Not sure how effective this is going to be, but here are the instructions:

Opt out

Dont know if anyone else is having this problem

I click on this forum, my computer just sits here and spins. Taking lots of time to even scan down through a page.

My computer maybe blocking lots of ads?

Just use Firefox then you don't see them and you don't have to opt out of them.

I would much prefer a subscription to the onslaught of annoying advertising. No one expects you to maintain this site for free, but I think you should give everyone the option with a 2 tier membership level.

Those who do not wish to pay a subscription can continue to encounter the pop ups, scrolling ads and IntelliTXT.

Those who would like to pay for a subscription should not have to see any form of advertising.

Wouldn't that be fair for everyone and still provide you with a revenue stream?

The ads for the sexual products are particularly in poor taste, IMO.

Loves2cook4six,

The new ads don't start until February 17th. I use Firefox and haven't had a problem with any popups or ads here on GW. I hope you are right and that Firefox will also prevent the new ads from being seen.

Ann

I am another who gladly paid $15 for a year membership and would again.

oh and I use Opera and have no pop ups or advertising as long as I'm logged in.

But I do have intellatex show up when I visit another site that uses it.

I didnt pay before, but sure would know.
We are using Foxfire and for some reason yesterday and this morning couldnt navigate any sites on Gardenweb without problems.

Hate to see what the intellatex will do!

I'm pretty good at ignoring ads in general. Firefox is a big help. (Though I hate the latest version and refuse to upgrade.)

I would hate for GW to start charging again. I use to receive lots of emails from lurkers who couldn't afford to pay the fee. So they would email me directly with requests or for recipes. Many of them became members once the fee was done away with. I would hate for that to become a problem again. And who is to say that they would only charge $15.00.

Ann

I agree, Ann. As I said on the other thread about this (on the conversations side) I think we should not be in a hurry to suggest going back to a fee. Businesses have it in their own interest not to annoy people.

That is why I had suggested the 2 tiered system - no advertising at all for paying subscribers and advertising for the non-paying ones. I am not suggesting that people who didn;t pay for a subscription be limited in their access, just that they would see ads that paying subscribers would not.

Alexa

cloudy christine,

"Businesses have it in their own interest not to annoy people."

The "business" in our case is NBC Universal a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric (GE). NBC has been struggling for several years. GE decided to sell. The last I heard was that Comcast had purchased 51% of NBC (of which Garden Web is a VERY small part). GE is to retain a 49% interest.

In any event, Garden Web is such ridiculously small peanuts buried within the ginormous conglomerate I'm pretty sure the CEOs are unconcerned about "annoying" us. :(

I think the two-tiered system is a good idea. It would also be easy to deny access to anybody's email addresses that wasn't a...I guess the word would now become...subscriber. That would take care of Ann's concerns.

GE, NBC, and/or Comcast are not providing us with a forum because they are nice guys. They have to meet the demands of their shareholders. Anyway, if GW doesn't turn a profit, or lead directly to company divisions that do, we are toast. End of story. Comcast, as 51% stakeholder, will be calling the shots.

Comcast can use GW in many ways. They can advertise all of their cable shows, sell ads to generate income from GW, or feed GWers into other Comcast (or GE) owned companies, etc. But, somewhere GW has to pay its share of the light bill. Personally, I think NBC (Garden Web) is being quite respectful of us by providing an "opt out" of this awful method of advertising. I also hate those ads!

I don't expect the "opt out" to last forever. Comcast is bound to make changes if the sale is approved. Afterall, GE is selling NBC because the company's not been performing. Comcast believes it can turn that around or they wouldn't have paid $30B+.

The sale has not yet been approved but my guess is that in some incarnation it will be...

/tricia

Maybe it's time to find another forum host. Comcast is my internet/cable TV provider and they are AWFUL. I can only see these forums going downhill if the purchase is approved.

As an aside, what's going on with the http://maintenance.nbcuni.com/ all the time.

trudy, I am having the same problem on both my computers.
Sometimes, I get a msg that says the site is temporarily unavailable.
Regarding the Opt out feature, it is my understanding that you will need to Opt out each time you delete your cookies, which I do frequently. I also am not in favor of a paid subscription, and while the suggestion for a tiered subscription/membership may sound simple, it may be too costly to administer and maintain the concept. I also avoid sites that use this method of advertising. Hopefully, we won't have to live with it for long.

I use Firefox yet have been having problems accessing to GW. It would be a shame if they charge for membership and we will lose a lot of us. Al

I am not sure what i am doing right, but I use IE and have never had a pop up. I opted out on the first day, so we shall see.

I for one do not want to pay again. Crud, I am paying enough for other things.

You misunderstood my comments Tricia. My concern certainly wasn't that I was receiving emails. I welcome anyone who has a question or is searching for a recipe to email me. My point is that it would be unfortunate if GW went back to a membership fee because there would be many that couldn't afford to participate.

If GW actually went to a two-tierd membership, the last thing I would want to do is restrict email addresses.

Ann

Tricia, I understand that Garden Web's receipts are an infinitesimal part of NBC's or GE's revenue stream.
I'm pretty sure that the cost of maintaining these forums is very small, don't you agree? So I think we can't be the cause of much of their problem.
And the fees they might collect from the forums are much too small to matter, except to us.

This site barely functions at times. The search is just about worthless.

And you want to what?????

Please, fix the problems before you alienate those of us who love it here so much, that we already put up with way more than we should have too.

Nancy

Peppi the Vibrant ads are supposed to start tomorrow, Feb. 17, so that's when we will see if the opt-out option will work. At the moment it's not in action.

And yes it does say that you'll have to opt out every time you delete all cookies, since the opt-out procedure drops a cookie on your computer.

SharonCb

I'm normally a defender of the advertising here because aside from the rare "take-over-the-screen ads" I find it fairly inobtrusive and a small price to pay for a free service. But I will agree that for the short period of time they had those links a few months back was VERY annoying and I sure hope the opt-out works this time.

While I KNOW no harm was intended, I'd hate to see Tamara back off from "playing" here because we put her in the position of defending corporate action. I would think that threads such as this get her attention without actually having to call her, and that she'll pass on our opinions as she sees fit.

cloudy christine,

"I'm pretty sure that the cost of maintaining these forums is very small, don't you agree? So I think we can't be the cause of much of their problem.
And the fees they might collect from the forums are much too small to matter, except to us."

I have no idea the cost of maintaining GW. But, as with any corporate division...GW's new owners will either see us as part of the solution or part of the problem.

Based on your comment, I don't see why they would continue to support GW at all? We have to matter someway, somehow to the bottom line or they'll toss us overboard. I have no idea of their Business Plan for GW other than they are obviously wanting us to be revenue positive; hence, the ads.

Sounds like you just have a different view of management. I'd like to hope you are right & I'm wrong.

My belief is that these decisions are pretty black/white. Either we are a profit center; or we are not.

IMO, they won't care if every single one of us that's been around for years leaves. There will be new people finding GW every day & management will calculate what percentage of those will either tolerate the blasted ads or pay a subscription fee. They'll use a pre-determined mathematical formula for calculating GW's potential income stream based on a business plan for Garden Web (whatever that may be?).

Grandfathering long time forum participants as with this "opt out" feature is, again IMO, a rather generous thing for a mega-corporation. It indicates, to me, that we have an advocate somewhere. Whoever that person is...thank you, from me.

I do agree with you that GW is too small to be highly visible on the radar screen for restructuring NBC Univeral. That is both the good news; and the bad news.

Sorry Ann, my error. I read your post as saying you didn't like receiving emails from "lurkers". As for being "unfortunate" that some can't afford a subscription fee...yeah, well sure, I agree with you. But, that's life in a capitalistic country. Heck, I'd like it better if ancestry.com didn't charge me a subscription fee either (shrugs shoulders).

Sometimes, GW tosses me off & I have to re-log in. Now, I guess, I'll have to also opt-out of these ads every time that happens. Does anybody know how to access the form after it's link disappears from the top of the main pages?

/tricia

Tricia, I don't have a rosy view of the management of NBC or GE; not at all. But less infuriating advertising methods may be a smarter way for them to make a profit, and they might think about that.

When they did this before, I never saw it at all, using Firefox. Hoping that will still be the case.

No problem Tricia, I realized that you had read my comments incorrectly. I just wanted to clarify. Most here,including lurkers know that I have always been happy to share my recipe collection and answer questions via email.

Well it is the 17th of February and so far no annoying ads have popped up. I'm hoping that means Firefox is responsible.

Ann

No it's not! LOL

Hi everyone,

I know that this new advertising is upsetting, but please know that your comments are read and passed along to higher management.

Regarding the problems with the slow loads and timing out -- this has already been reported and they are looking into the cause.

If you are having other issues or specific problems, it's more helpful to send an email so that it can be addressed more quickly. You can use the link at the bottom of the page, or email me directly through my profile page.

Thanks,

Tamara

(Sorry for the late reply -- I had the day off yesterday.)

Oooops , I'm a day ahead. LOL!

Ann

I have zero problems with ads. I have zero problems with TV commercials. I completely understand that it is the ads that pay for this FREE service. I even buy things specifically because of GardenWeb ads, if it's something I want to buy. What I do object to is the content of certain ads, and the way that certain ads pop up in your face and do so over and over again. No one here complained about ads other than the repeated, repeated pop up ones, the scroll over text, and the tacky, tacky KY jelly ads. Really, who needs this in their face EVERY DAY, for weeks at a time. I don't even mind the new ads that came with my MS Works software, they are on the side. But advertisers SHOULD be aware, IMHO, that they need to be careful what they beam into everyone's home, since ads that are distasteful to the majority will hurt their business, not improve it. That's why I no longer do TV, it's not the ads, its the amount and constant repitition. But then on some stations the ads and the shows have sort of bled together. Same with Web sites. I hope GW doesn't become this, because I will definately opt out then.

I don't have that much faith in corporate managers. For example, how much has KY's revenue improved due to advertising here? I would doubt very much, but what do I know. And I doubt any corporate type knows either. Like some have said, this is small potatoes and I would guess they don't do much serious market research on this site. OR do they much agressively go after advertisers without a clear bottom line. For example, why are food products so rarely advertised on the side bars? They would be much more likely to get people to buy OLIVE OIL than KY jelly, although maybe we're getting that ad because we talk about jelly a lot, which is probably how they do the "market research."

There's a joke in there somewhere about KY jelly and olive oil, but I'll let Jessy handle that one. ;) Sorry, couldn't resist.

The KY ad has been removed from GW -- you shouldn't be seeing it after today.

I do think that there are a lot more 'food-related' ads showing up on GW lately. Just this morning, I've seen Dove Chocolate, Hidden Valley and Diet Snapple.

Momj47, I feel your pain with Comcast. Just wanted to let you know though that Comcast is wonderful when put beside my last two other carriers, Knology and Mediacom. From listening to others I don't think there is a good one anymore.

Tamara, you're funny and obviously you have been following the action here. Glad you had a day off.

Gee, I kind of liked the KY ad. ;)

The very worst ads are the ads that are alongside my Yahoo email. They are so obnoxious!

I do hope the InStupidText ads will be blocked for those of us who opt out.

As far as Comcast goes, I have gone from sending them $12 a minth for cable tv to $200 a month for tv, phone and internet. That is over 25 years. I have a lifetime TiVo subscription but can barely use it with Comcast's recent changes -- I am being forced to get their new version. I've had HBO and Showtime during the introductory period but I'll be getting rid of that. If the power goes out, my phone goes out. Let's just hope the cell phone is charged -- another friggin monthly expense.

Anyway, would I pay for CF to avoid ads? Maybe.

I think regardless of everything, Jessy should be extremely proud that her reputation has extended (no jokes EJ) itself to the management of GW! You go Jessy! I don't know about anyone else but I find that totally hilarious!

Duane

I didn't mind the KY ad the first couple of times, I figured it was because Valentine's Day was approaching, probably their equivalent of Christmas for moving their "product," such as it is, so it just started off as innane like most ads, but after a while, it got to be ridiculous and represented crass commercialism in my book. And yes, my sarcasm was showing and I am amazed that the legend of EJ lives on.

LOL Duane!

Well, today is the 17th and nothing on my screen so far... keeping fingers crossed!

No ads for me either, but I did opt out.

That was funny Duane. Jessy soon will be invited to Comcast board meetings to add some levity. And she is up to the job!

No ads for me today either, I didn't opt out.

I'd be cool with an option to pay to keep ads out if they start showing up.

David

is anyone experiencing the ads ? I opted out a week ago.

I never opted out because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So far so good. No ads at all. Maybe it hasn't started yet????

Ann

I opted out & no ads.

/t

Well I opted out the last time they did it, but the opt out didn't work and I've deleted cookies many times in between. So I'm thinking it's just not up yet.

From the fingers of Tamara There's a joke in there somewhere about KY jelly and olive oil, but I'll let Jessy handle that one

'Handle' that one, indeed.

I always considered KY a food condiment, thats why I have a tube in our bedside tool-box. We really should have a taste-off with Astro-Glide, dontcha think?

I should have been Sarah Silverman. Next lifetime!

Oh yeah we're talking about ads...none here. Don't care either way if I'm logged in and they are unobtrusive. Its when I'm NOT logged in that they are all over the place. Almost as bad as Sunset and Foodnetwork's sites.

I checked it out on my work computer yesterday, and no intext ads showed up. Plenty of other pop-up ads and other ads showed up, but not the ones being discussed.

Sally

Yikes, Jessy. Things really ARE cooking at the Evil household.

I agree, as long as I'm logged in the ads are unobtrusive, but I hate those that you can't avoid, move your mouse anywhere and get a pop up.

I've opted out and haven't gotten ads, but I do delete cookies regularly and so will probably have to opt out each time I do that. That's fine, as long as it works I'll do that.

As for KY vs Astroglide, I've asked this a couple of times without answer. If the Astroglide is strawberry flavored, is it considered a food substance?

Annie

Well, the ads have started showing up, even though I've opted out. Bummer. I went to double check, and it still shows me as having opted out - at least I think it does. The spot where you're supposed to click that did say disable says enable now, which I don't want to do. I hope I'm not stuck with those things.

Sally

Same here! I opted out and there they are!! This sucks! It also makes the opt out a farce. Very disappointed, to say the least!

:-(

Good news! Follow beanthere_dunthat's instructions on the linked thread. It works! (For now, anyway. I'm sure they'll get smarter eventually.)

Here is a link that might be useful: get rid of them!

Hmm, I don't have any. I did opt out and haven't cleared my cookies recently.