Please ATS Members and Non-Members alike, STOP Blocking Ads- Or there may be NO ATS at ALL

a reply to: jockstar

As has been stated before, ads do not install malware. It's been a long time (years) since the last recorded incident of malware coming from simply displaying an ad -- and that was because of a security issue in Flash, which is not used for ads anymore.

But we don't have sponsored links. Never have.

a reply to: TrueAmerican

They have yet to answer several questions...like: does this sudden despration for more money due in any way from the Disinfo.com merger just a few weeks old?

I'm sure there are many factors involved here warranting the 4 threads created to discuss this in repetition.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

I had that happen to me at work back in summer of 2014, stole my password to the vnc-connection that was active and f'd up the computer to the point that it took 20 min to fully restore it.

So ye.. it does happen and I guess most incidents are not reported

a reply to: bastupungen

Then it wasn't from an ad. That kind of deep dive isn't possible.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Same injection happened on two computers when entering the same site, edition.cnn.com.

But never mind, adblock stays on

originally posted by: TrueAmerican
, let me repeat that.

THIS SITE IS BIG AND IT TAKES A LOT OF RESOURCES TO KEEP RUNNING.

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? DO YOU?

Then stop what you are doing, RIGHT NOW, and disable your ad blocking software. Simply click "Disable ad-blocking on abovetopsecret.com"

There. Now, Don't you feel better? You did your little part. And even though that may still not be enough in the long run, at least you did that. And it would also help to actually CLICK on an ad that interests you either once in a while and go check it out.

I placed this in this forum so that non-members will see this as well. Considering that some 75% or more of hits (according to management) are from non-logged in members or non-members, it would seem prudent to do so. Consider it Education of the masses that Media costs money. Nothing is free forever. Except maybe air. And who knows how long that will last either.

And to all you takers out there, yeah the ones that always just read and never or hardly ever start threads, how about considering contributing a thread once in a while? It takes that too to keep this site running. Or are you just going to keep taking and taking until there is nothing left to take? New trees have to be planted or the forest will die. So help. HELP, dammit. Stop just reading, and actually go out and get an interesting topic and bring it here, or write one yourself. Let's keep this site alive. At least, that's the way I feel. It is worth it.

[SNIPPED]

I will NOT turn off my ad block!
There would have to be a good reason, and I see none!
I pay my way with original content!
There are many good forums in the net...
Ads are insulting to those few capable of thinking for themselves, and I will NOT subject myself to the insult.
We teach people how to treat us.

a reply to: namelesss

Adapt or die. I will not put blame on the ATS Masters when the Adman tells them what to do. It's not the only site lately, and they've invested too much into ad revenue. ATS is more than ready, right now, to slip into GLP like insignificance. Right now its only a subscription model being tossed around; before long, you're being banned for posting without paying. Seen it happen before.

It's been said before, but I think it needs remembering. I pay my monthly charge to be here on the internet. No one tells me how to surf it. If that is a crime now, then we are all so very lost.

a reply to: theySeeme

Maybe not 15$ plan. But 50$ per month on a proper sever setup for this forum needs can handle the double traffic than the current one

I know what I m talking because I m sysadmin. Now if this website with so big traffic don't make 50$/month I shoot my self.

Unknown forums with few hundred visitors per day make xxx$

originally posted by: ReadLeader
a reply to: TrueAmerican

Come on all! The adds are not that bad- look at the trade to be on the best site for conspiracy and general knowlage sharing!

Umm, you try reading a book and a 30sec ad pops up everytime you turn a page or scroll! Its so bad, people completely left the site indefinitely. Leaving of viewers occurs on all websites that do it now. Especially mobile.Consumers dont have to put up with it.

Curiously, since this ridiculous brouhaha started, I've begun to have a problem with pop-ups in FF.

I've added more ad-blocking software instead of turning it off.

Very curious indeed.

I came back from years of hiatus to nothing but ads, ads and more ads. I even had to get rid of an ad just to type in my password!

Why should we have to deal with that junk? I personally am turning mine all back ON. At least don't force ads when we are even tying to sign in! Very very poor idea imo.

Next refresh, no more ads! Don't be so Greedy ats!


Edit: there are hundreds of other forums on the Internet that don't have ads, or very few. Search Google and they come flying onto your pages ats isn't even at the top anymore! This site really had gone downhill the past few years.

originally posted by: Selevon
I came back from years of hiatus to nothing but ads, ads and more ads. I even had to get rid of an ad just to type in my password!

There are no ads on the log-in page. What ad did you see?

originally posted by: Restricted
Curiously, since this ridiculous brouhaha started, I've begun to have a problem with pop-ups in FF.

We don't serve pop-ups, especially to logged-in members.

originally posted by: saadad
Maybe not 15$ plan. But 50$ per month on a proper sever setup for this forum needs can handle the double traffic than the current one

That is grossly incorrect.

See my breakdown of traffic and infrastructure needs in this post.

$50 wouldn't cover 12 hours.

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord

originally posted by: Restricted
Curiously, since this ridiculous brouhaha started, I've begun to have a problem with pop-ups in FF.

We don't serve pop-ups, especially to logged-in members.

I forgot to mention they were at other sites.

I just thought it weird that it's only started since we began discussing this issue.

I'm paranoid. I thought you guys deposited something on my phone.

originally posted by: Restricted
I thought you guys deposited something on my phone.

Seriously?

What on earth would make you think we would ever do something like that?

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord

originally posted by: Restricted
I thought you guys deposited something on my phone.

Seriously?

What on earth would make you think we would ever do something like that?

I did ADMIT that I'm PARANOID.

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

I was cruising fb this morning and was reading one of those stories where you have to click the link and then click through 12 images to see the entire story, and each page was filled with ads for each picture. Have you ever considered maybe doing a link off page like that, maybe having the history of ATS on separate pages that members and non members can click through for some strange ATS related information. It would get you some ad revenue and depending on how creative ATS stories are on the pages, it might fit in with what the rest of the web is doing for ad income generation. It would be voluntary clicking through certain stories or pictures (like doing the history of ATS).

The links are to long to post an example,
but I am sure you know the kind of ads I am talking about.

Just trying to help with some ad ideas...lol

a reply to: Darkblade71

That's a good idea, IMO.

Although, I dislike when I do that because it seems to take the pages forever to load as in a photo slideshow...

Probably my internet connection?

a reply to: Darkblade71

I know what you're referring to.

I'm a bit averse to formatting content for advertising click bait. ATS is successful on Google search because our content is formatted for optimum consumption by humans with a relatively low ad-to-content ratio.

Now I know people will disagree with that low ad-to-content ratio, but they're just not facing reality. On any given thread, when logged out and there are more ads, the percentage of pixels occupied by ads is typically less than 8%. Site-wide, our average is 6%. Google actually tracks this ratio, and begins to apply search penalties with the ratio begins to rise above 10%, and more severe penalties above 25%.

If we added lots of pages like those, our ratio would go up, risking a penalty in Google search.