For a Forum that wants to keep politics and the resultant name calling away, why am I getting ads that have political conflict as their primary draw?
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Combination of Adblock and uBlock Origin keeps things pretty clean except for the Grand Canyon pop-up
rdamon Combination of Adblock and uBlock Origin keeps things pretty clean except for the Grand Canyon pop-up
Works fine for me. No political ads in sight.
BaltACDFor a Forum that wants to keep politics and the resultant name calling away, why am I getting ads that have political conflict as their primary draw?
Karma?
(Sorry, I couldn't resist...)
Seriously, if you look at the 'trade press about the trade press' you will see all the ways Kalmbach Media is taking up motivating and using its enthusiast communities. Some of them specifically involve forum participants who aren't registered subscribers (that would show up in the usual direct-mail subscriber databases. They have 'teamed up' with a company that claims to know all about how to do that sort of thing.
In the past, there have been several occasions where 'marketing partners' have provided malformed content that has broken access to the forums, locked up sessions or browsers, or fed decidedly unusual content to particular users. The particular issue I have with the recent approach (since the last major 'renovation' a few weeks ago) is that it provides the users with little if any control over the content of the ads it serves, particularly in the ability to reject any particular ad or type of ad (as Google, for example, nominally does).
A problem is that each of these little joint venture partner companies zealously treasures its little algorithms for targeting the unwilling 'clients' and therefore is highly unlikely to reveal how it actually selects the ads you'll be served. It will likely target your 'clickstream' whether or not something you clicked was something you actually wanted to see, and then not give you the option to edit or even weight the "results" of its "research". (It may also look across other activity or files to 'determine your interests' or some other excuse for outright snooping...)
It's possible that there are staffers at Kalmbach Media who know how to reset your ad preferences, or could guide you through how to do that -- I'd PM one of the moderators with this specific request and see if they have better advice or even a specific procedure on the provider's Web site for 'amending' wrong or undesired content. (After all, if it's the 'relationship' they're valuing, making that more responsive and accurate is all good, right?)
I get no ads at all. Just lucky, I guess.
York1 John
I hink the ad Balt saw (and I saw it, too) had to do with refinancing mortgages. I found it on the Newswire, and the heading was definitely politically slanted, in my opinion. Since Google, not Kalmbach, provided it, I'm not sure there is much that can be done.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
CShaveRRI hink the ad Balt saw (and I saw it, too) had to do with refinancing mortgages. I found it on the Newswire, and the heading was definitely politically slanted, in my opinion. Since Google, not Kalmbach, provided it, I'm not sure there is much that can be done.
Kalmbach can stop running Google ads and complain to Google about the advertising that is being shown on Kalmbach sites.
I added a "hosts" file on my computer. While it probably needs an update, it keeps a lot of advertising off pages I visit. And I don't have to worry about the ad blockers being malware themselves.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 I added a "hosts" file on my computer. While it probably needs an update, it keeps a lot of advertising off pages I visit. And I don't have to worry about the ad blockers being malware themselves.
FWIW, all of the ads showing up on the page while typing this are either full size or model railroad related. I have had experiences in the past where the ads were in no way related to the content of this site.
Amusing note about ad blockers: I'm running the most recent release of Firefox with the privacy settings set to standard and a fair number of sites are claiming that I'm running an ad-blocker.
I havent seen any political ads pop up at all.
I have some women's fashion ads pop up. I'm not complaining.
Oh baby...
This is not women's fashion - young or old.
Flintlock76 I havent seen any political ads pop up at all. I have some women's fashion ads pop up. I'm not complaining. Oh baby...
You must love the "meet local singles" ads that I keep seeing on Railpictures.net!
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
SD70Dude Flintlock76 I havent seen any political ads pop up at all. I have some women's fashion ads pop up. I'm not complaining. Oh baby... You must love the "meet local singles" ads that I keep seeing on Railpictures.net!
Let's put it this way 'Dude, I find them interesting...
Fear not everyone, I have NO interest in misbehaving!
Too old for that stuff anyway.
Wayne, if you misbehaved, you might be in a firestorm worse than those in California?
Johnny
Deggesty Wayne, if you misbehaved, you might be in a firestorm worse than those in California?
You ain't kiddin' Johnny!
Hamburg, Dresden, Tokyo, and California all rolled into one!
Wayne
samfp1943Replaced it with some updated versions.. Firefox and some adjunct ad blocking websites. That settled down my problems and and complaints which had appeared after one of Klambake's 'week-end upgrades'...
I almost hate to mention this ... but did you check your private messages lately?
To my knowledge the forum software won't let you send a PM from Firefox above 61: everything opens but the text entry window gets 'updated' right at the last minute so it doesn't take any entry from the mouse or keyboard.
So be prepared to keep a browser that does work ready at hand if you want to reply to any private message or post one yourself...
OvermodSo be prepared to keep a browser that does work...
I'm firmly convinced that the software vendors track which features are most used and take those features out in new versions (or at least make them difficult to use). It sure seems that way to me, anyhow...
Overmod samfp1943 Replaced it with some updated versions.. Firefox and some adjunct ad blocking websites. That settled down my problems and and complaints which had appeared after one of Klambake's 'week-end upgrades'... To my knowledge the forum software won't let you send a PM from Firefox above 61: everything opens but the text entry window gets 'updated' right at the last minute so it doesn't take any entry from the mouse or keyboard. So be prepared to keep a browser that does work ready at hand if you want to reply to any private message or post one yourself...
samfp1943 Replaced it with some updated versions.. Firefox and some adjunct ad blocking websites. That settled down my problems and and complaints which had appeared after one of Klambake's 'week-end upgrades'...
Thanks, Overmod ! I had re-discovered that problem, shortly after I had re-installed Firefox's latest version... I had had a similar note from Flintlock76 about that same issue. He uses Google.
My personal preference is just about anythig else. Google is not way up on my personal favorites. Neither is M/S Edge and its iterations. I use the Edge when I am going to read or write messages. It is easily dumped when I'm done; Google, not so much. I guess, I may be somewhat paranoid, but Google seems to be the equivalent of inviting the Gossipy Neighbor in, along with their tape recorder.
I discovered the Opera browser when the latest round of changes in Internet security eliminated any 'modern' browser for Mac OS X 10.6.8 or lower (which for technical reasons is the 'latest' OS that runs on a great many older Macintosh computers). None of the 'big three' or Apple's own Safari team had any interest even in a limited-feature workaround for this ... but Opera loads nicely and renders content just fine, and not incidentally continues to allow access to the PM function as currently coded.
Whether or not you can stand the different interface and conventions (including the irritating characteristic that, unlike Firefox, you have no option to keep from opening 'too many' previously-opened windows if the software crashes) is a matter of your own personal taste, but I find it does everything I need forum access to accomplish.
Where o' where is Netscape?
The last version of Netscape was released circa 2010 or earlier - have the announcement from Freshmeat II stashed somewhere. Mozilla started as the follow-on for Netscape, which then begat Firefox - my first experience with Firefox was on Solaris.
I've used Opera in the past, and sounds like it would be a good update on my two older Mac - one is almost 10.5 years old and still working.
BaltACDWhere o' where is Netscape?
NetSCrap and the weasels who promulgated the original 'browser for exploitation and profit' model as gatekeepers to the Internet are, thankfully, long since gone. As noted, the Mozilla organization builds on the original architecture ... but has been free and billed as 'open' since the beginning. As it should have been.
I can laugh and talk about 'Internet Exploiter' and the equally-weaselly attempt to claim that a 'browser' and underlying UI and OS were supposed to be 'inseparable'. That died its own public and richly-deserved death. To this day we suffer from the result: the need to use a whole separate klunk of code to parse and frame hypertext or other HTMLx constructions which should have been native display modalities in both operating systems and programs/applications/use your favorite term du jour that run on them.
But most of the time, I'll settle for 'runnable and free'. And use other programs and utilities to slam the door on the now-vast economy of weasels profiting off my patronage without offering me adequate quid pro quo for doing so...
I confess, though, that on the eve of All Saints, on the day the graves come open and the past may come to revisit us, I take a little delight that NetSCrap won't be one of the things that rises.
Oh come on Balt, anyone who reads the magazine can tell that Kalmbach has no qualms about politics, their columnists write about it all the time.
It's just we the unwashed masses who are not allowed to express political opinion.
Have to disagree, respectfully.
As long as the political comment is railroad-related, and everyone stays respectful of others opinions, that is, you can challenge someone's opinion but DON'T question their honesty, intelligence, or integrity, I've never seen an issue. It's when people get nasty that the shut-down comes. There's no reason to get nasty, we've all got brains and know how to use them.
Ever hear the story of a new student at Washington College in Virginia after Robert E. Lee became president of the school? The young man asked the general where he could get a copy of the schools rule book. (Yes, he was that approachable.)
Lee told him, "Son, we only have one rule here, that every student be a gentleman."
Wise words to live by.
Back to the original topic, I just had a "Forever 21" ad pop up.
Oh bay-bee...
BaltACD This is not women's fashion - young or old.
Balt, that ad is from a company that has the "LowerMyBills.com" title. It is not a politcal ad for one side, because several years ago I saw the same basic ad called, "Obama Mortgage Bailout". The Wikipedia entry says they are now owned by Quicken Loans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LowerMyBills.com
I see their ads on a different site. I've never seen them on the Kalmbach site.
York1 BaltACD This is not women's fashion - young or old. Balt, that ad is from a company that has the "LowerMyBills.com" title. It is not a politcal ad for one side, because several years ago I saw the same basic ad called, "Obama Mortgage Bailout". The Wikipedia entry says they are now owned by Quicken Loans.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LowerMyBills.com I see their ads on a different site. I've never seen them on the Kalmbach site.
BaltACD This is not women's fashion - young or old. Balt, that ad is from a company that has the "LowerMyBills.com" title. It is not a politcal ad for one side, because several years ago I saw the same basic ad called, "Obama Mortgage Bailout". The Wikipedia entry says they are now owned by Quicken Loans.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LowerMyBills.com
The picture I posted was taken fom THIS SITE. I have also seen it on RRPictures.net. Haven't seen it on any other sites, to date.
BaltACDThe picture I posted was taken fom THIS SITE.
I didn't mean to imply you didn't. I just have not seen it here. I see it a lot on another unrelated site.
The only ads I recall seeing on this site are Kalmbach store ads--maybe I am priviliged?
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