# Am I going to have to stop using IMDB now? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 7, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099 "2008-06-07T03:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/1 "2008-06-07T03:24:58Z")
IMDB has often been my first stop when I’m trying to figure out where I’ve seen “that guy” before, or “what was that movie we saw last week?” But lately, I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend…the transparent pop-ups are taking over the site. Not satisfied with the pop-unders that they already throw at you, they’ve started adding those moving, crawling, flying, animated transparent pop-ups to the site…the ones that have WALL-E dragging the site title across the top of the page, or have a gigantic helicopter hover down onto the very center of the page and do stupid crap there, forcing you to STOP READING what you were reading and hit the “X” button that you have to HUNT for. I swear to GOD I’m going to end up not using IMDB because of this…those things seriously suck. They’re intrusive, they’re annoying, they’re invasive, and they just SUCK. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/2 "2008-06-07T03:29:21Z")
Hmmm…interesting that you should post this right now. [imdb.com](http://imdb.com) has been unreachable (for me, anyway) for the last couple of hours. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/3 "2008-06-07T03:39:12Z")
What bugs me the most about those things is when I try to click on something, then the ad zooms on in under my cursor and intercepts my click. I wonder how many false clicks those ads get because I know I’ve done it more than once. > [@blondebear](#): > > [imdb.com](http://imdb.com) has been unreachable (for me, anyway) It’s down for me, too. That is odd, because, to me, it’s always been one of those sites like Google that’s just _never_ down. ---
**Author:** ![Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gut)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/4 "2008-06-07T04:03:27Z")
I can get there just fine and was completely unaware of any pop up adds since I’ve been using [No Script](http://noscript.net/) for a while now. It’s very effective at blocking that kind of crap. The plug in is for firefox but I would think there is something similar for other browser. Fuck pop up ads! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/5 "2008-06-07T04:10:01Z")
[QUOTE=Gut] I can get there just fine and was completely unaware of any pop up adds since I’ve been using [No Script](http://noscript.net/) for a while now. It’s very effective at blocking that kind of crap. The plug in is for firefox but I would think there is something similar for other browser. Fuck pop up ads! [/QUOTE] Oh! That’s just beautiful! Blocks them right out of the box, so to speak…no tweaking required (though I did have to allow SDMB and disallow the google ads for this site). ---
**Author:** ![Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gut)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/6 "2008-06-07T04:12:10Z")
Glad to be of assistance. Happy IMDBing 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/7 "2008-06-07T04:24:31Z")
> [@](#): > > I can get there just fine… How strange. I get “server not found” with Firefox, but it loads fine with my yahoo (IE?) browser. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/8 "2008-06-07T04:25:55Z")
[QUOTE=blondebear] How strange. I get “server not found” with Firefox, but it loads fine with my yahoo (IE?) browser. [/QUOTE] Just to add to the confusion, I’m using Firefox and I haven’t had any problem at all accessing IMDB all night. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/9 "2008-06-07T04:40:12Z")
Screeeechh!!! EEEEeeek!!! Bloooop! Whiirrrrrrr! Bleeeepp! Bloooop!!! That’s the sound of Wall-E the Robot, his gears and servo-motors fiendishly grinding away as he vigorously stimulates and massages…you guessed it…a yak cock. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/10 "2008-06-07T04:53:21Z")
I can’t get it to load in IE or Firefox, it doesn’t respond to a ping, and the hostname doesn’t resolve. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/11 "2008-06-07T05:57:13Z")
Using Firefox 3 RC2, no problems with IMDB at all (and I’ve never seen a popup or popunder on the site, praise be to Adblock). ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/12 "2008-06-07T06:37:57Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] IMDB has often been my first stop when I’m trying to figure out where I’ve seen “that guy” before, or “what was that movie we saw last week?” But lately, I’ve been noticing a disturbing trend…the transparent pop-ups are taking over the site. Not satisfied with the pop-unders that they already throw at you, they’ve started adding those moving, crawling, flying, animated transparent pop-ups to the site…the ones that have WALL-E dragging the site title across the top of the page, or have a gigantic helicopter hover down onto the very center of the page and do stupid crap there, forcing you to STOP READING what you were reading and hit the “X” button that you have to HUNT for. I swear to GOD I’m going to end up not using IMDB because of this…those things seriously suck. They’re intrusive, they’re annoying, they’re invasive, and they just SUCK. [/QUOTE] I am so sick of the “I want more free shit” attitude. So IMDB hosts the site, collects all the information so you can figure out which actor starred in which movie, **pays to have that info posted for you** but you have to wait an extra second or two get it… and now you’re SO R.O. pissed off about it? Fuck you. It’s a gift you arrogant prick. The irony is that this very board has had to deal with this issue. Would you be happier if the IMDB was a paysite? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/13 "2008-06-07T06:47:24Z")
[QUOTE=Don’t fight the hypothetical] I am so sick of the “I want more free shit” attitude. So IMDB hosts the site, collects all the information so you can figure out which actor starred in which movie, **pays to have that info posted for you** but you have to wait an extra second or two get it… and now you’re SO R.O. pissed off about it? Fuck you. It’s a gift you arrogant prick. The irony is that this very board has had to deal with this issue. Would you be happier if the IMDB was a paysite? [/QUOTE] When they’re actively impeding my use of the site, yes, I do expect to be allowed to be angry and frustrated. Mother, may I? I don’t remember having to ask your permission before. Banner ads I can stand. Popunder ads I can stand, though they annoy. These thing actively interfere with the use of the website! They interject themselves between your cursor and the actual website you’re trying to navigate. This is not a good business model! Actively annoying your potential customers is not a good business model, period, and yet it’s becoming increasingly common. There’s another thread in the Pit here about those moving action banner ads on television, which are another example of this sucky business model. Who thought annoying your potential customers was a good idea? So yeah, you can fuck off too, actually. It’s not my responsibility to encourage any particular website’s cockamamie revenue plan. If they want to go paysite, they can go paysite. If I hadn’t been able to block these things, I’d have had to figure out another way of getting that information. Welcome to the internet, where a Darwinian evolutionary process is refining the way humanity gets its information. We’re still smarter than a piece of Javascript, so IMDB can suck it. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/14 "2008-06-07T07:46:26Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] When they’re actively impeding my use of the site, yes, I do expect to be allowed to be angry and frustrated. [/quote] And that is the problem, it’s not “the” site it’s _their_ site. So, again, you are wrong. They can can do what ever they want. Your frustration is irrelevant. > [@](#): > > Mother, may I? I don’t remember having to ask your permission before. My permission? Why is that relevant? > [@](#): > > Banner ads I can stand. Popunder ads I can stand, though they annoy. These thing actively interfere with the use of the website! They interject themselves between your cursor and the actual website you’re trying to navigate. This is not a good business model! Actively annoying your potential customers is not a good business model, period, and yet it’s becoming increasingly common. So you are saying your personal irritation over-rides the IMDB bean counter’s bottom line? I won’t say it - OK, I will… cite? > [@](#): > > There’s another thread in the Pit here about those moving action banner ads on television, which are another example of this sucky business model. Who thought annoying your potential customers was a good idea? The bottom line, that’s who. > [@](#): > > So yeah, you can fuck off too, actually. So a “fuck me” is supposed to help your case? > [@](#): > > Welcome to the internet, where a Darwinian evolutionary process is refining the way humanity gets its information. We’re still smarter than a piece of Javascript, so IMDB can suck it. Whoosh? No shit, mother fucker. IMDB is gangbusters - what are you doing again? Darwin meet jayjay. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/15 "2008-06-07T08:01:19Z")
Yay! It’s the “you have no right to complain about free shit” argument! This is totally original! I’ve never, ever seen it before, not even 50,000 times! Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/16 "2008-06-07T08:28:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Yay! It’s the “you have no right to complain about free shit” argument! This is totally original! I’ve never, ever seen it before, not even 50,000 times! Awesome! > Today 08:46 AM Just like the “2+2=4” argument. I must have seen that 50,000 times too, so it must be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/17 "2008-06-07T08:58:41Z")
More like PC vs. Mac or the RIAA vs. America or Atheists vs. Christians. Everyone made up their minds long ago and nobody is going to convince anyone, so it’s just generally a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![thetruthisoutthere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@thetruthisoutthere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thetruthisoutthere)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/18 "2008-06-07T12:57:50Z")
I noticed the imdb was down too. so i tried using [co.uk](http://co.uk) instead and got in! ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/19 "2008-06-07T13:35:35Z")
I just ran into this and it pissed me off too. I will likely use it less too. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2008, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099/20 "2008-06-07T13:53:25Z")
I switched over to the cndb a while back. Movies are fun again! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-going-to-have-to-stop-using-imdb-now/452099.md?page=2)