Testing Banner Ads - it's not a bug, it's me screwing things up

Spark, enjoy the SHOT show and thanks for creating this great site. I registered six months ago and browsed/Googled for quite awhile before that. I came for the info & stay for the interaction. Good people here. I've been a Mod for other forums & can appreciate what an achievement this site and this community is.
I dislike ads but I get the economics. Do whatever you need to do. I have popups disabled on desktop/iPad, but on the iPhone 4S small screen the ads are pretty obtrusive. That may be a turnoff to future browsers before they reach the membership stage. You may have to track & see.

Viruses and Trojans via 'legit' ads are a bigger concern & will only become more so. Growth industry. I have bitter experience. Buying higher membership levels does not seem to protect the user from the malware (no visible ads but the malware's there).
My .02.
 
This banner ad has almost fooled me twice. Paying members not looking for ads will probably think they have a personal message, wonder where it leads?

Capture.jpg
 
Spark said:
Hey guys sorry for the delay - I got into Vegas yesterday and pretty much passed out. I'm going to try to get these disabled for paying members ASAP - I don't seem to have my notes here, so it's going to take a few hours of undivided attention on my part. I'm going to try to have it done before SHOT is over, hopefully tonight.
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Screw it, it can wait. Enjoy the show and take 'er easy, but be safe.
 
Are banner ads supposed to tie up the site by loading when you don't even click on them ?
 
so we have banner adds for now. big deal. please just tell me on thing. name another knife site that even comes close to being good as this one please. you can't do it because this is the best one that is out there.
 
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LeeBower said:
Just a FYI, I just got a pop up, the only thing open was blade forums and I was not clicking on any of the ads.. and just happened again while I was typing this.. there is a brief sound pop, like one of the ads is trying to play sound and gets stopped then the pop up comes up.

here is a screen of the pop up...

View attachment 407550
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Same pop-up here.....
 
Rubicon_Joey said:
Same pop-up here.....
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I have had it about 6 times now, it pops up when there are the banner ads that show a video.. something cuts the sound off the ad, but that triggers the pop up.. as far as I can tell at least.
 
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Might have found part of the problem, (ad-related?), to the site running slow. I added this to AdBlocker, and now the pages load faster than they ever have. Lightning fast! Don't know what it is, some sort of stylesheet and script that runs on every page, but it doesn't seem necessary for reading or posting.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/mobiquo/smartbanner/
(don't click link. copy and paste into AdBlocker rules or look for entry in blockable items)
 
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FLymon said:
This banner ad has almost fooled me twice. Paying members not looking for ads will probably think they have a personal message, wonder where it leads?

View attachment 407666
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You are right to be suspicious.

It's an advertisement for a virus toolbar called "InBoxAce". The toolbar will hijack your browser, change your search engine, and change your home page. Typical MyWebSearch crapware behavior.

More information and removal instructions can be found online. http://botcrawl.com/how-to-remove-inboxace-toolbar/

InboxAce Toolbar and associated malware have also been linked to the collection of user data without direct permission. This sometimes follows along the lines of entrapment for users who seek to manually and voluntarily install InboxAce Toolbar, which promotes itself as a safe and legitimate browser attachment used to search the web and organize email. In some cases, victims of InboxAce Toolbar malware have reported a very large amount of constant email spam, junk mail, and telephone calls from telemarketers.

InboxAce Toolbar and related third-party malware, individuals, developers, publishers, and organizations generate money off the confusion and misfortunes of internet users who happen to become infected with the InboxAce Toolbar virus and third-party software and browser attachments. These parties are often paid each time users download a third-party product, click advertisements, or use the InboxAce Toolbar to perform searches. These parties may also collect and sell (harvest) sensitive user information, especially data manually submitted online, including home addresses, telephone numbers, user names, passwords, and more. If you are infected with InboxAce Toolbar, it is important to immediately remove this unwanted toolbar and any relating software.
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Can't Bladeforums be a little more selective and careful about advertising?
 
I agree with Bob W... Hope this gets sorted out soon...

Not getting used to it.

And the photo uploading.. back to normal..?
 
Thanks for the heads up Bob.
I don't run ad blockers at my office because I do a little internet advertising and I need to be able to see them.
Not much is more annoying than unwanted, aggressive browser hijacking :(
 
The problem is, many of us pay to remove them. IF that changes, many won't pay. Pretty basic. If he needs more $, then up the membership fees and require "registered" members to even pay a small, SMALL, amount. For instance, registered users pay $10 for a year membership, with very few ads. Unregistered users get nailed with flash and shockwave like theres no tomorrow, and gold and above remain ad free.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Read post #143 above yours, with Spark's comment.
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Okay, if he knew he was going to shot show. Why wasnt the testing disabled before hand? Or testing done after shot show? When they could be disabled by the set date. Not moved back another week.
 
My Gold membership is up today and I won't be renewing as a paid member until the ads are removed for paying members..
Best regards,
salmonkiller
 
richard thurman said:
I think we should keep them if it is helping out money wise to support this site. I don't see what the big problem is.
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The problem is we all don't have lighting fast internet service & can't get it. I use Satellite.

This is the best knife site by far, but it's so slow lately I can't hardly use it.
 
I have not sold on the Exchange, don't need storage (just link pictures) and could use email for communication instead of PM. Therefore, if banner ads continue I will not be renewing my Gold membership. You really don't get used to six ads per viewing thread page as well as the time it takes for the page to load.
 
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