or even 4 URLs in rapid succession. Then it ends on some fake-ass page from which you're unable to use the "BACK" button... a page that might show something that looks like a "Wheel Of Fortune" game, possibly even boasting a stolen jpg of the Walmart or Costco brand logo for added effect. Sometimes it ends at a page that quite effectively simulates an authentic warning screen for your phone/tablet/PC (tailored to your device), insisting that you have a virus and you must click "OK" to fix it, or else face permanent damage or failure of your phone.

These are all complete BS, of course. The web page to which these malicious browser hijacks take you exist for only one reason: to hope we take the bait and click something on that page, which will lead to a spyware and/or malware download and installation... and if you're naive enough to swallow the hook, they would no doubt end up with your identity and bank info. I really pity older folks, or those without any net experience at all, who stumble upon ATS looking for truth and logical discussion, only to end up at one of those pages.

I was just about to bail on ATS permanently for all these reasons; the experience was becoming absolutely unbearable. Then, about 10 days ago, these malicious browser hijacks finally stopped for me. I'm seeing 3x more banner ads now, but as Steve said, I've got no problem closing those out as long as I can finish reading a post, or writing a comment. When I'm about 250 words into a well thought out and organized response, and I'm bounced to some HORSES#!T website telling me I've won a $1k Walmart gift card, well...

It's enough to piss off the Pope.

-MWNN

You're angry.

Yes, I have no idea what I'm talking about...

But hang on - The OP talked about adverts so I aslo talked about adverts.

Whatever, I don't get pop-ups or adverts.

Maybe take a chill pill and follow through with your 'threat' of leaving ATS.... It's probably better for everyone.

Let's see; we've got a 2014 member, and a 2015 member, with a combined total of 271 posts here.

Seems legit to me.

And....a double play!

originally posted by: and14263

originally posted by: M4nWithNoN4me
a reply to: and14263

This is a perfect example of somebody who has no idea what we're talking about.

What SkinnySteve and so many of us have experienced aren't even ads; it's browser hijacking, through the advertisements (the timing of the redirect always coincides with a reload of one of the banner ads). This isn't a "Pop Up". Whatever web browser you're using is suddenly bounced through 2, 3, or even 4 URLs in rapid succession. Then it ends on some fake-ass page from which you're unable to use the "BACK" button... a page that might show something that looks like a "Wheel Of Fortune" game, possibly even boasting a stolen jpg of the Walmart or Costco brand logo for added effect. Sometimes it ends at a page that quite effectively simulates an authentic warning screen for your phone/tablet/PC (tailored to your device), insisting that you have a virus and you must click "OK" to fix it, or else face permanent damage or failure of your phone.

These are all complete BS, of course. The web page to which these malicious browser hijacks take you exist for only one reason: to hope we take the bait and click something on that page, which will lead to a spyware and/or malware download and installation... and if you're naive enough to swallow the hook, they would no doubt end up with your identity and bank info. I really pity older folks, or those without any net experience at all, who stumble upon ATS looking for truth and logical discussion, only to end up at one of those pages.

I was just about to bail on ATS permanently for all these reasons; the experience was becoming absolutely unbearable. Then, about 10 days ago, these malicious browser hijacks finally stopped for me. I'm seeing 3x more banner ads now, but as Steve said, I've got no problem closing those out as long as I can finish reading a post, or writing a comment. When I'm about 250 words into a well thought out and organized response, and I'm bounced to some HORSES#!T website telling me I've won a $1k Walmart gift card, well...

It's enough to piss off the Pope.

-MWNN

You're angry.

Yes, I have no idea what I'm talking about...

But hang on - The OP talked about adverts so I aslo talked about adverts.

Whatever, I don't get pop-ups or adverts.

Maybe take a chill pill and follow through with your 'threat' of leaving ATS.... It's probably better for everyone.

Ugh!!! Your posts remind me of narcissistic, angst ridden 15 year olds that just want to argue and piss the world off for kicks and grins because they know all. I have been a member since 2007, 11 years, way above and lots of posts back in the day, I’ve been semi-retired for a while but had to comment to your rude posts and correct you.
My browser was hijacked 3 times 2 nights ago, it was the first time that kind of spam happened to me on ATS and it was frustrating and maddening to have to keep opening the site, find your thread and where you were in that thread 3 times, I finally gave up.
I hope this is not an indication of future trends, in my 11 years here they have always fixed ad issues when they have been alerted to the issue, hope they continue to do so. Thank you for starting thread OP, I was over it but I’m a silent sufferer and wouldn’t have bothered to alert them or post here but we can thank and142?? for that push