# Snopes Pop Ups **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 10, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645 "2012-12-10T22:06:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/1 "2012-12-10T22:06:58Z")
Why is it that IE9 blocks all pop-ups except those at [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com)? In fact I’ve never used any version of IE or Firefox that blocks these. What’s different about snopes? ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/2 "2012-12-10T23:02:49Z")
That’s because… _THE SNOPES POP-UPS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE YOUR HOUSE!!!_ ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/3 "2012-12-11T15:17:05Z")
In most cases popups that bypass browser controls are caused by Flash vs. regular old HTML. (But there is a “new” type based on clicking in a form box. Aggh.) However, I just checked and got no popups in Opera nor in Firefox. Neither has a Flash blocker on my setup. I don’t recall getting any popups on Snopes via Opera in years. So I don’t think it’s Flash, but that you don’t have something set right in IE. Is there a site-preference setting for popups in IE that you’ve messed up for Snopes? ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/4 "2012-12-11T16:56:49Z")
I only get a pop up on snopes when I click What’s new. All others are indeed blocked. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/5 "2012-12-11T18:26:51Z")
> [@Lanzy](#): > > I only get a pop up on snopes when I click What’s new. All others are indeed blocked. Just tested this in Opera and Firefox. Nada in either case. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/6 "2012-12-11T20:13:27Z")
Internet Explorer? Ew. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/7 "2012-12-11T20:30:05Z")
I agree! I ALWAYS have to see popups from snopes, no matter what. I have adblockers but they still get through. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/8 "2012-12-11T20:33:49Z")
I use firefox with adblock and noscript. I never see popups on snopes. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I saw a popup anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/9 "2012-12-11T20:38:58Z")
I just see the pop-unders and usually only once per visit. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/10 "2012-12-11T21:15:22Z")
I agree too. I use Firefox and have adblocker installed but somehow both snopes and mlive (regional news) manage to vomit the occasional pop-up. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/11 "2012-12-11T21:47:07Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I agree too. I use Firefox and have adblocker installed but somehow both snopes and mlive (regional news) manage to vomit the occasional pop-up. Thank you. I’ve used every version of IE and Firefox since '97 and though 99% of pop-up or pop-unders are eliminated, I still get them at snopes. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/12 "2012-12-11T21:48:15Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I agree too. I use Firefox and have adblocker installed but somehow both snopes and mlive (regional news) manage to vomit the occasional pop-up. > [@Laggard](#): > > Thank you. I’ve used every version of IE and Firefox since '97 and though 99% of pop-up or pop-unders are eliminated, I still get them at snopes. Then you need NoScript. It’s the only Firefox add-on I can’t browse without. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/13 "2012-12-11T21:58:31Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > That’s because… > > _THE SNOPES POP-UPS ARE COMING FROM INSIDE YOUR HOUSE!!!_ _slow clap building to thunderous standing ovation_ ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/14 "2012-12-12T12:28:00Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Then you need NoScript. It’s the only Firefox add-on I can’t browse without. I have noscript installed as well. It helped but I _still_ get the occasional popup or popunder. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/15 "2012-12-15T05:45:59Z")
Assuming you have also enabled blocking Flash with NoScript, that should not be possible. And, anyways, Snopes is a jerk for insisting on using popups in this day and age. The excuse before was that they provided the best rates, but this is no longer true, as far as I know, because most people don’t see them. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/16 "2012-12-15T06:46:24Z")
Snopes has always been obnoxious with advertising. To me it has always dragged down their credibility as a reference site. Back in the early days of annoying pop-ups it was mostly porn sites, malware sites, and Snopes that were doing it. That’s not a good category to be lumped into. It was one thing when they were a fledgeling site and were struggling to make enough money to keep the site going. Now though, given their popularity, there’s no reason for them to continue that sort of thing. It’s a shame that such a widely used reference site is run by a coupe of jerks, even more so when all of the other major reference sites (IMDB, TV tropes, wikipedia, etc) don’t do that sort of thing. It makes Snopes really stand out, and not in a good way. I realize it’s just two people hacking together a web site, but still, they could easily do better. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/17 "2012-12-15T15:12:50Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Internet Explorer? Ew. I used to think that too, but I was impressed by IE10. Not enough to switch but it’s gotten a lot and I mean a LOT better. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/18 "2012-12-15T18:10:13Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Snopes has always been obnoxious with advertising. To me it has always dragged down their credibility as a reference site. Back in the early days of annoying pop-ups it was mostly porn sites, malware sites, and Snopes that were doing it. That’s not a good category to be lumped into. > > It was one thing when they were a fledgeling site and were struggling to make enough money to keep the site going. Now though, given their popularity, there’s no reason for them to continue that sort of thing. It’s a shame that such a widely used reference site is run by a coupe of jerks, even more so when all of the other major reference sites (IMDB, TV tropes, wikipedia, etc) don’t do that sort of thing. It makes Snopes really stand out, and not in a good way. I realize it’s just two people hacking together a web site, but still, they could easily do better. Agreed. And they’re still sporting an ugly design. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/19 "2012-12-16T01:21:04Z")
I just had a look around on Snopes, and did not see a single popup. I use Firefox with Flashblock. I do not, however, use either Adblock or Noscript. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snopes-pop-ups/643645/20 "2012-12-16T02:10:28Z")
I get massive popups on Snopes when I’m browsing on my smartphone. Occasionally, they are vicious enough that I literally cannot search the website due to a popup popping every time I try to type a letter in the search box. It’s really obnoxious.