BigDaddy gmpullman Might be a good excuse for me to take a little vacation to the SF Bay area and get my toenails trimmed I think we need this emoticon
gmpullman Might be a good excuse for me to take a little vacation to the SF Bay area and get my toenails trimmed
I think we need this emoticon
And that seems like as good a time as any to call it. Say goodnight, Gracie.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
gmpullmanMight be a good excuse for me to take a little vacation to the SF Bay area and get my toenails trimmed
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I frequent a few automotive sites (Model A Ford, Miata) that solicit donations to keep the sites going. I make a small monthly donation to one and an annual donation to another. Like public radio and TV, there are many more viewers/listeners than donars.
I'm not bothered by the pop up ad. It pops up and then is gone in a couple of seconds without me doing anything. No big deal. I'm using AdBlock on a Windows 10 laptop with Google Chrome.
Joe
It seems to me that if you dont like the ads, then, like any other business you can decline to patronize it.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
The pop up ads are a PITA and a poor reflection on MR. Annoying your customers is not good business.
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
hon30critter MR has apparently discovered a new way to get 'pop up' ads past my Ad Block. Recently when I go to sign in to the forums the sign in procedure has been interrupted by a pop up ad. I am so annoyed by it that I have deliberately refused to read the ad so don't ask me what it's all about. My point is that this is one more example of MR doing something that I'm not happy with. At the risk of offending the powers that be, please share your feelings about this new affront to our sensibilities. I would ask that the forum members restrict their comments to this particular 'pop up' issue. Please do not turn this into a female dog session about every perceived fault that you can find with MR! Steven, please understand that I am just trying to communicate to you the forum members feelings about this new annoyance. You can delete the thread if you wish, but that won't change the way I feel. I suspect that many others will share my opinion. Respectfully, Dave Warnica
MR has apparently discovered a new way to get 'pop up' ads past my Ad Block. Recently when I go to sign in to the forums the sign in procedure has been interrupted by a pop up ad. I am so annoyed by it that I have deliberately refused to read the ad so don't ask me what it's all about. My point is that this is one more example of MR doing something that I'm not happy with.
At the risk of offending the powers that be, please share your feelings about this new affront to our sensibilities. I would ask that the forum members restrict their comments to this particular 'pop up' issue. Please do not turn this into a female dog session about every perceived fault that you can find with MR!
Steven, please understand that I am just trying to communicate to you the forum members feelings about this new annoyance. You can delete the thread if you wish, but that won't change the way I feel. I suspect that many others will share my opinion.
Respectfully,
Dave Warnica
It's a pretty simple question: Running the forum costs money. Who would you rather have pay for it; you or advertisers?
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Steven Otte bearman carl425 Limit access to magazine subscribers only and build the cost of the forum into the subscription cost. This idea begs the question of how many non magazine subscribers are there on the forums? Past surveys have shown that most Forum users are not subscribers.
bearman carl425 Limit access to magazine subscribers only and build the cost of the forum into the subscription cost. This idea begs the question of how many non magazine subscribers are there on the forums?
carl425 Limit access to magazine subscribers only and build the cost of the forum into the subscription cost.
Limit access to magazine subscribers only and build the cost of the forum into the subscription cost.
Past surveys have shown that most Forum users are not subscribers.
Rich
Alton Junction
NWP SWPEarlier the "Users online" section had a member by the name of "Credit Repair Austin TX" online.
Those have been cropping up for at least a year now. Usually between midnight and 5 AM eastern time.
Here's another example:
There was some discussion about them in the Diner a few days ago. Some of us thought this was the reason that the right-side panes disappeared for a while.
At the moment there is a "User" by the name of Bay Area Footcare!
Our doctors are substantially trained in all aspects of foot and ankle surgery including common foot problems such as bunions, hammertoes, heel spurs, ingrown toenails, plantar fasciitis and shin splints.
Address : 2299 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone: 415-292-0638
Hours: Mon - Fri 08:00 AM to 05:00 PM, Sat - Sun - Closed
website: https://bayareafootcare.com/
Might be a good excuse for me to take a little vacation to the SF Bay area and get my toenails trimmed
Regards, Ed
Earlier the "Users online" section had a member by the name of "Credit Repair Austin TX" online.
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
Thank you for sharing your points of view.
I recognize that Kalmbach has to recoup its costs through advertizing. However, as has been suggested by several posters, there are 'good' ads and 'not so good' ads. I read lots of ads but not the ones where they are shoved in my face. My point with starting this thread is that the mid sign-in pop up really irritates me. Please at least let me sign in before the ads start.
Part of my problem is that for reasons unknown my browser has stopped keeping me signed in to most of my popular websites. I haven't sorted that out just yet so I am having to constantly sign back in to the sites. That is annoying enough without having to wade through pop ups every time I sign in. MR is the only site where I get the mid sign-in pop ups by the way.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
The MR (and Kalmbach) ads don't bother me. Nor do the others relating to model railroading - sometimes I see something interesting I didn't know about. Easy enough to close when I want to move on. I don't even mind the ad emails I get, in fact I find some very interesting.
I am a subscriber and long time member of the forum. I hope both last a long time.
Paul
In the last couple months or so there has been a pop up every time I open a thread. Sorry, but thats annoying and nobody likes pop ups. I dont understand the concept of annoying somebody to get them to buy something? Maybe its just me.
I dont see any other advertizing (other than the subscription ad on the top banner and the e newsletter on the side bar). There is a lot of empty space on the side bar that I would think would be a great place for advertizing. Maybe its a coding issue but if it were me, I would sell ad space on the side bar where the users online box is. Every time a new page is opened, I would rotate a clickable static ad there. This way the ad does not get stale, but not intrusive. I'm not annoyed and much more likely to click on it. Too much is a bad thing if it gets too busy over there, the ads wont get noticed.
I don;t see any ads from doubleclick on any websites - adblock does a good job of killing them. I do get them using the Facebook app on my iPad though, always the "You've won a free iphone" one. I don't remember any more, I may have pointed the various doubleclick sites to 127.0.0.1 in my hosts file.
I do see ones the Kalmbach puts up, right now it's the one to enter the Play It Forward sweepstakes. The rest are static ads on the main page. Like I said, I come in with mrr.trains.com and avoid a lot of stuff.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
cowman ...the host needs something to cover the costs.
...the host needs something to cover the costs.
The costs are covered, all or in part, by the PR benefits of hosting a forum, plus ads for Kalmbach being free. For Kalmbach.
Including the above with the profits of selling ad space either puts the project in the profit or loss column. And such information is unlikely to be revealed here.
And whether allowing "irritating" ads changes it from one to the other is also unlikely to be revealed here.
Ed
Though I haven't been inundated with such things yet, this is a free to us forum and the host needs something to cover the costs. I probably wouldn't give them much notice and just click them away. Who knows, I might see something interesting. I look at them as an unpleasant fact of life.
Have fun,
Richard
Steven Otte All I can do is to point out that to offer you the use of this Forum, free of charge, costs Kalmbach money and resources. The ads you see allow us to recoup a portion of those expenses. If you don't like the ads, perhaps you can suggest a less obtrusive way we can pay for the servers, bandwidth, and I.T. staff that keep these Forums running.
All I can do is to point out that to offer you the use of this Forum, free of charge, costs Kalmbach money and resources. The ads you see allow us to recoup a portion of those expenses. If you don't like the ads, perhaps you can suggest a less obtrusive way we can pay for the servers, bandwidth, and I.T. staff that keep these Forums running.
rrinker I don't know what browser you are using, but the forum website has HTTPS turned on so none of my browsers report that the connection is unsecure. ANd I have never seen one of those fake "you computer is infected" ads from here. The link I use is mrr.trains.com. Only way you might get a site is not secure is if you have a proxy in you data stream from your ISP to your computer which is actually opening up SSL and rewriting the certificates. If you have no such thing, scan your machine for malware. --Randy
I don't know what browser you are using, but the forum website has HTTPS turned on so none of my browsers report that the connection is unsecure. ANd I have never seen one of those fake "you computer is infected" ads from here. The link I use is mrr.trains.com.
Only way you might get a site is not secure is if you have a proxy in you data stream from your ISP to your computer which is actually opening up SSL and rewriting the certificates. If you have no such thing, scan your machine for malware. --Randy
Randy,
The "You've been infected", "Amazon Gift Card", and "You have Won!" are all in the DoubleClick.Net rotation - they seem to go through spurts when they are in active rotation, and then they seem to go away once they've been reported as naughty enough times.
HTTPS isn't always served from the Trains.Com web server; I'm browsing right now on an instance that's not using HTTPS. It seems dependant on which login portal you use, which Magazine you start from, and which "Community" link you use from them.
The HTTP system obviously doesn't report as secure because it's well, not. It also does not report the certificates, which is normal by nature.
This space reserved for SpaceMouse's future presidential candidacy advertisements
NWP SWP No popups but I do get the "virus warning" and "free gift" redirects all the time on this site also my browser says my connection to the site is not secure.
No popups but I do get the "virus warning" and "free gift" redirects all the time on this site also my browser says my connection to the site is not secure.
Only way you might get a site is not secure is if you have a proxy in you data stream from your ISP to your computer which is actually opening up SSL and rewriting the certificates. If you have no such thing, scan your machine for malware.
I don't mind the pop-up, as I probably could avoid it by staying logged in, but I have my browser set to delete everything when I go off line. No big deal. As I mentioned earlier, I get zero ads on the side bar.
The only forum I belong to that has a yearly fee, to see and ad photos, and see the full content of manuals, instructions, etc., etc., is a garden tractor site/forum. It's $10. a year. For as much valuable info I have gotten from it, for my summer time hobbie, it's no big deal at all.
I am a subscriber to Trains, and MR, along with the digital archives.
Well put, Bearman.
Mike.
My You Tube
If most Forum users are not subscribers, I suspect that limiting Forum participation to subscribers would conceivably reduce the potential pool of information from those people. And I also suspect that not enough of them would subscribe just to be able to participate here.
Finally, I have never gotten any malware from this site. I have gotten malware, or at least that message about your computer is infected and click here, from a couple of politically based sites that I occasionally follow, but not from here.
I believe that this is a case of being better off with the devil you know rather than the one you dont. I think we can all agree that our own pleasure in the hobby is at least partially due to the ideas and comments and give-and-take that are these Forums.
I have a Mac and never get pop-ups of any kind, However as soon as I go on my son's really pricey gaming computer that loads MMR pages at warp speed, WATCH OUT! Ads galore. Also, my two kids would get new laptops from school every two years and all the old ones are laying about the house. If I grab one of those and log in, it's a minefield of colour wanting to separate me from my easily earned money. Moral of the story is buy a MAC.
I am not a subscriber, however, I buy off the newsstand. I guess I am a second class MRR patron as I don't get subscriber benefits. I wrote the magazine and suggested they put a scratch to uncover number that would allow us access to subscriber benefits for the month of the magazine issue, however, I never heard back, so I guess it wasn't a good idea.
I have no issues with ads when I do have to deal with them, and do not feel I have the right to complain when something is free. I lent my Brother-in-law my pressure washer once and he seemed to think it was my responsibility to supply the gas and pump oil as well.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Steven Otte Past surveys have shown that most Forum users are not subscribers. As for the content of the ads, you as users have more control over those than we do. The ads for Kalmbach products (MRVP, books, etc.), we place, obviously. Model railroad-related ads are likewise sold by us. But if the ad is for something not train-related, that comes from a service (such as Google Ads) that serves you ads based on your own search, browser, and ad-clicking history. These companies serve you ads it thinks you will respond to based on your own history.
As for the content of the ads, you as users have more control over those than we do. The ads for Kalmbach products (MRVP, books, etc.), we place, obviously. Model railroad-related ads are likewise sold by us. But if the ad is for something not train-related, that comes from a service (such as Google Ads) that serves you ads based on your own search, browser, and ad-clicking history. These companies serve you ads it thinks you will respond to based on your own history.
I do not mind seeing ads, particularly when they support free forum activity.
I begin to balk when the content of these ads is not properly checked, get irritated when the ads contain even the appearance of malicious code, begin to complain when there is no way to click through or terminate pop ups. But I draw a firm line at code from any advertiser that crashes or slows the browser, and well on the far side of that line is a response from Kalmbach that says problems of that kind are not a priority for tech support because they do not assist revenue generation.
I think everyone will agree that malware is to be avoided no matter what its nominal profitability. And that, not 'ad' revenue, is the proper subject here.
bearman Ed, all ads are irritating, whether it is a pop up on a web site or a billboard by the side of the interstate.
Ed, all ads are irritating, whether it is a pop up on a web site or a billboard by the side of the interstate.
Perhaps to you.
I do not find that true for me.
Some ads are useful. I do not find those irritating. Because I want the information, sometimes not until after I read the ad. There are such ads in the magazines. They explain why their product might be useful to me. Or they inform me of a new product that I did not know about.
Irritating, to me, is an ad that is of no use to me.
Very irritating, to me, is an ad that is incredibly pushy.
The newest cover-over ad that turns the page darker most often just goes away for me if I quickly click on the X. But this is new for me..................here. On one other site, cyclingnews.com, it's a gate keeper. The pop up says, "We notice you have adblocker. (blah, blah....)" I am given three options, but none of them is to simply close the popup and continue to read. No reduction of my blocker, no lookee. So I am one of those that have lept the fence and moved on to another cycling news site.
I can't flee forever. Our hosts can't continue to bear the increased costs of this convenience to us, the membership, maybe not for long. At some point, something has to give.
Paid membership at a forum is not unheard of. If you'd rather it remain 'free', then free up the time it takes to click out of pop up ads now and then. That's my which I will kick in before I agree to pony up with some cash to participate here.
To Steve, would it make much sense to run a sticky poll/survey for a full month asking the obvious question? I don't know if you and the staff have discussed this at a meeting in the past, but apart from newcomers, the participant base here is probably very small compared to the vastly greater number of registered members...whom none of us ever hear from. Would those of us who might come here even once a month find the poll, answer it, and would the business find that it is a decidedly popular decision to have to pay a small amount to participate here each year?