I read da Dope in two ways: on my Note II, which means docked ads are a huge PITA, and on a vertical 20-inch page monitor, which means I hardly see them.
But I agree with the zeitgeist here, that seeing them at all will be a downcheck to the place.
It would not be so bad if it only loaded up on the front page instead of every single one. It was really annoying to have to close the ad every time I opened a thread or switched pages in a thread.
Don’t forget being a conduit for malware.
Why can’t they put the ads on the right hand side of the screen like on Facebook? That’s pretty unobtrusive.
That’s my favouritist thing about them. Thanks for once again moving this place towards porn site level of advertising obnoxiousness.
Well, it apparently stopped McAfee from telling me continuously that the site was dangerous, which it did for well over a week. It’s no more annoying to click out of them than to click out of the McAfee warnings. I only read the board from a computer so I’ll live with it.
So long as you have a 5s or newer running iOS 9 or 10, you don’t need to use a 3rd party browser if you don’t want to, you can download a content blocker app and use Safari. AdGuard has a good rating and has worked fine for me. Or search “ad blocker” at the App Store and find one you like.
If you’re on Tapatalk, you can opt out of ads all together, but at almost $15, it is pricey. However, the good part is that’s lifetime coverage. Once purchased, you’ll never see any ads again.
“Unobtrusive” defeats the purpose of advertising.
So does covering up content and crashing Safari on an iPad that’s a little too old to use ad-block.
No, it doesn’t. The idea that advertising only has an effect if it gets in your face and yells is a variation of “ads don’t affect me,” and just as wrong.
But most ads do reduce the usefulness and pleasant nature of a website. I’d really like to see CR/SD look at the alternatives for this unique web resource.
Unfortunately, having to manage my device (not the latest)/OS/browser’s dance with this site’s scummy ad choices, has become beyond my skill set, I’m afraid.
I’m certainly not going to pay for the privilege. I don’t believe I’ll renew.
The issue of tablets or other devices or OSs that for whatever technical reason cannot block ads is one of several things that seems to have been overlooked here.
I hate to be a complainer, but I literally cannot use the site on my tablet any more. Trying to hit the little “X” or the “minimize” icon often results in missing it or, worse, clicking through to the ad in its full-screen glorious splendor, or clicking through to another ad that happens to be underneath it, or hitting something else that wasn’t intended.
I find it very ironic that whenever someone complains about not being able to post images on this board, the answer is always that the site wishes to maintain a clean and professional presentation, yet there is no objection to lots of obnoxious ad imagery at the top of a page, ad imagery between the first and second posts of a thread, multiple rows of ads and come-ons at the bottom of the pages, animated ads, ads that play video and shriek audio at you, popups, pop-unders all over the place – and as a bonus, even the occasional delivery of malware – and all of that is apparently just fine! And now the sticky “docking” ads are really the last straw.
I don’t see the new ads but it’s obvious the impact is pretty serious for some. If the net result is losing people, the powers that be might want to reconsider the use of these types of ads.
I just turned off ABP for a look… and wish I hadn’t.
Seriously, Ed, Cecil, PTB… what would it take to make the Dope ad-free? We need and deserve a refuge from clickbait shit and malware, and if this ain’t it, may as well pull the plug on it all.
Starting to suspect they want to use the name/cache on some other manifestation, but to avoid conflict, first need to kill this beast!
Isn’t it just the most baffling business model ever?
Ed are you really this clueless or just pretending to be? If you feel ridiculous making statements like this you absolutely should. What a shame that this site insists on driving away good users who also generate content just to pick up a few pennies.
Your sarcasm aside, you’re missing my point.
I would contribute to the board if it meant getting rid of ads for everybody, because that would improve the experience for everybody, and would thus be healthier overall.
I do not pay for membership because the ads are so onerous that it’s effectively a hostage situation: pay us money or suffer through our increasingly intrusive ad campaign.
Yeah, I came in here to say that these new ads mean it’s no longer just unpleasant to check the SDMB on my elderly iPad, it’s impossible to do so for more than a few seconds at a time. So I won’t be coming here on my iPad anymore, which means I won’t be seeing any ads at all anymore as I have ads blocked on my computer.
And why not? There’s no shame with asking for help if one is struggling