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sandy808

Message To iVillage About Your Ads

sandy808
16 years ago

I will never purchase ANY product that you shove in my face on this site. I will purposely boycott them. I resent getting a very noisy Dove Chocolate commercial on my computer screen that I cannot turn off or disable because you have no way to skip or close it.

When I have all the ad blocking software turned on my computer, it makes using the GardenWeb useless, as it takes WAY too long to get a thread to come up.

The sad part is, I enjoy this website but will quit using it if this garbage continues!

By the way, Hershey's is better chocolate.

Comments (62)

  • sandy808
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks everyone! It sounds as though Firefox is the way to go. I am going to get it ASAP. We have all the "best" firewall stuff for security, ad blocking, viruses, etc., but it slows my computer down so much, I start disabling stuff. (Slow is not good. Slow I'm not very patient with).

    I can "almost" deal with the ads I can chase down and disable or skip. What really steamed me was the extremely loud, in your face, Dove ad that appeared in the middle of me checking out a thread here. I couldn't turn it off, and it kept repeating itself. I had to get off the internet and GardenWeb three times before I could get back on the GardenWeb without it.

    I really enjoy conversing with all of you here. I feel like I have a bunch of good friends, even though we have never met.

    Now for some chocolate....chocolate fixes everything. Where did I put it? (I'm trying to hide it on myself)!

    No, it sure ISN'T Dove's:)

    Sandy

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    Kate, I didn't mean to agitate you. I wasn't trying to be subtle at all, I was quite overt that there is another choice, which is why I posted the web site. But there's no agenda here, I don't want people to leave GardenWeb. I have no vested interest in the desert.

    Randy

  • susaninthegarden
    16 years ago

    ivillage and dove are going on my blacklist too unless they want to post an unobtrusive appology.

  • roseluvr
    16 years ago

    Thanks to all who posted such positive info on Firefox...I've heard it is better than IE but was reluctant to try it..however, the ads on this site have driven me so crazy that I just took the plunge and downloaded it..I must say, the change is amazing-NO pop-ups! What a load off! :)

  • labrea_gw
    16 years ago

    I actually don't mind someone trying to keep a business going so I can conduct this business here ah well! I don't pay for this forum! Yes there are alternatives Ive been to a few of them not thrilled in the least.

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    George, thank you for posting that website address buddy. I just went there and downloaded Mozilla Foxfire. It loaded very quickly and very easily, no hassles. I've taken it for a spin and it performs flawlessly so far. 100 times better than Internet Explorer.

    Sandy, you really must do the same. GardenWeb is awesome when using Mozilla Foxfire. And not just this website, but all of them.

    Randy

  • jerijen
    16 years ago

    Randy, Firefox will come up with regular updates, too, and all sorts of nifty addons. It leaves pore ol' I.E. in the dust.

    Jeri

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    Jeri, I will check out the add-ons. Thanks for the info!

    Randy

  • belmont8
    16 years ago

    Mac/ Safari users can try Pith Helmet for blocking ads. I've been using it for months and I almost forgot how annoying all those ads can be.

  • sandy808
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    It is very nice that this site is free, but I would pay a subscription fee rather than have obnoxious ads.

    Sure glad there is Firefox (which I need to get installed yet).

    Sandy

  • silverkelt
    16 years ago

    In defense of Ivillage, they are only trying to make a buck here. If it wasnt for ads to keep the site free We wouldnt even be discussing this. However, I have to agree, any ad inside the confines of the page is really annoying. Put them on top, bottom, sides, just leave us the middle fo the forum. I cant say I ignore all the ads either, when I scroll through every once in awhile something catches my eye and I go click on it. However you dont need to ditch IE just to ax the annoying ads, just go to the tools tab/internet options/programs and manage ad ons, disable the shockwave flash. This will stop the really annoying ads. You will have to turn it on from time to time to see some content on other pages.

    Silverkelt

  • curlydoc
    16 years ago

    The good thing about Firefox is that you can have both Firefox and Internet Explorer on your computer, it's not one or the other. You can choose which one you want as your default browser, and switch between the two.

  • tenor_peggy
    16 years ago

    The only 'ad' that is bothersome to me is that survey page that scrolls across the page. I wait for it to stop then I close it and thats the end of it.

    I do have a question for you Firefox folks. How is it that this is free? How much will it change things on my 'puter? I am interested but I'll need more info before I approach my hubby about switching...

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    Peggy, for me nothing has changed, except that I don't see pop up ads anymore. In fact, the whole web-surfing experience has improved and quickened. And when I added the "add-on" pop up blocker as people suggested above (and selected the version that said "US"), I don't even see the survey page anymore.

    Curlydoc makes a good point that it's not an either or situation. You can still use Internet Explorer, if and when you want too. And you can decide which one you want to use as your default browser (or easily switch back later if you change your mind). I see no negatives so far.

    Randy

  • carolfm
    16 years ago

    What Randy said, you don't switch, you still have both. I installed Firefox over a year ago and it really works to keep that intrusive mess away.

    Carol

  • tenor_peggy
    16 years ago

    Oh, ok. Then I will have both. :-) Will this also stop the small Orbits ad windows, etc., that appear when I visit other sites?

  • ehann
    16 years ago

    I've been using Firefox for two years. I haven't seen a popup in a looong time, certainly not one from Gardenweb. I bet it would block the orbits ads, too.

  • jerijen
    16 years ago

    There is, btw, a nice little Firefox addon that allows you to toggle back and forth bet. Firefox and I.E., while remaining at a given page.

    Jeri Jennings

  • meredith_e Z7b, Piedmont of NC, 1000' elevation
    16 years ago

    Because installing all the add-ons is certainly quicker than just clicking x on a pop-up...

    lol, sorry, just playing my likely tech customers. I agree, really, about how annoying the intrusive ads are. OTOH, the ads on the side often go to free samples or coupons for things I do use, so I like them. And that pays the site's bills.

    Maybe they'd do away with the obnoxious ones if enough folks 'shopped' the side ads. Maybe not, knowing iV ;]

  • jerijen
    16 years ago

    The add-ons? NOT all for ad-blocking.
    There's a lot more to Firefox than that. And the interesting thing is that most of these "extras" were written by outside people, to create an improvement THEY thought would make the browser more useful.

    You don't have to use them. But they're there for anyone who wants to explore them.

    Jeri

  • athenainwi
    16 years ago

    Firefox is great. I use the add-ons Adblock Plus and NoScript. Adblock Plus blocks the ads and noscript blocks the keyloggers. Those are the nasty programs that steal your passwords and credit card numbers. I have to turn noscript off every once in a while to see a website but it's worth it to feel safer.

    It's too bad that iVillage allows the incredibly annoying, invasive pop-up ads. I wouldn't have even looked for an ad blocker if their ads hadn't been so awful. If they had only the side, silent, non-moving ads then they'd get a lot more ad revenue as we wouldn't all be searching for ad blockers.

  • brandyray
    16 years ago

    I assume (and yes I know about that word) that in order for this website to be free, someone has to pay. In this case, it is the advertiser, so I sometimes do the questionnaire, but videos are completely unacceptable. If I wanted to watch videos, I would be watching television, not surfing on my computer.
    And Dove earns the thumbs down for their intrusive and obnoxious ad. I'm putting it on my boycott list. Brandy

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    Foxfire has now passed the ultimate test ... DW has been using it today, and is in love with it.

    Randy

  • brandyray
    16 years ago

    Here we go again w/ this obnoxious ad! Some scrawny anemic-looking woman eating chocolate. No Dove chocolate for me! (There was a list recently on AOL about 10 foods not to eat and Dove chocolate was one of them- huge amount of fat and calories- like several days worth!)
    I keep the sound on my computer turned off and only turn it on when I want to listen to something- that helps. Firefox has also helped, so thanks whoever suggested it. When the ads get bad, I just go to a different website. I don't have any patience and I despise videos- that's why I don't watch the idiot box. Brandy

  • dublinbay z6 (KS)
    16 years ago

    brandyray--most posters here see no ads, hear no ads. If you still do, then you have not used all the suggested methods posters use to block ALL of that.

    Why don't you post a separate heading asking for help in blocking the ads completely. There is no reason for you to suffer through all this when most of the rest of us do not.

    I'd give you advice but don't know enough how to do the blocks. But I do not see/hear the ads you refer to.

    Good luck,
    Kate

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    brandyray, when I installed Mozilla Firefox, it helped a lot immediately. But I still saw a few ads, including the Dove ad. However, when I installed the Foxfire Ad-Block add-on ... that is when 100% of the ads became TOTALLY BLOCKED. I do not even see static ads that used to be on the right side of the screen.

    Mozilla Foxfire really is the answer, once you also install the Firefox Ad-Block add-on that is also available on their website. It was easy and only took a few minutes to install. And it works for all websites you visit, not just GardenWeb. Your whole web browser experience will be improved, faster, more enjoyable.

    The Foxfire Ad-Block add-on is the answer to all your problems. I'm serious. I held off for a long time, because I was skeptical, but everything said above is true.

    Randy

  • roseluvr
    16 years ago

    Just a word of warning..if you install Firefox then uninstall it, you may lose some of your documents....it converted a good many of my documents to be "read" by Firefox only, and so the documents had to be discarded as unopenable later (even documents that had been saved months earlier...grrr!)...that was a nasty shock.

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    roseluvr, what file types were they that you could no longer open? jpg, xls, doc, mdb ...??

    Randy

  • lionessrose
    16 years ago

    Ahhh ... thanks for the post.
    I am a Garden Web Roses nut and visit the site while at home, at work and even when at my sisters house.
    I use Foxfire at home and have never had the ads...
    At sisters and work however, the ads are there all the time, s..l..o..w..i..n..g.. the computer, wayyyyy down!
    Looking into talking the place of empolyment and sister into getting Foxfire :o)
    I have yet to have any problems with it.
    Lioness

  • roseman
    16 years ago

    If you will just do the following when you initially log in or when you log in again after your computer is down, you will not have any offensive ads: Note that after you login or re-login, down on the lower left-hand side of that page is a checkbox and phrase that says "Remember me on this computer." Check that box before submitting and there should be no more offensive ads. A lot of folks just overlook that box and phrase, so the ads continue. Check the box and then submit and Voila! the ads are gone.

  • sandy808
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Boy, I keep that box checked and I still had all those ridiculous ads.

    I can handle the unobtrusive ads that are on the right hand side of the screen, but NOT the obnoxious ones. Whatever we have on our computers now helps cut that down a lot, but sometimes they find a way to get around it. Dove still finds a way around it. I seldom watch TV unless it's the History channel or Discovery, but one night that stupid same exact Dove ad kept coming up on the commercial break of whatever sation we were watching. Must have been the TNT station. I could be having a major chocolate craving, and if that was the last morsel of chocolate left on earth, I WOULD NOT EAT IT!

    Do the companies that make these obnoxious ads really think that intelligent people are going to buy their products after that?! If they do, then they sure have the wrong people running these companies!

  • roses_more_roses
    16 years ago

    Wow! I just downloaded Foxfire and really like it! I downloaded the adblocker and my Windows is saying they cannot open it since they don't know who created it, and when I am given a list to preview it recommends Internet Explorer....I would really love to download this, if someone more computer literate is reading this post please Help!

  • daun
    16 years ago

    I deleted my Internet Explorer completely. I didnt need it with Mozilla foxfire. Now I have no conflicts.

  • emilyg
    16 years ago

    And you wanna know the completely fabulous thing about Mozilla/Foxfire (besides that it's free)?

    It's that it's been a community effort. People who know computer code (not me) share the information and make it better, as everyone gets a chance to play in it, change it, tweak it, etc.. It's democracy in action. And, as a result, it works a lot better than other things out there where the code is protected by copyright. 2000 heads are better than 20.

    If you're interested, look into the Open Source movement. (Open Source just means that the computer code is open to all, not locked down under copyright.)

    I've been using Firefox for awhile, but thanks for the tio about the Addon to stop those terrible video ads on this site. I was losing my mind. I agree: ads on the sides, top, and bottom that are voluntary are okay, but I just get annoying with things that drift across the page (that survey) and those darn video ads. HATE THEM. Won't buy their stuff either.

  • brandyray
    16 years ago

    thanks, Randy for the info about adblocker. I'll get it. Brandy

  • roseluvr
    16 years ago

    gnabonnand--the pages were saved as web pages. When I went to my documents just now to check this, I found that my receipts are still being saved as Firefox documents, though I uninstalled it several weeks ago! Grrrr.....!!!! I can open the documents if I tell it to use internet explorer, but the fact that Firefox is still hanging around despite uninstalling it is frustrating. Gotta go hunt down the last bits of it and kill it, I reckon. To me, a program like that is invasive and not welcome on my computer.

  • oldblush
    16 years ago

    Roseluvr, it isn't Firefox that's hanging around but Windows that's trying to associate your saved web pages (html and htm files) with Firefox.
    To change this and let Internet Explorer (or any other browser) be the opening program for this file type (web page) do the following:
    Select 'Start'- 'Settings'- 'Control Panel'- 'Folder options'.
    Select the 'File types' tab.
    After a few seconds the file types will open in the window.
    Scroll down to 'HTM' and 'HTML'. One at a time highlight these two. Where it says 'open with' Firefox, click the 'change' button. You can select the browser (internet Explorer) to open these files.
    Hope this helps.
    Hamp

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    Yes, Hamp is right. You have Foxfire set as your default to open those files. Making the change that Hamp details for you takes less than one minute ... there is no invasiveness here. After highlighting the file type, as Hamp directed, click CHANGE, then select Internet Explorer from the window that pops up. It's as easy as that, then you are back to the dreadful Windows Internet Explorer as your default.

    Randy

  • jerijen
    16 years ago

    then you are back to the dreadful Windows Internet Explorer as your default

    *** Though I sure don't know why anyone would WANT to!

    Jeri

  • brandyray
    16 years ago

    Thanks, Randy and others, you were right, once I installed adblocker, ALL the popups STOPPED!!!! Thanks so much!!! Brandy

  • oldblush
    16 years ago

    Jeri, I agree. Actually I started using Mozilla (now known as SeaMonkey) long before Firefox was introduced. I like them both equally well and hardly ever open IE.
    Hamp

  • alicia7b
    16 years ago

    If you're logged in, you won't see the ads. You don't even need Mozilla.

  • emilyg
    16 years ago

    Oh, that's not true! I was logged in without the adblocker plug in and there were PLENTY of ugly floating across the screen things. I don't think that logging in helps one bit. Probably just means that they can track you better.

  • meredith_e Z7b, Piedmont of NC, 1000' elevation
    16 years ago

    Good tips, Hamp!

    And for those thinking of Firefox who want to test it only, DO NOT let it set itself as the default browser. It ask this clearly.

    It will ask again and again as you use it, and you can always say no and still use it. Or you can say yes and use it, but it will take over some functions like Roseluvr noticed. It's supposed to, but if you do not like that, just never answer yes.

    I have to use IE as default to keep consulting with my Dad's partners about their pc problems, so this is what I do. It's fine, computer-wise, to use both.

  • alicia7b
    16 years ago

    It's true for me. If I'm logged in, I don't get any ads.

  • jerijen
    16 years ago

    The average person doesn't NEED to use I.E. -- or at least, rarely.
    Once every three months, I have a need to ftp a large file to a printer many miles distant.
    Their system and Firefox do not mesh.
    For that one, quarterly, function, I use I.E.
    Firefox has been my default browser for a long while now, and will remain so.

    Jeri

  • musarojo
    16 years ago

    I had never heard of Dove Chocolate before I saw the horrible popup with the anorexic tranny train passenger. IÂm sure she went to the bathroom afterwards to purge herself. I saw the chocolate for the first time the other day and stocked up on several pounds of chocolate made by other companies. Thanks to the ad, I knew not to buy this brand.

  • anntn6b
    16 years ago

    I HAVE to get the phone line to my computer replaced. I'm using DH's and popups are here and totally irritating. Not that easy to close either.
    But the unkindest cut is that this d*&^ed land line has the AT&T thing that allows for faster download because it blurs images. Blurred roses = really sad. But, many of the animated ads come through with sharp lines and all animation intact. What a waste of my slow, slow land line, to download images that I really don't want to see.
    Got to get my phone line fixed.

  • gnabonnand
    16 years ago

    musarojo, that's making a statement, lol. I agree, and I'm glad I don't have to watch that Dove Chocolate girl on the train anymore. I don't miss her.

    Randy

  • spanaval
    16 years ago

    You can take your protests to the manufacturer, Mars. They also make a bunch of other products, including M&Ms, Skittles and Snickers (complete list here: http://www.mars.com/global/Mars+Directory/United+States/Company+Search+Results.htm), so be sure you're not rewarding them by buying other products they manufacture.

    I don't ordinarily resort to this, but I finally sent them an email pointing out how their commercials are having the exact opposite of the desired effect, and asking them to cease and desist. Whether they even respond to the email or not, we'll see. I'll keep y'all posted if they do.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Give them a piece of your mind