Intrusive Ads

[sirjeffofshort]

Although this may just seem like complaining from the get go, I'd like to have an open and honest discussion about intrusive ads on the internet.

On the escapist in particular I have as of late been overwhelmed with the 'Glass is life' campaign, however the problem (if it IS a problem) extends well beyond the escapist. Even as I write this, these ads lie to the top and right of my cursor position, like a minefield waiting to pop up with a video over the content should I stray too far in one direction or the other. My tendency when I browse is to open a number of tabs and read each story down the line, so I am often in accidentally rolling over these ads, often several at a time as I click from window to window, and having to search out the offending windows and close the ads.

What makes this personally annoying is that I don't even drink alcohol, so it is an ad that will never hit its target, no matter how many times it pops up.

Personal matters aside, I do understand a sites need for advertising, and pretty much anyone with the advice "just use adblock" would be wasting their time on me. For me it's a pretty much binary decision, either I appreciate the content being put out enough to put up with the ads, or I stop visiting the site.

So my basic question to you guys is, at what point do you draw the line? When do you flip from a 1 to a 0 and just stop visiting a site?

(Sidenote: I personally love the escapist and don't think they're anywhere near bad enough in their add policies to drive me away. Just throwing the topic out there.)

TL;DR - Ads can get annoying, but are also necessary. At what point do you personally stop visiting a site that has gone 'ad crazy'?

 

[madwarper]

Personal matters aside, I do understand a sites need for advertising, and pretty much anyone with the advice "just use adblock" would be wasting their time on me.

No one will advise you that, because it's against the Code of Conduct.

Ad Blockers - Do not link to, advocate, or admit to using ad blockers.

Also, I'd recommend you watch Jimquisition's The Adblock Episode [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/8854-The-Adblock-Episode].

 

[Barbas]

I'd probably stop visiting a site if its advertisements put a disproportionately high amount of malware on my PC and had auto-playing banner advertisements with sound that expanded to cover much of the screen whenever you moused over them. I also dislike "hidden" advertisements in the margins that link you to dodgy porn sites; if I want dodgy porn, I think I know how to find it on my own, thank you very much.[footnote]F***ing nanny state![/footnote]

EDIT: Oh, right - in case someone comes into the thread with a serious complaint about intrusive advertisements (I can't see any as a Pubclub member), you can report any adverts that auto-play with sound or expand to cover a large amount of the screen in the Tech Team chat:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/Tech-Team

They try to get rid of the annoying advertisements and give the space to the more salubrious advertising companies, but basically, things like animated banner ads and those little flash player ads bring in more money because they're more eye-catching.

 

[Armadox]

My problem with the Escapist ads in general is that they auto play with sound. I don't dislike ads, and occasionally I'll even click them if I enjoy the site specifically, and like to know that's a few extra coin in their pocket. But I can not open the Escapist forums and do anything else, as the second I do, the ad at the bottom of the page'll start screaming. I have a dual screen set up, so I'll have Netflix and websites on one while I work on the other, and right this moment, the #unblocker is a minute and twenty-four seconds in.

Silent ads would mean I can hold open more forum tabs at once, which means more clicks. Instead I pick a few that I want to read right then and abandon content I'd have otherwise noticed had I the knowledge that I wouldn't have each forum page playing it's own song and dance..

EDIT: Oh, right - in case someone comes into the thread with a serious complaint about intrusive advertisements (I can't see any as a Pubclub member), you can report any adverts that auto-play with sound or expand to cover a large amount of the screen in the Tech Team chat:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/Tech-Team

That is great! As this has been a thorn in my side for a while. I'll definitely send them the ads that siren on opening the page.

 

[Timotei]

I draw the line for ads when they autoplay sound, or cause my anti-virus software to start sending up red flags. It's not just tied to the internet, but also applications I use for gaming such as Play withSix which are becoming riddled with ads from random sites without so much as a check to see if said ads contain malware.

I also start drawing the line at getting video advertisements for bullshit Tea Party podcasts or christian universities just because my YouTube history is filled with world news shows.