[QUOTE=Tamara in TN;6636469]
every.
single.
page.
opened.
argghhhh…[/QUOTE]
And because of this I finally broke down and installed adblock. I thought I could wait out the trial run, but this is just too much.
I am with everyone else being annoyed by the ad; however my biggest complaint is that I cannot use my back button on my browser. I use Internet Explorer. It appears to me that it is refreshing so fast that it immediately consumes my history. I am not an IT person, but that is the best explanation I can come up with. Thank you!
Just adding my two cents:
Love the banner ads (SmartPak, Dover, etc) and frequently use them to click on and go to the sites when I see something “I didn’t know I needed” PLUS: They pay for the wonderful board 
.
Strongly dislike the pop-up ads (no matter the content or the advertiser).
It is a format thing.
Keep the ads, change the format.
Thanks to the mods for letting us all know what was going on behind the scenes!
[QUOTE=Simkie;6623764]
Y’all know that you can use Firefox and AdBlock Plus and never see any of this, right? I understand why you might not want to change browsers long term–you shouldn’t have to!–but for now, while the powers that be at COTH are working all of this out? Well, it seems easier than all the frustration you’re facing with these ads…[/QUOTE]
What about google chrome users? Does anyone know if there is a good ad-blocker out there? I am not totally IT savvy…
naters, you know I love ya, but there’s some irony in your using Google Chrome but not thinking to Google “adblocker for chrome.” 
Long story short, yes there is. I’m using it right now. Link: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/adblock/gighmmpiobklfepjocnamgkkbiglidom
I just googled “adblock for chrome” and used, I think, the first one that came up. Seems to be working quite well so far!!
I just checked, and it’s called “AdBlock” and it’s free, although they ask you for a donation after you download it.
This is crazy. The pop-up seems to be happening even more frequently and the pop-up blocker I have that works on other sites, doesn’t help.
It’s bad. I’ve never been so annoyed with pop-up ads as I am with these here. Every single forum change, etc. I’ve gotten to the point I don’t want to even look at Ford, Dodge or John Deere anything!
i don’t keep myself logged in here so don’t post a lot. Today the ads are so frequent i had to sign in to join with everyone else to let the ‘advertisers’ know the ads are having the opposite effect on me. As in, i will not purchase anything from these companies using the pop up ads.
The pop-up ads need to go. At the very least, they need to be set to appear only once per user session per ad. And yes, that can be done. I will not purchase any item from any company using the pop-up ads. And not everyone can or would like to download ad blocking software. I work in an advertising supported industry and understand the importance of unobtrusive, non-annoying advertising. But this is ridiculous.
This post is for iPhone, iPad, and other iOS users. You’re welcome in advance.
When I woke up and discovered that my old method to avoid the Nefarious Pop-Up Truck Ad–using an alternative browser called Opera–no longer worked, I went on the warpath.
Apple doesn’t allow extensions or add-ons to apps, which means you can’t just go get an adblock extension or app for Safari for iOS (or Chrome for iOS, or whatever) like you can for regular Mac/PC/Linux web browsers. There are a few dedicated adblock apps, but they got poor reviews from the geeks at Macforums so I didn’t even bother with them. If someone wants to download Adblock for 99 cents and report back, they can.
But you CAN block ads on iOS if you find a web browser app with the right adblocker stuff written right into the app code itself. Commence my search. I give the full results below, but first let’s talk about the two browsers that got the job done + their pros/cons based on my first impressions:
Sleipnir Web Browser
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleipnir-mobile-web-browser/id404732112?mt=8
Screen shot of COTH forums in Sleipnir:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w197/jn4jenny/sleipnir.jpg
and
Apollo Web Browser
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/apollo-browser-+-addons-like/id470154924?mt=8
Screen shot of COTH forums in Apollo:
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w197/jn4jenny/apollo.jpg
They both block the ads. They both offered to remember my COTH password and fill it in for me on subsequent visits (amen hallelujah!). As you can see in the screen shots, they have different ways of parting out their screen real estate–and I slightly prefer how Sleipnir does it. But I also slightly prefer Apollo Browser’s “make all font everywhere on the web bigger” feature because I have crappy eyes. Sleipnir is a much more feature-rich browser that can be hooked up to pretty much any web service you prefer (Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Apollo has limited integration, but some of you technopeasants might prefer that. I did manage to crash Apollo once. Haven’t crashed Sleipnir yet.
I’ll probably use them both for a week or two, then decide.
PS, you’ll notice that when you go to download ANY of these alternative browsers in the App Store, you get some warning about needing to be 17 and restricted content. This is Apple’s BS way of discouraging people from downloading alternative browsers. They mark ALL the alternative browsers this way because apparently you can use web browsers to download porn and profanity. Weak. I assure you, every program in this post is G-rated.
Other browsers I tried that didn’t work:
Safari - fail, obviously. I did finally realize that I could close the Ford truck ad in Safari by turning the phone horizontal, which gave me a big enough “CLOSE” target to get it closed. But it comes back every time you go to a new page.
Chrome, Mercury, Dolphin, Atomic Lite, Puffin - same as Safari. Fail.
Opera - this used to work before the forum upgrade last night, but now it’s an epic fail. It blocks the ads, but it crashes the program. It also won’t let me log into my account–keeps saying I have the wrong password, which is obviously untrue since I can log in with any other browser.
To the mods: I appreciate your efforts, and I recognize your need to advertise. Before this truck business, I did actually tolerate–and even LIKE–the sidebar ads. I have even clicked on them before. But the truck ad is intolerable and caused me to go to an ad blocker.
Somehow, the forum update caused a bug in the pop-up ads that caused them to hyper-activate. The designers are working on the issue.
Mod 3
FYI I was getting them on every page before the update, too.
So maybe the hyperactive button was pushed a little earlier than you thought.
Nice that the designers are working on the problem. I’m hoping the COTH advertising department is working on it too–I’d think they’d be more than a little concerned that their venture into pop-up ads is driving potential customers away in droves…
Waiting to see what happens after the end of the month…
[QUOTE=zipperfoot;6636781]
Waiting to see what happens after the end of the month…[/QUOTE]
Ditto! Just over 36 hours to go. Tick, tock, tick, tock…
jn4jenny - thanks for the info on iphone browsers!
Just a word on the pop up ads – the problem most of us have is that we didn’t mind the banner ads. In fact, we used them to buy things, which made CoTH money. There was no need to have an ad blocker. With that ghastly pop up ad that was so invasive that a ton of us actually DID download an ad blocker, now there are no banner ads, either, for us to click through for CoTH to make money.
I’d be happy to look at that ad a few times a day to make CoTH some money, but making it so insane that I am forced to download an ad blocker is cutting off your nose to spite your face. Now no one gets ad revenue when I buy something from SmartPak or Dover.
I don’t like the look of the new forum, and I actually am not a fan of the like/dislike function. I think this board in more mature than that. But those are issues that I’m sure I’ll get used to, just like the last time they upgraded. I remember the GIANT UPROAR over the green chunks on the left and right of the screen. I’ll get used to it – we all will.
But the ad thing is ridiculous. Any advertisement annoying enough that you drive 50% of the people on your site to go download an ad blocker that they otherwise wouldn’t have used is extremely shortsighted.
When I’m on my computer, I use Google Chrome with AdBlock, and my phone is a WP7 - so I never see ads on either one. Easy.
Am I dreaming, or have I really opened COTH, opened this forum, and opened this thread all without a single popup?
I’ve only been on for awhile today, but…NO POP-UPS! Woot woot!!!
Hoping it’s permanent…
Thanks COTH!
