To Moderators and Administrators

[obgyn65]

This morning I saw on this website a sponsor link saying "Senator Rand Paul : sign the petition Obama fears".

We are reminded by moderators not to write anything political in our posts, but sponsor links apparently are. Please can you explain why ?

Thank you,

Ob

 

[MichaelB]

Ob, probably the pop up ads are sourced by a third party so they are not subject to any forum filters.

 

[obgyn65]

Well I do not wish to create any problem because I have enjoyed participating in this website for a while now. I also know that being a moderator is not always easy. Nonetheless, in my view, rules should apply fairly to everyone, participants as well as third parties.

Take care Michael.

 

[brewer12345]

Well I do not wish to create any problem because I have enjoyed participating in this website for a while now. I also know that being a moderator is not always easy. Nonetheless, in my view, rules should apply fairly to everyone, participants as well as third parties.

Take care Michael.

All must bow before the mighty and terrible power of Mammon.

 

[FinanceDude]

Well I do not wish to create any problem because I have enjoyed participating in this website for a while now. I also know that being a moderator is not always easy. Nonetheless, in my view, rules should apply fairly to everyone, participants as well as third parties.

Take care Michael.

Much of it depends on which side of the political aisle you reside in on here..........

 

[Bestwifeever]

Perhaps the owners of the site will respond to your comment, Obgyn. Hard to believe, I know, but the mods and admins are powerless before Google. (Right now I'm seeing ads only for "financial advisors.")

 

[donheff]

Much of it depends on which side of the political aisle you reside in on here..........

Doesn't sound right. Threads seem to get shut down on all sides. I have had a few of mine shut down and they definitely are not on your side.

But back to the no filter on ads question - if there is no filter why don't we have porn ads? Or is the filter imposed at a higher level that the forum owners don't have access to?

 

[ronocnikral]

on the other hand, I can simply ignore ads for the great value this site brings. In fact, I can't even tell you where they are. Much of what pops up has to do with your google searches.

in other forums which I participate, they are always pushing premium memberships. one even cut out getting the content of responses in emails unless you ponied up for a premium membership. and then you have to listen to how you have to click through this and that when you shop at amazon or something of the like. not to mention, e-r.org has an excellent app for the iphone, for FREE!

I'll gladly look at some ads (which I don't) for the "perks" offered here and skip the guilt trip sunday sermon about tithing each and every week.

 

[Texas Proud]

This morning I saw on this website a sponsor link saying "Senator Rand Paul : sign the petition Obama fears".

We are reminded by moderators not to write anything political in our posts, but sponsor links apparently are. Please can you explain why ?

Thank you,

Ob

Like others have said, I think this is based on your searches... IOW, I have purchase a new Tracfone for my DW... and now I get ads for Tracfone and Verizon... when I do a search for something else, I get ads for that search...

Maybe you are getting these because you looked up something about the bill?

I am on the old version, and there are no ads.... zero... maybe you want change..

Just as an FYI, I use Firefox at home and some app that I think it called ghost or something similar... it blocks a bunch of these sites... and you would be surprised that they are on almost every page that I view... heck, I think it blocks 6 sites when I am here...

 

[Bimmerbill]

There are ads here? Heck, I just found all the other forums way down the bottom of the page the other day. "Other SocialKnowledge Communities." Never saw that before.

 

[martyb]

Would clearing one's cache/temp internet history possibly eliminate this problem? I'm also using firefox and haven't had a pop-up ad issue with this site.

 

[FinanceDude]

Would clearing one's cache/temp internet history possibly eliminate this problem? I'm also using firefox and haven't had a pop-up ad issue with this site.

That's because Internet Explorer is the cesspool of spam, and a lot of us use that browser..........

 

[ronocnikral]

is it the pop ups or the actual imbedded ads on the page?

 

[Nemo2]

I'm also using firefox and haven't had a pop-up ad issue with this site.

Me too.

 

[Midpack]

• I don't even "see" the ads here anymore, easy to ignore IMO.
• There's less spam and other nonsense on this site than other (high traffic) forums I participate in.
• While Mods have spanked me a few times, they were within their rights IMO in that I could see in retrospect how what could be read into my post and what I intended might be different.
• When I think of all the posts and all the gray areas were make them evaluate, I'd say they do a stellar job. I've been on other forums that were ruined by well-intended loose Mods, and I have seen other sites that are moderated with such a heavy hand it also ruins the exchange. I'd say the balance is great here all considered.
• I think issues with Mods & Admins are better raised via PM or Report...

My 2¢, no more, no less...

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Me too.

+1

 

[rescueme]

...if there is no filter why don't we have porn ads?

How about financial porn?

 

[Janet H]

Ads are 'served' by google and others based in a number of things. Your geo-location (google knows.....) your recent browsing history and even the content (key words) on the page you are currently viewing. We have very little control over the specific ads you may see although we can make a request to have a specific site blocked. We all see different ads.

You may notice that if, for instance you've been recently shopping online for cookware for example that you see cooking related ads for a few days. Recently I've seen lots of ads for pet products. .. If you are viewing a discussion about healthcare you may see ads for longterm care insurance or vitamins (but I've been seeing pet heath insurance ads)

You will see many fewer ads if you log in and there is an option to disable the right column in your usercp, edit options.

 

[Nodak]

I use Firefox with Adblock and never see any ads.

 

[flyfishnevada]

My first thought was: What ads? I never noticed any ads. I guess I've been trained by years of internet surfing to ignore them.

And I have an ad blocker too. That might help a little.

 

[Happyrick]

I use Firefox with Adblock and never see any ads.

+1

 

[Amethyst]

I seem to be good at tuning out ads. I wasn't really noticing that the site has ads, until I read this thread. I see several ads for banks, which kind of shoots the "it's what you searched for last" idea out of the water, since I never search for banks!

Amethyst

 

[REWahoo]

I seem to be good at tuning out ads. I wasn't really noticing that the site has ads, until I read this thread. I see several ads for banks, which kind of shoots the "it's what you searched for last" idea out of the water, since I never search for banks!

Amethyst

As Janet described above, Google uses a number of inputs to tailor your ads. What you may have searched for last is only one input. The fact you are currently browsing a financial site is enough to trigger all sorts of bank related advertisements.

Just for laughs, try doing a few Google searches on something out of the ordinary - like 'cast iron dutch ovens' - to see what happens.

 

[arky]

I guess I'm lucky, I use Safari on an old Mac and never see any pop up ads. Only the embedded ones (along the right margin) from Fidelity, etc.

 

[Sirka]

I use Firefox with Adblock and never see any ads.

+1
I also use AdBlock with Chrome.