This morning I navigate over to straightdope.com, and count five ads/sponsored links. I get that this is the current business model, no problem.
What I don’t get is the apparent lack of any filtering. The ads I got ranged from misleading to deceptive to probably-illegal. Three were for the incredibly annoying “Podunkville Single Mom [Loses 47 lbs./whitens teeth/discovers Acai scam] With Free Offer.” That category of ad is really inappropriate because (1) gee, I live in Podunkville. It’s almost like they just fake up a fictitious mom for wherever your IP range originates! (2) the products are clearly snake oil and no one, clearly, has lost 47 lbs. with them, so that’s another false representation; and (3) these ads are notoriously deceptive for snaking people into registering their credit card for automatic negative-option billing of $90 a month after the “free trial.” And many consumers report that cancelling the “convenient renewal supply” is far from easy.
I didn’t see it today, but many of the diet ads that pop up on SDMB compound these sins by (completely illegally) misappropriating the likeness and logos of various news organizations or celebrities (Oprah, Racheal Ray – you’ve seen it) to imply that they use or endorse whatever nostrum is being hawked.
The fourth ad was for “Extagen male enhancement” pills, and the linked site wasn’t even as careful as the current-day Enzyte ads which (after criminal prosecution) have very gingerly refrained from making claims about actual lengthening of “manhoods.” This site was basically fraudulent, with clearly-faked testimonials and medical claims.
The final link was to a site that would explain how to play poker, or rather, as I clicked through, steer you to a bunch of online poker sites where you can play for real money, which are illegal in the U.S.
How is the SDMB cool with this? I’ll guarantee you that if I posted any of that garbage in the message board, I’d be ToS’d in a heartbeat, and rightfully so. I have no doubt that the response is going to be “we don’t have any control over that, X is the adserver and they populate automatically.” Well, I don’t buy that – if you have a commercial relationship of some sort with X, by definition, you at least have the right to complain/negotiate/request that problems be addressed. Has anyone even tried to prevent sleazy ads from being served? Or is the Pontius Pilate approach the official doctrine?
I was going to say something about this at one point, but didn’t. Ad after ad was scam ads. It’s stuff that we have debunked on this same board as bogus claims. It’s irony at it’s best.
There are Google Ads at the bottom, in textual form. So noted.
But there are also banner ads on the main page and the message board. Are you telling me those are all Google served? I don’t buy that. I see some third party designation of origin.
Your comment is also spot on as to my original prediction – the BS about “we don’t have any control” evades my question – why don’t you assert or seek some control, even as to the Google ads? If they are outright fraudulent in particular? Lame-ass copout. Is Google unreacheable? What might be their domain address? The world may never know!!!
Until these places can get their act together and not produce blatantly false, inherently annoying, or downright malware infested ads, I have opted out of seeing any of them. Every once in a while I opt to see what everyone else sees, and within 5 minutes, I’m back to opting out.
The only time I had an ethical problem with this was on this very site, and a beneficent benefactor came to my rescue, with a little help from someone carrying a really long tube.
I suspect ads will work in the same way as SPAM, which remains popular even though no one I know ever sees it.
/Serious suggestion: Clear your Google cookies. Or all of 'em. You should get different ads.
As it happens, I’ve been to Chicago a couple of times, and both times I picked up a copy of the Reader. I got the distinct impression that at least some Chicagoans have rather specific sexual tastes, and are not shy about getting those tastes fulfilled. I browsed both the personals and the business personals. If I ever have a desperate need that I want to fulfill, I will go to Chicago, where I’m sure to find someone who’ll fill it. No matter what “it” is.
I don’t see any adds, textual, banner, or otherwise, on the Message Board page (after I’ve logged in) and that’s what I thought this was about. This is one of the perks of being a paid member.
Ads on the main READER page: whom do you mean by “you.” The decisions and authority you’re talking about are many levels higher than us (the mods and admins on the Message Boards.). I’ve been using the analogy that we the mods are like ushers at the movie theater: we can quiet unruly guests, we can clean up litter. If you have a complaint about the comfort of the seat, or the ads being shown before the movie starts , there’s not much we can do.
Those are management decisions. We can only relay your complaint to management. That’s why I said we (the mods) don’t have any control. Yelling at us won’t help. We (the mods) have no power or authority to negotiate with Google, any more than the movie theater ushers have the ability to negotiate with MGM over the product placement in the films being shown.
This particular complaint about ads that inconsistent with The Straight Dope’s goal of fighting ignorance, has been relayed upstairs several times, and upper management’s answer has always been: sorry, but that’s the way it is. Negotiation with Google to limit ads to those that we feel are “acceptable” would lower income, require enormous amounts of mangement time, and I don’t recollect if it was even possible for Google to apply such a filter.
I can relay your comments yet again, but I don’t expect any different answer.
Correct; I thought I was clear on that. Basically, only the ads are gone in the area where one can register, obviously, so just on the Message Boards. Not on the home page, not on the Archives, etc.
, there’s not much we can do.