Flash Ads

[Eternalknight]

I also have Internet Security running from here. I can see the En World logo, but not the ads; the same is true on the RPGHost forums.

As to why, I have no idea.

 

[Buttercup]

That's interesting. How does it distinguish between, say, the banner ad at the top of this page and the EN World logo next to it? How does it know what to block and what to allow?

I have no idea. However, the logo always displays, and the ad never does. Once in a while, an ad will get through, in which case I open Norton, and drag the ad onto a little icon that appears. Poof! The ad is gone, and moreover, I'll never be bothered by an ad from that url again.

Edit: I just conducted a little test. I went to google news and started following links with the ad blocker turned on. No banners, and no popups did I see. Then I turned it off and visited the same sites. Blech. How does anyone stand surfing at all, with all the popups and annoying crap that cover most pages? The signal to noise ratio is unacceptable to me without my dear, sweet Norton running.

Also, regarding the question of who likes popups, at work (a public library) we have a number of public computers which end up getting infested with adware and spyware daily. (And why can our IT department not come up with a solution? Don't get me started.) This stuff usually gets loaded and installed by users who aren't very savvy. They see a box pop up, and they don't understand that it's crap. If it says "click here" then they do. After all, the computer told them too, right? We spend several hours every day rebuilding the machines from the server. Pain in the tookus, I can tell you. But my point, and I do have one, is that inexperienced internet users, who are dazzled by bells & whistles, enjoy popups or rather aren't discerning enough to understand that they are garbage.

 

[Castellan]

I also have Internet Security running from here. I can see the En World logo, but not the ads; the same is true on the RPGHost forums.

As to why, I have no idea.

Two possibilities, here, depending on how the software does its filtering. First, is a code-based solution. ENWorld's banners are nestled between <script> tags and the file is called banner.js.php . Second, banner ads usually conform to a set size standard (i.e. standard width and height). Most ad blockers know the various standards and filter images that conform to that standard. In some ad blockers, this can cause a problem because sites often contain non-advertising banners of the same size (i.e. logo) and filter those out, anyway.

I think ENWorld's logo image is a non-standard size, so it doesn't get filtered by default.

I think it might be important to point out something else. I surf with popups blocked and ads blocked. But, I altered the rules for ENWorld, so banner ads still turn on. That way, I can see ads that really are targeted to me and I'm helping my favorite website. If your ad blocker supports site-based rules, I'd strongly urge you to turn ads on for the sites you really do want to support.

In my case, ads for ENWorld will remain on as long as they're not annoying and obtrusive. In the case of flash ads, the ones that flash obnoxious colors or jitter annoyingly will get a block smackdown slapped on the site, so please avoid those.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Also, regarding the question of who likes popups, at work (a public library) we have a number of public computers which end up getting infested with adware and spyware daily. (And why can our IT department not come up with a solution? Don't get me started.) This stuff usually gets loaded and installed by users who aren't very savvy. They see a box pop up, and they don't understand that it's crap. If it says "click here" then they do. After all, the computer told them too, right? We spend several hours every day rebuilding the machines from the server. Pain in the tookus, I can tell you. But my point, and I do have one, is that inexperienced internet users, who are dazzled by bells & whistles, enjoy popups or rather aren't discerning enough to understand that they are garbage.

I'm responsible for the upkeep of 50+ public PCs here at the library I work at (and thats just a fraction of the total # of public PCs here, not including staff PCs). In order to keep from having to rebuild the PCs due to the same issues, we have taken several steps to insure that users cannot install software. the best one is "Deep Freeze" http://www.deepfreezeusa.com/index.htm. Basically, it makes a copy of the hard drive in a seperate partition on the HD, and when the PC is rebooted, it rewrites the image of the HD over anything that may have been installed since the last reboot (this takes only a few seconds more than rebooting a PC without the same software). This wipes out any cookies, viruses, spyware, and unauthorized software that may have been installed. The only problem with it is that you need to "thaw" a frozen PC before running windows updates, and then "freeze" them again to incorporate those changes. Forget to freeze them, and anything that happens becomes part of the image. Its much easier and faster than rebuilding the PCs from the server each day, and it eliminates mid day crashes when someone screws something up. Just reboot and you are back to the standard dektop build.

 

[alsih2o]

wow. i just thought 'russ stopped using ads on the boards.

i LIKED the ads on enworld. i felt i was keeping up with what was going on that way.

 

[Buttercup]

If your ad blocker supports site-based rules, I'd strongly urge you to turn ads on for the sites you really do want to support.

You are right, Castellan. I will check on this tonight when I get home. And really, I *liked* the EN World ads. I mean, ads about d20 stuff? What could be bad about that?