# Ease up on the ads, please? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 25, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176 "2016-03-25T23:28:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/1 "2016-03-25T23:28:36Z")
See [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=739781). Salon keeps freezing up my computer. I can’t hardly read a single article without **several times** getting “Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close.” I can only attribute this to the vast number of advertisements, including moving-picture/animated ads. Last few weeks, I’ve been getting the same thing on the Dope. Sometimes I’m typing a message and suddenly for no appa for no apparent reason, no characters appear in the box when I tap the keys. Often I get a message at the bottom of the screen, “A problem with the page caused Internet Explorer to close and re-open it.” It hasn’t **yet** got to the point where having the Dope open freezes up Explorer entirely and requires a restart, but I fear that might be coming. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/2 "2016-03-25T23:42:36Z")
What’s more, when I’m on the Dope lately, **the browser’s back button doesn’t work.** And I get exactly the same thing with Salon. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/3 "2016-03-26T00:15:42Z")
I use Firefox and an adblocker, and experience neither freezing nor a problem with the back button. All I can advise is changing what you are using;\* especially, \*get an adblocker, it improves both experience and the safety of browsing. A site like Salon is going to be a prime location for ad malware; your problems may be due to an infection in fact. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/4 "2016-03-26T00:20:42Z")
They’ve been getting animated and with sound ads here lately. I’ve also noticed an increase in load stalling and “page not responding” notices. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/5 "2016-03-26T00:30:46Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > …Internet Explorer… There’s your problem right there. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/6 "2016-03-26T11:44:14Z")
If the back button doesn’t work and stuff regularly freezes up, you may have malware affecting your browser. While i find the ads on the bottom of the page annoying, they don’t interfere with functionality, in IE, chrome, or Firefox, all of which i use on one computer or another. ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/7 "2016-03-26T14:22:32Z")
Jesus. I’m always amused when these threads pop up, filled with Guests bitching about ads and talking about ad blockers. Pay the goddamn fifteen bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/8 "2016-03-26T15:48:05Z")
> [@splatterpunk](#): > > Pay the goddamn fifteen bucks. This.Really. It’s worth supporting the SDMB even without the annoyance of ads. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/9 "2016-03-26T16:19:05Z")
> [@splatterpunk](#): > > Jesus. I’m always amused when these threads pop up, filled with Guests bitching about ads and talking about ad blockers. > > Pay the goddamn fifteen bucks. This, ultra really. It’s a pittance. I get more for these few bucks than for anything else I spend. How much are you paying yourself per hour, to mess around with this whenever you’re on the Dope, at the rate of a few dollars per year? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/10 "2016-03-26T16:32:06Z")
> [@splatterpunk](#): > > Jesus. I’m always amused when these threads pop up, filled with Guests bitching about ads and talking about ad blockers. You shouldn’t be amused. Those guests who are bitching about ads are the ones who are trying to uphold the tacit agreement that you either pay membership **or** view advertisements. They’re making a good faith effort to continue to drive revenue to the Reader, and every time one of them gets disgusted and switches to a blocker, that’s lost revenue. Good business model: “Pay 15 bucks a year because the content is worth it.” Extortionate business model: “Pay 15 bucks a year because we’re going to make the advertising more and more onerous until you give in.” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/11 "2016-03-26T18:45:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > You shouldn’t be amused. Those guests who are bitching about ads are the ones who are trying to uphold the tacit agreement that you either pay membership **or** view advertisements. They’re making a good faith effort to continue to drive revenue to the Reader, and every time one of them gets disgusted and switches to a blocker, that’s lost revenue. > > Good business model: “Pay 15 bucks a year because the content is worth it.” > Extortionate business model: “Pay 15 bucks a year because we’re going to make the advertising more and more onerous until you give in.” I don’t think the ads are that onerous. I think the OP has something wrong with their browser. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/12 "2016-03-26T19:29:23Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > This.Really. It’s worth supporting the SDMB even without the annoyance of ads. Because I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay just to avoid extremely annoying ads, that possibly contain the risk of malware. I already use an adblocker anyways, and it works just fine for me. Saying, “well, if you don’t pay, we’ll annoy the crap out of you and possibly infect your computer” is a shitty business model. Works for me. And really, an adblocker is just a good idea in general. (And IE sucks. I reccomend Chrome) ---
**Author:** ![splatterpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@splatterpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/splatterpunk)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/13 "2016-03-26T20:11:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > You shouldn’t be amused. Those guests who are bitching about ads are the ones who are trying to uphold the tacit agreement that you either pay membership **or** view advertisements. They’re making a good faith effort to continue to drive revenue to the Reader, and every time one of them gets disgusted and switches to a blocker, that’s lost revenue. Uh-huh. Those who refuse to subscribe are doing so in an effort to drive revenue for the SDMB, and not because they’re too cheap to cough up fifteen bucks a year. Look, if you don’t want to pay up because you believe that EVERYTHING ON THE INTERNET SHOULD BE FREE!!, then say so. But don’t try to dress it up as some noble effort on your part to enhance the bottom line of the board. No one on the planet believes that. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2016, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/14 "2016-03-26T20:33:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I don’t think the ads are that onerous. I think the OP has something wrong with their browser. Could be something wrong with the browser, or some (other) sort of malware. Could be that the ads are resource hogs, in a way that’s not a big deal in isolation, but becomes a problem if you have too many browser tabs/windows open at once, or too many programs running in the background, or things that didn’t close properly. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > (And IE sucks. I reccomend Chrome) I use both, because there are things I like and dislike about each. I think IE is better than its reputation, not that that’s saying much. > [@splatterpunk](#): > > Uh-huh. Those who refuse to subscribe are doing so in an effort to drive revenue for the SDMB, and not because they’re too cheap to cough up fifteen bucks a year. > > Look, if you don’t want to pay up because you believe that EVERYTHING ON THE INTERNET SHOULD BE FREE!!, then say so. But don’t try to dress it up as some noble effort on your part to enhance the bottom line of the board. No one on the planet believes that. I think some people are misunderstanding **Johnny Bravo** ’s post. **Johnny Bravo** had a perfectly valid point: those who are paying Members are supporting the SDMB, but those Guests who are allowing ads are also financially supporting the SDMB in a different way (because the Board gets ad revenue based on the presumption that people are seeing the ads); and it behooves the Board to only run ads that don’t crap up people’s computers and “force” them to run adblockers. ---
**Author:** ![TATG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/50afbb/32.png) [@TATG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TATG)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/15 "2016-03-27T03:42:04Z")
Do the moderators have any influence over the ads on this board? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/16 "2016-03-27T05:19:57Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > … (And IE sucks. I reccomend Chrome) Chrome with Ghostery. Ads, what ads? ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/17 "2016-03-27T05:22:11Z")
> [@TATG](#): > > Do the moderators have any influence over the ads on this board? I don’t think so. They’ve been trying to get more sheep and goat ads but haven’t been successful, or so the rumors go. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/18 "2016-03-27T05:24:13Z")
[Salon.com](http://Salon.com) has always locked up my computer. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/19 "2016-03-27T05:28:15Z")
I pay the subscription and run ad blockers. The subscription is like a course of birth control pills and the add blockers are like a condom. So no viruses. Well something along those lines. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2016, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176/20 "2016-03-27T06:24:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Because I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay just to avoid extremely annoying ads, that possibly contain the risk of malware. I already use an adblocker anyways, and it works just fine for me. Saying, “well, if you don’t pay, we’ll annoy the crap out of you and possibly infect your computer” is a shitty business model. > Works for me. And really, an adblocker is just a good idea in general. (And IE sucks. I reccomend Chrome) You missed my point. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ease-up-on-the-ads-please/750176.md?page=2)