have emailed GW several times about the popups with no response.

Mine aren't in German but they may as well be. They seem like random words strung together. Aaargh.

Can you install Adblock Plus on your browser? I don't see any ads but I think its because they're blocked :)

Do you all have AdBlock Plus installed on your computer? Everyone should install it. It's free and works for all browsers (IE, Chrome, FF etc).

I never ever see any ads, either on GW or Yahoo or anywhere. Adblock blocks them.

I see the pics on the right....Annie's Salsa but they aren't ads. I also am able to block the picture of the Japanese beetles because they are ugly.

AdBlock saved my relationship with GW.

The simple formula is....NO ads = No Gardenweb.

There is a second formula.
Annoying ads = No Garden Web.

I use Chrome and Adblock and I've never seen any of these ads of which you speak.

It really doesn't make sense when you'd rather leave GW, than install a simple solution. AdBlock works on all sites that have ads.
Kind of "cutting off your nose to spite your face"

I look at it this way...esp when I was on lower speeds. Noone had a right to force me to download extra graphics that would slow my speed down even further and now increase the bandwidth consumption that I'm billed for...ADBlock to the rescue.

I realize that ads sell TV, radio, and Internet content....but I pay little attention to any of them..and would skip them all given the power to do so. After all, it's not considered criminal to go to the bathroom while the commercials are on during your favorite show....nothing pops out of the TV and delivers an electric shock :)

This post was edited by dbarron on Sat, Sep 6, 14 at 9:58

What I don't like is when I see videos that constantly run, without you clicking on them.

Yahoo news has them, Facebook (I'm an infrequent user) has them. Very distracting and runs up your usage.

Yes, I shudder about audio and video starting w/o my requesting it (as a general thing)!

Yes, iVillage does make it's money on ads and that helps keep it free. I tolerated them way back when for a while when they weren't too intrusive. When they started becoming intrusive (expanding to cover messages, etc.), I installed AdBlock Plus. I use Firefox - but it does work for Chrome and Internet Explorer as well.

AdBlock now has an option that allows some ads through - ones that aren't intrusive - so you might consider that option. [See: Allowing acceptable ads in Adblock Plus]

Regarding videos that automatically start up in Facebook - you can turn them off. Check the Settings/Options/Tools/Preferences for Facebook on your device.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread: Eliminating Those Pesky Inline Links in Messages

Thank you for this info. I just installed AdBlock Plus to use with Safari. Available from the Apple Store.

Edited to add that it is free from the AppleStore--or you can donate any amount you wish to the designer. No set, required $$$ at all.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Sat, Sep 6, 14 at 16:54

And for Ipad users the 1.99 weblock app works very well!
It is well worth it.

>Available from the Apple Store.

? Just to go to safari preferences>extensions>get extensions and it's the very first one that comes up. No need to go through the app store at all.

I understand that ads are the way this place pays for itself and I don't even mind the idea of ads, but when the giant tire began rolling all over the content and you couldn't dismiss it, that was it for me.

I read on my iPad and the suggested ad blocker didn't work on GW but did block actual content I wanted to see. Uninstalled it and I'm barely tolerating these intrusive ads. I have no issue with ads, especially appropriately targeted ads, but these horrible pop ups that cover content are ruining the experience here.

Christina, did you add the "address" in the proxy setting area?

Yes I did Terri, it worked for about a day and then stopped working. It also blocked things that weren't ads on other sites.

You can try AdBlocker for the iPad, though it costs $4 after a short free trial. It's an alternative browser and occasionally annoying, but excellent for when the ads get out of hand.

Re audio and video that starts automatically, you should be able to set your browser to not do that, at least on a computer (maybe not on a tablet or phone, which tend to be less customizable).

I like and often scan the sidebar ads, which seem more targeted to me. I understand sites have to monetize. But the popups here are the most repetitive, relentless, and annoying of any site I visit. Someone else, one of these days, is going to start an alternate site.

>Someone else, one of these days, is going to start an alternate site.

They've already lost a great many long-time posters to other sites. A big bunch of the folks from the FL gardening forum, which used to be very busy, left to start a facebook group some time ago, for instance. That was about half about the ads and half about the loss of archived posts back when they were having so many problems all the time.

One problem with Adblock that you should keep in mind is that it will sometimes block wanted dynamic content from poorly coded sites. If you're ready to write to a webmaster about something seemingly broken, click on the Adblock icon to disable it on that page, refresh the page, and see if the problem resolves itself.

As for going elsewhere because the site needs to pay its bills and you feel that you are being inconvenienced, then you're a cheap SOB for wanting everything for free. Quit. That'll show 'em.

Every other site I go to has to pay it's bills too but they don't have these horrible, intrusive pop up ads. I have no objection to ads, ads that are properly targeted are helpful and I make a point of clicking on them to help out the sites I use. These ads make this site a chore. As a result the other ads on the page, which could monetize the site, get less hits because fewer people can stand to be here or because visitors installed ad blocking software and now see no ads at all.

Eventually many people probably will end up somewhere else with less obnoxious ads and those who stay will use ad blockers and this site will suffer. Monetizing choices that drive off consumers are a poor choice and should be reviewed. If this site finds the pop ups are preferable to appropriately targeted ads that do not drive off visitors then by all means they should keep them.

GW is by far the best forum I have found IMO. User-friendly and lots of action. A popular Canadian magazine shut down their forums to do strictly FB. I don't like FB and am an infrequent user. I wouldn't want that to be my only choice for gleaning information.

I do have my settings not to run videos on FB, that was just an example of where videos instantly run. I absolutely do not want videos that start automatically, especially with sound.

I just checked my Settings on Chrome and don't see any options for audio/visual, Plllog. Do you know how I can make sure that they don't start?

Hmmm Christina.
I have no problems with weblock working. Weird that it's not on yours?
It worked on Words with Friends for a few weeks too, and now every once and a while an ad will pop through.
But so much better!

I happened to catch a note and hyperlink at the bottom of the page INSIDE an active thread that led to a closed thread about how to opt out of the inline ad links. The URL is below, but the link provided for the opt-out does not work. Maybe I missed something or maybe someone can shed some light on whether this is still viable through another avenue.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/suggest/msg121346591104.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Thread re opting out of on-line ad links

Jasdip,

For CHROME desktop version, here's a good web article on how to set click to play for plug-ins. You have to scroll down on the content settings screen to find the plug-ins options. That will take care of Flash, which most videos are in. It also tells (keep scrolling) about an extension to disable autoplay of HTML5 elements.

I am usually a lurker reading on an ipad.

I clicked on the link in greenhaven's post. It went nowhere as she reported, but I tried

Http://vibrantmedia.com

and clicked on "opt out" in the upper right. They wanted me to enable third-party cookies. I did not do that, but clicked on the "continue anyway".

It''s too soon to tell if it worked, but it seems worth a shot.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vibrant Media