Obtrusive adverts

[norman valentineParticipant @normanvalentine78682]

I know that adverts help pay for this site but I am finding that the latest ad. by Warco is so irritating that it has put me off ever shopping with them. Every press of a button brings up their banner across the bottom of the screen. I have seen and read their ad. across the top of the page I don’t need to be reminded all the time that they will be at Model World exhibition.

[roy entwistleParticipant @royentwistle24699]

I quite agree,  it will put me off buying from WARCO

Roy

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Warco does not design this web-site, but its advertising fees support it.

I find it irritating too, but we can’t do anything about it because the forum’s host is under the thumb of Google – or is Google- and Google will not permit closing the ads for more than perhaps a single session. Often for no more than a few minutes.

At least the Warco ads are relevant, unlike those for dodgy Asian “dating agencies” and women’s frillies that were foisted on us for a while.

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I suspect a lot of people have a shortcut straight to th elatest replies, if you do the top Warco ad doe snot get seen at least not on a PC. So the smaller banner at the bottom does a better job of getting the message across and Warco get better value for money which will no doubt encourage then to keep paying for an ad which in turn keeps the site going.

 

At least we now mostly have more suitable ads than what were coming up a few weeks ago

[Andrew CrowParticipant @andrewcrow91475]

Advertising is around us all the time and we all moan and groan about it, but put up with it.

There is an alternative, pay for a subscription to the forum, I  bet we would all shout louder if that happened. So if the ads are of no interest just ignore them as most of us probably do.

Andy

[VicParticipant @vic]

It depends what browser you’re using. Safari has a “Hide Distracting Items” feature. I believe it’s only supposed to be a temporary effect but I’ve found it can last quite a while on this website, several days in fact.

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

uBlock origin extension works very well keeping the c**p off my screen on Firefox / laptop

[David AmbroseParticipant @davidambrose86182]

DuckDuckGo is keeping me free of any ads on this site, without me even asking!

 

[howardbParticipant @howardb]

DuckDuckGo works for me too, I don’t get to see any adverts, but i do get a lot of blank spaces, presumably where the ads should be.

[PeteParticipant @pete41194]

Firefox as my browser with it’s pop up blocker activated works for me.

[Mark P.Participant @markp]

I can’t say that I’ve really noticed the advert, mind you I generally ignore most advertising unless I’m looking for something. I feel that there’s more things to be irritated about.

 

Mark P.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

To me the problems now are not so much that Warco keeps reminding me of its existence – and frankly it is relevant to us here and I wish the company every success – but simply that the advertising banner takes up what could be display area leaving a vast blank area down the side, and the “off” switch for it lasts for only a short time instead of the session.

Rather an engineering supplies ad too, than that idiotic bait at the top, the present one looking like something from a cheapskate video-game.

 

As for threats to boycott Warco for daring to advertise… that’s just silly and pointless.

[Graham MeekParticipant @grahammeek88282]

I much prefer the Warco adverts to the dubious female exhibits we are still getting.

I can understand the car adverts having been recently looking for an automatic, but why I should need Printable PDF’s for Free, escapes me.

Regards

Gray,

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

I suspect the Warco ad has expired as the show was the weekend just gone. Not sure what will be found to fill its place but I have let admin know.

The small square one at the top has not been ME related for the last couple of weeks.

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

It’s a dating app at the moment, probably an attempt at romance fraud. Totally inappropriate for an engineering forum

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

I have been getting VFD adverts – not sure if that is a by product of the thread on here last week or my internet searches for the makes that were discussed. The dating adverts are probably because they realise that most of people reading the site are handsome young men like me that their gorgeous Ukrainian ladies are eager to meet.

[Gerard O’TooleParticipant @gerardotoole60348]

I suspect the ads are ‘personalised’ based on searches and perhaps your locations. I am in Ireland and most ads i see are from Irish sites, right now ‘The School of Archaeology’ across the bottom of the page.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

Ironically the Warco ad along the foot has been replaced by one for… Model Engineer & Workshop.

The dodgy dating ads might be by a sort of user-matching; the automatic selection routine calculating that most of us are indeed handsome young men although it sends me Asian rather than Ukrainian ladies.  Totally inappropriate but Google couldn’t care less. It is paid by the “dating agency” whether that is genuine or a fraudulent one masquerading as real. There is a certain irony in the ads pretending to be IQ tests – anyone even reasonably intelligent would not go anywhere near them, of course.

[jimmy bParticipant @jimmyb]

Coukd I ask an open question about these ridiculous adverts?

 

How much would it cost a year to keep the site free of the unwanted ads?

Could there be a possible option for “paid up” members to not be bombarded with the ads? If so, what sort of cost would this be?

 

I do like the site, but these ads are fast becoming an annoyance….

 

Jimb

[Wink HackmanParticipant @winkhackman25989]

As others have said, if you just use a (free) ad-blocker extension to your browser, you won’t see any more ads.

[KEITH BEAUMONTParticipant @keithbeaumont45476]

This is clearly influenced by what ever machine you are viewing on. I am using a Win 11 PC running Firefox and I do not see any Adds  at all . Just a space with the word -Advertisment in it . I have not installed any 3rd party add blocker. Justs straight Firefox.

Keith.

[Nigel Graham 2Participant @nigelgraham2]

The point that the ads pay for the site is valid but if you take steps to block them, does the site still receive the revenue? (Of course, if too many users do that the advertisers might simply withdraw their “support”, which could be self-defeating.)

Really, what we want are for all advertisements to be broadly relevant to the forum, and for them to be displayed so they do not intrude on the discussion window.

Not too much to ask, surely?

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

As Nigel says if the advertisers don’t see a decent return from their ads they will likely not renew. Most will have some form of analytics that allows them to see where visitors to their website come from be that ads here, Google searches, Google targeted (to individual) ads, etc. They also visit the site and if they see people are using blockers and there is not much traffic generated from here they will likely put their money elsewhere.

So think about it would you rather not see adverts or would you rather NOT SEE THE FORUM.

If we take ARC as an example, talking with Ketan his sofware gave him a very good indication of where visitors were coming from. He also found that his money was better spent providing myself and Neil with machines and accessories so that we could do the beginner series etc. His ad here became smaller and then went away. That was as good as a 4 or 5 page advert every month for about 3 years. But those that did not buy the mag did not get to see the articles.

Likewise with Amadeal, they got a lot of interest and sales from the review I did in the mag of their ELS equiped lathe, maybe they will think again when it comes time to pay for web adverts?

Also look at what some of the dating etc ads have been replaced with, 90% are for this and other Kelsey publications. That is not going to generate much revenue when the “gaps” are having to be filled with the site owners own products rather than just showing a blank box.

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