# SDMB ads are resuming - post problem reports here **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [June 9, 2014, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426 "2014-06-09T18:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/86 "2016-12-03T22:51:11Z")
I feel like I should be wearing a condom every time I visit here. Good job. ---
**Author:** ![appleaday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@appleaday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleaday)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2016, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/87 "2016-12-03T23:50:39Z")
I finally gave in and became a member. So far, it’s worked – no hijacks. Really, though, we shouldn’t have to put up with this. Ads are one thing, hijacking the page is another. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/88 "2016-12-04T00:04:11Z")
> [@LunarPlexus](#): > > I feel like I should be wearing a condom every time I visit here. Good job. Actually, wearing a condom won’t stop the ads. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LunarPlexus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@LunarPlexus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LunarPlexus)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/89 "2016-12-04T00:23:30Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Actually, wearing a condom won’t stop the ads. > 😃 But it’s fun! 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 4, 2016, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/90 "2016-12-04T02:04:51Z")
Today I was stranded in an airport and pulled the site up on my phone. It redirected me to an ad that not only hijacked the browser but actually set my phone to buzzing. So that’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/91 "2016-12-07T21:23:34Z")
Good news! The site actually usable on iOS right now. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/92 "2016-12-12T17:38:35Z")
I use IE on a work-supplied computer for most of my SDMB browsing and posting. I don’t have the option of installing an ad blocker on this machine. I chose a few years ago to stop paying the membership fee. I have no objection to reading around the ads. I have even occasionally clicked on some of the click-baity ones. The latest ad behavior that I have encountered may be the last straw for me. Today, numerous times, I have had a vertically-oriented ad appear within a thread that occupies the right quarter of the thread itself. The right quarter of the thread posts are behind the ad, invisible to me. The ad sometimes disappears, but the blocked real estate just becomes the background color; the thread text is still behind the blank space. I’m debating with myself about whether it is even worth the aggravation to try to read threads here. ---
**Author:** ![Morelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Morelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morelin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/93 "2016-12-12T18:03:43Z")
I have had multiple ads, one on top of the other, as well as daily, recurrent hijacking ads. I’m just about ready to stop visiting. Mac Safari. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/94 "2016-12-12T18:49:11Z")
I’m on Mac safari and it’s pretty awful. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2016, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/95 "2016-12-19T03:17:25Z")
Navigation just became nearly impossible thanks to an ad box in the right margin that covers most of the thread navigation controls. Can’t use the site with this thing in the way; count me as a de-monetized user until it’s fixed. Chrome/Windows. Edited to add: No, there’s no ‘X’ or ‘close’ link either. Pops up whenever I mouse over the right side of the page, the place where most of the useful controls are. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/96 "2016-12-20T18:14:54Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Navigation just became nearly impossible thanks to an ad box in the right margin that covers most of the thread navigation controls. Can’t use the site with this thing in the way; count me as a de-monetized user until it’s fixed. Chrome/Windows. > > Edited to add: No, there’s no ‘X’ or ‘close’ link either. Pops up whenever I mouse over the right side of the page, the place where most of the useful controls are. This is the same problem that I am having. I just sent this e-mail to the webmaster: > [@](#): > > Tuesday 20 December 2016 9:48 AM PST > > To the Straight Dope Webmaster: > > I am a Charter Member of the SDMB, username plankter. When I attempt to log onto the message board, a “floating” ad on the right side of the screen obscures most of the log-in field. This ad can not be dismissed. Scrolling, re-sizing, and refreshing the page do not eliminate the ad. On some attempts I am able to enter my username, but the password box is unresponsive to either the cursor or the tab button, and the “remember me?” box is entirely obscured and unreachable. > > Please address this issue so that I can use this message board as a registered member. > > I am using the Chrome web browser on an Acer Chromebook laptop. I was able to log on for this session by typing my password in the box (the only responsive field) and hitting enter; that produced an error page **without** the ad, whereupon I was able to fill in the required fields. ---
**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:** [December 22, 2016, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/97 "2016-12-22T05:57:08Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > I use IE on a work-supplied computer for most of my SDMB browsing and posting. I don’t have the option of installing an ad blocker on this machine. I chose a few years ago to stop paying the membership fee. I have no objection to reading around the ads. I have even occasionally clicked on some of the click-baity ones. > > The latest ad behavior that I have encountered may be the last straw for me. Today, numerous times, I have had a vertically-oriented ad appear within a thread that occupies the right quarter of the thread itself. The right quarter of the thread posts are behind the ad, invisible to me. The ad sometimes disappears, but the blocked real estate just becomes the background color; the thread text is still behind the blank space. > > I’m debating with myself about whether it is even worth the aggravation to try to read threads here. I just got a new computer and hadn’t yet installed an ad-blocker. I had this problem today – the ad covered a lot of the content, including some navigation parts. It was a vertical ad on the right side of the page, running chrome on Mac OS 10.12.1. I just installed adblock plus, and things are working again. On the plus side, the ads on my office laptop (Windows, also Chrome) were all at the bottom of the page, and were for legitimate stuff. Things I’ve recently bought, thing’s I’ve recently shopped for, other merchants I’ve heard of – the sort of ad I might conceivably click on, and might be willing to put up with to support the site. SO much nicer that the bizarre and tacky and NSFW ads I used to get here. I thought I might as well mention that, since I complained when they were horrible. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/98 "2016-12-22T16:49:35Z")
> [@plankter](#): > > I was able to log on for this session by typing my password in the box (the only responsive field) and hitting enter; that produced an error page **without** the ad, whereupon I was able to fill in the required fields. I spoke too soon. The ad does appear on the error page, but there is a ‘window’ of about three seconds in which I must 1) check the ‘keep me signed in’ box, and 2) enter my password, before the cursed ad banner appears. At that point only the username field will respond to cursor placement and permit the typing of my username. I fail to see how having to race the clock in order to take advantage of my _paid_ user status will favorably influence me towards whatever client is served by that ad. ---
**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:** [December 23, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/99 "2016-12-23T13:55:25Z")
Well, the ads remain in basically-okay places on my office PC (Windows 7 enterprise, running Chrome 55… under various firewalls, etc.) but I tried to reply to another thread and after I clicked submit the whole thing froze as the ads in the center of the page (adblade? something like that) tried to load. The ads at the top and bottom of the page are pretty normal (car ads, ads for stuff I’ve googled, ads for the Salvation army, that sort of thing) but the adblade ads are still weird click-baity things. Nothing nsfw today, but they do make the site look tacky, as well as slowing it down. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/100 "2017-01-04T00:47:39Z")
I am getting ads at the bottom and on the right side. When on my laptop at home, I cannot close the ad on the right unless I reduce to zoom to less that 75% ---
**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:** [January 5, 2017, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/101 "2017-01-05T14:59:17Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Today I was stranded in an airport and pulled the site up on my phone. It redirected me to an ad that not only hijacked the browser but actually set my phone to buzzing. I do enjoy reading this board, so I’ve been continuing to view it on my phone at times. The most recent set of hijacks not only redirect to another page, but actually prevent me from closing the tab without shutting down the browser altogether, opening it again, and quickly shutting down the tab before the phone is able to reload the page. Oh, and the page is a site telling me that my phone is infected with malware and that if I don’t “update” using their software, it will lock out within 24 hours. So I downloaded the Ghostery browser. Works great! No more ads, no more hijacks, no more malware. But no more revenue for overlords, either. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/102 "2017-01-18T03:46:16Z")
Just got a huge fake malware ad targeted at my phone. I’m sure it was on the Dope because it’s the only site I read on this particular browser. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/103 "2017-01-18T05:32:04Z")
It popped up again and [I did a screenshot of it.](http://i64.tinypic.com/2dhb62b.jpg) It is accompanied with a ear-piercing beep. As I said, I only use this particular browser for the Straight Dope, and my Nexus 5X is on Android 7.1.1 and the January 5, 2017 security update. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/104 "2017-01-18T06:02:21Z")
The site is completely unusable on my phone because it’s Russian Roulette with the hijack ad. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2017, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426/105 "2017-01-18T18:21:30Z")
> [@aktep](#): > > The site is completely unusable on my phone because it’s Russian Roulette with the hijack ad. Yes it became completely unusable on my Android phone last night too. I had been occasionally getting the phony virus hijack for a couple weeks. Last night it took over every thread I tried to read. Every one. The exact same virus warning as in the screenshot that **gaffa** provided above, right down to the ‘28.1% damaged by 4 adult web sites’, which I have never viewed any of on my phone. It did change the description to my Samsung Note 3, otherwise identical. Click on a thread to read, hijack, close browser, reenter to try and read SDMB again, same result. The fake virus warning hijack WAS the SDMB last night on my phone. You see, my graveyard job is usually quite boring and I like to read this board on my phone. I cannot visit through my government “warning, warning, warning” Citrix portal, nor would I try to visit this place that way even if I could. I am now posting from my home PC that I installed Ghostery months ago to disable all tracking cookies. and I never have a problem. Next up, now that I have my home, fast Wifi conection, is to install Ghostery on my Android. No more clicks for you! You will get no revenue from me through your ad provider and they are seriously fucking this place over. You either cannot see this or don’t care or both. It must be costing you revenue, are you monitoring that? To those people who say “but it happens all over the internet!” No, no it doesn’t, only the most scummy sites get these things. Your reputation as a "smart’ website has fallen below the worst click bait and porn sites for me. I will visit only with protection turned up high and your advertisers get nothing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-ads-are-resuming-post-problem-reports-here/690426.md?page=6)