Sultan's Casino is really annoying, it keeps leaping blue boxes over things, I really hate it and hope it gets destroyed.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
ARRRRRRR!!!!
Normally I don't complain, I understand that business is business after all, but every so often something deserves to be said.Sultan's Casino is really annoying, it keeps leaping blue boxes over things, I really hate it and hope it gets destroyed.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
You're killing me dabo... since the boards have come back up there have been absoultely ZERO banner ads on 90% of the pages yet of course an ad occassionally appears on the 10% that does have ads is the one thing that gets some feedback.I don't know anything about this Sultan's Casino ad but I'll try and keep an eye open for it.
-SB
I repeat my point - your responses seem over-aggressive today.The pop-ups are really annoying and intrusive and seem to come and go.
We all appreciate what you guys are doing to keep these great boards open - but if we have an issue please don't bite our heads off, mostly there's a point behind it!
>I repeat my point - your
>responses seem over-aggressive today.
>
>The pop-ups are really annoying and
>intrusive and seem to come
>and go.The popups are an unfortunate reality. Yes, they are annoying, but even more annoying are the hundreds of $$$ hosting fees that appear on my credit card every month. I already freely give significantly of my life and time to maintain this community, there is only so much that I can also give of my wallet.
Yes, the ads come and go -- because the alternative is for them to come and never go -- an alternative I don't think anyone wants. The alternative is to have no popups but also no website.
-SB
>You're killing me dabo...Sorry. The problem is that every time I scroll my curser over that ad it sends a big blue box over a large portion of the screen. It's intrusively aggravating.
Actually, the pop ups don't annoy me that much ($$$!) but I have also been getting the blue boxes on my screen as well. I thought maybe it was just my computer, but now I've found out that it may be linked to an ad.Just wanted to say that I was getting those boxes too!
Just as I feared might happen, it's proliferating, more banner ads are now turning into pop-ups.Note to advertisers: These ad guys are ripping you off by making ads whch only turn people against you.
Click on surviiivor.com and watch the pop ups literally fill your screen in seconds. They even have one that requires you to shut off your browser in order to clear it off the screen.
Okay, I'll keep it in perspective, there definitely are worse things going on out there. And I certainly don't want to cost Webby any revenue.I only wanted to register my complaint, basically. Some things just earn the "Can You Hear Me Now?" Award for being counter-productive, and advertisers and the ad hacks they hire ought to be made aware of that.
By the way, don't you just hate the pop-ups that take up the whole screen even the tool bar? I do.
PS: Those things that crawl from the left of the screen into the middle sometimes, what are they called?
PPS: Thanks, Webby, you're a good sport.
With you on that - pop-ups are the worst - don't know how Webby did it but on my server they've now gone.However if they're taking over your toolbar it's probably hijackware. Try this site for help:
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm
Thanks for the link! I've never experienced those sort of popups on Blows that I can recall, but they happened a few times while I was lurking around the net while Blows was down (because of server problems only) for awhile. Perspectivewise, Ice is right, we got things pretty good here.
SMILES ARE FREE
LAST EDITED ON 09-30-02 AT 12:18 PM (EST)No doubt, IceCat! I went there once and lasted about 5 minutes, those are some obnoxious popups! The thing that bugs me now is that I get some junk emails that sneak through my mail filter, and if I scroll on them in Outlook, I get a pop up ad, that's really annoying.
I've learned a few tricks for getting rid of pop-ups, including the blue box you are talking about.Most of the time, I quickly mouse click on the area that is still visible behind the box and the box disappears.
Also, I right click my mouse on ads or the little bar that appears at the bottom of the screen and I get a menu that allows me to click on Close to get rid of the ad completely. I use Microsoft Explorer. I don't know if that helps, Dabo.
From the book of Survivor 5:2: Tanya, maybe you couldn't stomach the seafood because it was waaay too Chewy!!!
For those who are newish to the site:
in August 2001 Webby started a Pledge drive to raise money to move to the new server, and the DAWs of SB came through.To Webby:
I can't speak for others, but I know it makes me unhappy to hear that this site is still a negative cash flow for you, in addition to all the time you volunteer, and I would not mind contributing to the costs through a pledge drive.I am POOR, believe me, but I had no problem coming up with something last time, because I love this site and spend a lot of time here, and I like giving back when I take and enjoy so much.
I'm wondering if a really successful pledge drive could raise enough money to replace the pop-up revenue. Of course, I have no idea how much money we're talking about here, but I wonder if an "End the Ads" drive might not be a huge motivator. As a former dial-up poster, they annoyed me the most because they lengthened the thread-load time. Also, the flashing ones really bother my nerves. So even if there aren't as many, they still bug me and I would like to help put an end to them. (Have tried pop-up stoppers and they don't ever "take" with my computer)
I know that not all the 6000 SB registrants are regulars, but if even 1000 coughed up a minimal amount, surely that would help. Yeah, I know some of us would end up pulling the weight for others, but the thing about a drive with a specific goal is that the deadbeats will have to feel guilt until the goal is achieved.
I know that guilt well. I'm one of those occasional PBS watchers who never makes the phone banks ring, and I admit it. But there it's easier to think that some wealthy patron of public TV can do much more than I can.
Here, not contributing just puts the bills on Webby.
If you play, why not pay? Less than a movie ticket or a couple movie rentals would probably make a difference, and those only give you a few hours of pleasure, whereas SB is here 24/7...
I think that's a great idea! And I just noticed that the Paypal and Amazon donation links aren't on every page. I dunno how much that'd help, but surely it couldn't hurt.
LAST EDITED ON 09-30-02 AT 07:39 PM (EST)Glad you like it Dave...
I have to say that I ALWAYS ignore donation links and I don't think I'm alone.
In the past, I have given when someone made a specific pitch in the form of a drive with a goal. I need the nudge, ya know?
Edited to add that the bandwagon effect gets me in gear, the notion that everyone's giving at once. Kind of like--everyone who's cool is going to Woodstock, be there or be square.
Not that I made it to Woodstock--simply insert popular lemming movement of your choice in its place ...
"Not that I made it to Woodstock"I almost made it to Woodstock, OFG, as I was attending school in NY then. I turned back because the traffic was so bad, I didn't want to abandon my car, and besides--how great could one concert be? Have been kicking myself ever since!!!
Next time I log on, I'll bring my credit card. And the pop-ups don't bother me particularly. I just clear 'em out when they start lining up four or more deep. They are less annoying than all the email porn-site come-ons I have to delete daily.
LOL Swami--
I'm glad one or two others here are around my age...
I was in Taos that summer with a broken down car and NY seemed, no was, way too far away.Webby hasn't said yea or nay, but I know how he hates to ask for money, so I think I'll take the initiative and "pop up" over on OT, because popups or no, Webby shouldn't have to pay for hosting AND run the site for free.
Whatever it takes, I'm in. It's not just the pop-ups - I don't think anyone should be obliged to be out of pocket for a service we all love! Tell me how much and how!!
Hey, it costs $14.95 to post on Delphi and I hardly post there.
I'm more than willing to pay $10 for this site cuz I get a great deal more enjoyment out of this place. Keep up the great work Webby & all you DAWs!
I just pledged twenty bucks American...That's only like... two or three hundred Canadian!
I challenge all fellow Canadian posters to match or beat that amount!
This is starting to sound like a real telethon!
I pledge, I pledge - but how do we do this?????
LAST EDITED ON 09-30-02 AT 10:07 PM (EST)I am so for this!
I think you click on support the site and it will work. Webby, I am poor, as I really have like no job next week, but will ten dollars work?Ok, Webby, I will try tomorrow as my card isn't going through. But I will do this!
Where is "support the site" to click-on?
It's at the very bottom of the page ~ scroll down ~ it's in the fine blue print between contact webmaster & advertise on this site.Oh ya, just wanted to say that I met your challenge Icey.
Just gonna check some things out. I'll be back.
>>Ok, Webby, I will try tomorrow as my card isn't going through.<<That's funny. Webby's card always seems to work when it's T time! Heehee!
--pledges my fair share.
I know! But I am happy to report that my card worked and I donated to the cause.
I use two browsers. I normally use Mozilla 1.0, free at mozilla.org. It is very similar to Netscape but comes with the lovely feature that you can TURN OFF POP-UPSIf you choose to download and try it go to preferences/advanced/scripts and uncheck the box that says "open unrequested windows". I can't tell you how much this improved my quality of life.
I sometimes use IE (when I must) and am always shocked at how many pop-ups there are here and elsewhere. So go solve your problem ... it is within your control.
None of this should be construed as suggesting that you don't donate. Webby should not have to support our collective habits alone.
OFG pointed me this way to ask my question:I'd love to contribute, but don't have a credit card. Is it possible either to mail Webby a check, or mail someone else a check who would then use paypal for me? Thanks
I'd like an answer to this particular question as well. I haven't used a credit card in 8 years now -- don't need one and don't crave one, and always have managed to get around it without being an inconvenience to me.Is there a way to pay by Interac or send a cheque in? I asked this same question during last year's Blows-a-thon but didn't get an answer so never did get a chance to submit a payment.
I definitely want to meet IceCat's challenge because this place has provided so much enjoyment to the family -- and I think we all found out how valuable SurvivorBlows.com is after the 2-day outage we just went through last week... there simply isn't any other place as good or as interesting as this place.
Let's keep this alive.
Oh... and as for the pop-ups, I've found that if you leave the cookies alone and just empty the cache, the pop-up ads aren't quite so bad, they only pop up once in a while (like on about 5-10% of the threads I go through) and rarely is the intrusive kind (i.e. the kind that blow your eyeballs away with their flashing neon lights), they're easy to ignore and close.
I've also found that if I leave the first pop-up open and return to the original window to surf thru SBlows, it can reduce the frequency of the pop-ups.
http://community.realitytvworld.com/boards/DCForumID6/3032.shtmlGo there to brag that you donated and get a well-earned DAW!
Even if you don't normally read or post on Off Topic ...
Show them that Spoilers, Bashers, Fanatics, and fans of Other Reality Shows are up for helping SB too...Be careful when you visit OT.
Few who visit manage to return without a new bad habit.
Be careful when you visit OT.
Few who visit manage to return without a new bad habit.Tell me about it, LOL!
Habit? What habit?Mon
LAST EDITED ON 10-02-02 AT 01:18 AM (EST)First off, while I thank everyone for their offers, I want to be clear that while I'll certainly welcome any donations that come in during this "drive" (I'm a bit hesitant to use that word because the word "annual" normally follows it, and we did do one in August 2001, so we would seem to be heading down that road...) NO ONE should feel like that need to contribute, not only do I have zero interest in doing so, but given the nature of both the PayPal and Amazon systems, I truly can't even keep track of who gives what unless you go out of your way to attach a note.
If you'd like to make a contribution, then certainly do so, but I don't want anyone to feel obligated or "peer pressured" into doing so. I understand some people, however much they might want to, CAN'T -- and I also know that many folks here contribute in MANY OTHER ways other than monetarily. Personally I'd prefer if all the donors kept the fact that they donated anonymous, but I'm not going to begrudge someone a public mention that they donated if they feel the desire to do so.)
Yes, to answer OFG's original question, when's it's all said and done, and I add up all the various costs associated with this site and then deal with the fact that come every April I have to pay taxes to Uncle Sam on any of those small checks that come in from the various advertising networks (now *THAT* just doesn't seem fair
Since it would take one hell of a pledge drive to be able to completely remove all the popups, I can't make that promise, but I will say that if we do get a siginificant enough amount of donations I'll make sure to reduce the popup ad frequency (as best as I can) in line with whatever donations can be utilized to offset the lost advertising income (I hope that makes sense -- basically if we get more donations, then I can reduce the frequency of the popups since the donations would be replacing the popup revenue -- however before beginning to do that it would be nice to first get to a breakeven level.
As far as donating from something other than PayPal or Amazon, I don't have a good answer for that, I did try and take a check once from a rotating head who shall remain nameless and let's just say it didn't work out, plus I've been burned too many times from my old eBay days, so I really don't want to deal with that even with those that might have nothing more than the absolute best, most sincere intentions in mind.)
As far as the "you should mention it more" comments, I really have to laugh at this -- I had the Amazon and PayPal links on the left side bar of EVERY SINGLE message board page for over SIX MONTHS and during that time got donations totalling.... $1.00.
Then for the past 3-4 months I'd been running the below BIG BANNER AD on the top of probably every 4th or 5th message board page. We're talking hundred of thousands of viewings -- and until about ten days ago when someone for whatever reason made a $10 donation, the last donation had been that $1.00 that I mentioned above.
Humm... big buttons in the left side navigation column didn't work... big banner ads on the top of the pages didn't work -- I got it, maybe I'll try POP-UP'S!
Anyways, one other thing this might allow me to do is to investigate switching us to this other newer, more powerful, and cheaper server. (yes, don't ask -- that's how things work in the wacky computer industry, think of it like that 20 prime time minute cell phone plan you got locked into 2 years ago when now you can get 100 minutes and a phone half the size for the same price.) Switching to such a server would allow us to reduce our ongoing costs, as well as yet again probably 2-3 folding our hosting capacity (as well as POSSIBLY allowing me to employ a very cool trick or two to speed up page load times for dialup users) but the fine print is that I'd have to have some "overlap" period (probably a month or two) where both are running for the same time so that I could both come up to speed as well as slowly migrate different pieces of the website to the new server. Anyways that's a whole different story, but something I'll probably investigate some more...
-SB
Webby,
Of course no pressure on anyone was or is intended.About those omnipresent opportunities to donate:
I do think people like to feel part of a group effort. For example, people can and do donate to the Red Cross at any time, and one assumes the help is always welcome, but when someone throws a benefit effort, donations pour in all at once.I hope I made it clear I started the pledge thread(s) on my own, not because you were asking, and only after people agreed they wanted to give support. I also hope you don't mind.
I threw in the DAW incentive because, well, the site is full of em.
OFG
I think a lot of us forget how much time and effort you put into here and have to wonder what rewards you get from this. To make a donation, be it $1 or $100 helps you in the long run. I don't really care about the pop ups, unless they are really bad. I have selfish reasons, I don't want you to wake up someday and say, ok, I am done.Because of the community you set up, a lot of good has come from this. A lot of friendships have been formed. This is just a small way to say thank you for all you do
Webby last week was a perfect example of how you go way above and beyond the call of duty. While you are right that donations shouldn't be mandatory, for those of us who can afford it we should pitch in. Besides yahoo, i am on this site more then another on the web. On weekends, when i whore myself for online time from friends who have computers, where do i go? Count me in as one of the peeps who blatantly ignored the donation link pre-melt down. Now i'm going to click it, it's the least i can do...
This is only a guess...
What Banners?? You know, SB, that some of us have become adept at mentally blocking out those ubiquitous blinky things. I just don't see them so I thank OFG for raising the issue. I'd love to do my part! I don't post much but I can't go a day without checking in to see what others have to say. LCs Antibootee Contest is a highlight of my week.I spent the last three episodes of S4 on a big boat in the Carribean and my only link to what was going on was to come here from the cyber cafe on board. (I spent more on computer time than on drinks with umbrellas!) We're happy to do our part to support you and your hard work.(OFG and Swami, I missed Woodstock too! I was out here in SF hanging out on Haight Street during the Summer of Love. Funny, but the two of you look so young on the board! LOL!)
Youch! How insensitive that must have sounded to Dabo! Not you, Sweetie! There was this other thing, a long, long time ago. You are much too young to remember!!!
As if popups and flying ads aren't bad enough now there
is an add that is a RINGING PHONE!It is driving me nuts.
WINNER:
Preseason pick: Clay
Ep. 1 analysis: Brian
Rooting for: Helen
UTR Winner: Jake or Penny
Me too ivoryElephant, me too.
“She’s a beauty queen gone bad!” -- Marcellus about Amy.
OMH, and you can't turn it off!!! You have to click on the ad to view it in order to get it off the screen. My husband especially loves it when he's asleep & I'm reading the boards at 1 amPay pal, here I come!
