*Report Questionable Ads Here*

[Mike Jordan]

I for one find more than a few ads to be very annoying. If they were simply trying to get your attention like the ads you see when you walk down the street, it would be one thing, but to compare ads on the street to ads on the internet is like comparing a neighbor with an annoying barking dog to having the super bowl played in your back yard... including all the trash that is left after the game is over.

The ads that just post an image on the screen don't bother me so much, it's the interactive animated ones that insist on leaving tracking cookies and other bits of (sometimes malicious) active-x, java and who knows what, code on your computer and pop up in the middle of your screen to distract while reading or writing. Unfortunately, most people don't know (or care) what is going on in their computers. And if there was ever a case of "Ignorance is bliss" this would be it... at least until their computer stops working.

I have finally fixed the problem with Craftster being so slow. Now it's running as fast as it did before they over loaded the pages with interactive and animated ads.  Instead of just using a software firewall, Zone Alarm, on my computer, I've now added a very good quality hardware firewall, Sonicwall o my total network. This blocks a lot of the stuff coming not only from Craftster but a lot of other sites that do the same thing and means the firewall I have installed on my computer (and the other 5 computers on my network) don't have to use up a bunch of CPU resources keeping us protected and they all run a lot faster and a lot more secure. And believe me, I don't mind at all not knowing what I'm missing.

Mike

[fantasticmio]

Oh dear!  The flashy ads and popups are exactly the kind of ads that need to be reported in this thread!  Craftster doesn't want them either, but unfortunately, the way the ads work, we can't get rid of them until we see them (though, we have requested to not get them, sometimes things leak through.)

[kunoni]

no idea if this is on purpose, but the size and fitting of the ad just seemed kind of odd. Actually, it didn't seem like an ad at all because all it said was "DELL" with nothing beside it (but when I clicked on it it brought me to another site, so it IS an ad.)



and P.S.- the Meow Mix ad makes me giggle every time I see it.

[HSG]

I for one find more than a few ads to be very annoying. If they were simply trying to get your attention like the ads you see when you walk down the street, it would be one thing, but to compare ads on the street to ads on the internet is like comparing a neighbor with an annoying barking dog to having the super bowl played in your back yard... including all the trash that is left after the game is over.

The ads that just post an image on the screen don't bother me so much, it's the interactive animated ones that insist on leaving tracking cookies and other bits of (sometimes malicious) active-x, java and who knows what, code on your computer and pop up in the middle of your screen to distract while reading or writing. Unfortunately, most people don't know (or care) what is going on in their computers. And if there was ever a case of "Ignorance is bliss" this would be it... at least until their computer stops working.

I have finally fixed the problem with Craftster being so slow. Now it's running as fast as it did before they over loaded the pages with interactive and animated ads.  Instead of just using a software firewall, Zone Alarm, on my computer, I've now added a very good quality hardware firewall, Sonicwall o my total network. This blocks a lot of the stuff coming not only from Craftster but a lot of other sites that do the same thing and means the firewall I have installed on my computer (and the other 5 computers on my network) don't have to use up a bunch of CPU resources keeping us protected and they all run a lot faster and a lot more secure. And believe me, I don't mind at all not knowing what I'm missing.

Mike

Mike
Glad that you have found a solution that seems to solve the concerns you have over the ads. However, in the almost 5 years I've been a member of Craftster I've never gotten any problems on my PCs/Laptops, as you've described in your post. Cookies yes, but those are minor and easily cleaned off or even blocked. Nothing ever malicious. Craftster does care about its members.

As was so well said by many others in this thread, but most recently by Trekky:

I'd like to say a big thanks to the team of mods at craftster.  Any problems or hitches there is always someone around to help out.  Also this is pretty much the friendliest forum on the internet (although I haven't been to them all  ).  The mods do a great job so thank you!

And yeah ads can be a pain in the butt; but walk down the street / turn on the tv / radio and tell me that you don't see ads.  At least the ads on here are craft-related.

Personally I prefere a forum where there are good mods & tech help available.  I am realistic to realise that we need to pay people for their time & skills.  The money has to come from somewhere and using ads can be a good source of revenue.  So thank you! 

The mods are here to help, and have been working with the tech team to solve issues as they have been reported.

If you want the ads gone, right now that is not an option. Perhaps it could be in the future. Till them the ads do help support the site that is otherwise free, unless you wish to be a FoC. 

[Mike Jordan]

Malicious comes in different flavors. I count anything that affects my computer so that it can't do what I want as malicious. Tracking my movements and what I look at, even if I don't buy them, so that those same type ads can be displayed when I go to other sites, is malicious.  Using personal information that I enter (like e-mail address, name, address, etc.) and selling that information I also consider malicious.  Every time someone clicks on one of the ads that Craftster is selling space to on here, the person that clicks is risking their information being used for other uses way beyond what they where clicking for. I'm not saying that Craftster themselves are doing this, but Craftster does not know what those ad agencies are doing with the information that they are getting because people click on an add thinking that it's safe to because Craftster allows it to be on their site and appears to be endorsing it.

It's not so easy to just block cookies any more. For instance, Craftster won't let you log in if you block the cookies from this site. Or at least block all cookies. I'll have to check to see what exception I need to put in my firewall to allow the login cooking but not let all the rest in as well. There are a lot of other sites like that as well.  And yes, some of us do clean our cache and cookies out on a regular basis, many others don't even know they need to do that.  Oh well, I deal with this stuff on a day to day bases, so I'm more aware than most.

I don't know what FOC, means.  Anyway, I'm through with this thread and I'll leave you all in piece with your cookies and milk.

Mike

[sweets4ever]

Thanks again for the support!

[goldfishpollywog]

I'm still getting bleedover from the ads between posts, but it isn't as often.  I did figure out that it is in part to the fact that I don't maximize my windows, but I have to multitask, so that isn't much of an option.  Just wanted to let y'all know in case you needed to know that it is still happening on those with a larger thumbnail since the caption isn't wrapping to beside the image, but rather under it.........

Oops looks like I'm rambling again...Hopefully that made some sort of sense to someone besides me. 

[jungrrl]

no idea if this is on purpose, but the size and fitting of the ad just seemed kind of odd. Actually, it didn't seem like an ad at all because all it said was "DELL" with nothing beside it (but when I clicked on it it brought me to another site, so it IS an ad.)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5195/5902227782_3a58af1e98.jpg


and P.S.- the Meow Mix ad makes me giggle every time I see it.

Every once in a while, the ads will load in the wrong place, so for instance that was the tall vertical ad on the side, that accidentally loaded in the horizontal ad space. I had that happen to me once this morning but not again. If it continues to hiccup for you for more than a minute or two let us know what ads and we can look into it! (I'm actually just assuming you only saw it once today, I hope that's correct!)

I'm still getting bleedover from the ads between posts, but it isn't as often.  I did figure out that it is in part to the fact that I don't maximize my windows, but I have to multitask, so that isn't much of an option.  Just wanted to let y'all know in case you needed to know that it is still happening on those with a larger thumbnail since the caption isn't wrapping to beside the image, but rather under it.........

Oops looks like I'm rambling again...Hopefully that made some sort of sense to someone besides me. 

Bleh. Yea it's better but not perfect for sure! I'll try to get another update for you guys in the near future.

[ThreadOrYarn]

not sure what happened yesterday or today, but the new ad widget thingy is running out of it's place again...

[HSG]

not sure what happened yesterday or today, but the new ad widget thingy is running out of it's place again...

Those wacky widgets had a late night of partying last couple of nights. We will have to wrangle them in and make them behave. Sorry, they get out of hand on summer break. 

Seriously, thanks for your patience.