# Using the back arrow **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 29, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485 "2012-12-29T12:35:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/1 "2012-12-29T12:35:13Z")
Why can’t I use the back arrow to go to another thread? If I click on one(say Great debates) and want to go to The Pit I get a forward button and can’t use the back button! ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/2 "2012-12-29T13:51:17Z")
Doesn’t happen to me. Check for spyware. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/3 "2012-12-29T13:53:58Z")
Does this happen on any other web sites? Try a news site or something. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/4 "2012-12-29T14:01:15Z")
Just hit the backspace key. Works for me, and it’s faster. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/5 "2012-12-29T14:18:38Z")
Perhaps he is talking about this… twice this morning (it’s hapenned before as well) my back button doesn’t seem to work. When you click on the drop down you see that the “history” is loaded with pages entitled “dubleclickblahblahbla…”. Must be some kind of ad glitch. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/6 "2012-12-29T19:51:03Z")
Moved to ATMB. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/7 "2012-12-30T00:59:13Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > When you click on the drop down you see that the “history” is loaded with pages entitled “dubleclickblahblahbla…”. Must be some kind of ad glitch. Not a glitch. Many websites that use ad brokers have the same behavior. IMDB for one. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/8 "2012-12-30T01:04:02Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Perhaps he is talking about this… twice this morning (it’s hapenned before as well) my back button doesn’t seem to work. When you click on the drop down you see that the “history” is loaded with pages entitled “dubleclickblahblahbla…”. Must be some kind of ad glitch. Yeah, the back button for The Dope hasn’t been working consistently for me for a few days. After clicking it a few times and cursing, I remember I’m using Internet Explorer and I switch to Google Chrome and that seems to do the trick. (Yes, I still use Internet Explorer. I also have an aol email address. What can I say?) ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/9 "2012-12-30T02:02:46Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Not a glitch. Many websites that use ad brokers have the same behavior. IMDB for one. Help me understand… …does the page load about 15 times real quickly so that it appears to be the last 15 pages that I visited? … do they simply insert 15 pages into my recent history to make it impossible to escape backwards? … does it really help them achieve their advertising goals? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/10 "2012-12-30T02:04:03Z")
Let me bring this to Ed’s attention, see if the ad people know anything about this. (They probably don’t.) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/11 "2012-12-30T02:10:19Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Help me understand… I wish I could. I don’t understand it myself. All I know is there are many other websites that have begun to do the same thing, and they all have advertising. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/12 "2012-12-30T03:16:24Z")
I began noticing this problem a couple of months ago. The only time I notice it is on this and another message board. It happens on 2 different P.C.s with different versions of Windows. I’m trying to train myself not to use the back arrow, but old habits die hard. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/13 "2012-12-30T13:10:08Z")
Thanks to you all. I now can back click on the arrow and it is working again. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/14 "2012-12-30T14:01:55Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > Thanks to you all. I now can back click on the arrow and it is working again. Might be a bit premature to breathe that sigh of relief. It doesn’t happen all of the time… probably just on certain ads. I was on the board for about 45 minutes yesterday and the problem arose twice but otherwise the back arrow worked fine. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-the-back-arrow/645485/15 "2012-12-30T16:48:11Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > Let me bring this to Ed’s attention, see if the ad people know anything about this. (They probably don’t.) I hope they’ve at least heard of the problem, seeing this is like the 5th thread on this topic in the past year or so.