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dave_in_nova

Ads really getting annoying...

Is anyone else bothered by this? It takes longer for the page to load up, then the annoying ads come in from sides or drop down from the banner AND your message text is scanned for keywords (such as 'plants' or 'gardening') to which they create links for yet more ads! If you click on a message and immediately hit the 'STOP' button at the top of your browser, as soon as the message threads appear, you can stop a lot of the annoying screen redraws, text scanning, ads, etc.

Comments (10)

  • suzy626
    18 years ago

    Dave,

    I echo your sentiments exactly and it really is annoying!!!
    Btw: wanted to compliment you on those pics you posted on another thread, very nice indeed. And I agree with your method of repotting in a much larger container once a rootball forms. These are trees afterall and they need to have as much space for the roots to become well established making the trunk wide, leaves large, and lots of inflos that will be held by strong branches. The key is using a well draining, organic medium. Some folks have a problem with over-potting but I think it's due to the medium they use and over-watering in cooler weather. Just remember, no leaves means no water. Rot won't occur if you don't leave your plants out during the heavy rain season.

    Suzy

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Suzy,

    Yes. I think rotting is most often a problem when establishing new cuttings, or setting the plants out too early in the season. Once the plants really start growing, they're hard to overpot. My challenge now is what to do with them when they get really big. Sure wish I could leave them in the ground! Guess I'll have to start new cuttings all over again! Thanks on the pictures. We've had excellent plumeria-growing weather this summer. Some summers it's not so great. You just never know when trying to grow them 'up north'.

  • wanna_run_faster
    18 years ago

    Yep, and I just bought a brand new 19 inch flat screen monitor and computer so now the ads are popping up and covering almost the whole screen! Before they were running across the screen but now they require I click to get to the thread I want to read. I really would rather pay a couple of dollars a month just to avoid them!

  • Klodec
    18 years ago

    Annoying ads ?
    I am a ad hater too !

    I've got A Free and easy solution to block them.

    Now I'm never bothered by them anymore, in Gardenweb or elsewhere...

    Email me...

  • bev_w
    18 years ago

    Hi all,

    The solution to removing ads: download the latest version Firefox (free and fabulous). Get the "adblock" plugin and the "flashblock" plugin. The flashblock keeps the flash off the page but a black outline remains. The adblock allows you to block ALL ads, then click on a tab at the bottom of the page to see all the blocked elements. On this page, for example, Firefox is currently blocking about 2 dozen elements.

  • fratelli_can
    18 years ago

    Once and for all: How to stop the iVillage ad onslaught.

    First we need to understand how it's done: iVillage doesn't bother to try and buy ads directly from all the various companies that show up on the pages of GW. Instead they use large ad-service agencies like doubleclick, akamai and pointroll. You can visit some of these sites if you'd like to see who's behind the ads.

    http://www.akamai.com
    http://www.doubleclick.com/us
    http://pointroll.com

    This makes it easy to block out all or almost all of the ads very easily, just block the originating sites. Right now all the ads on GW come from:

    http://amch.questionmarket.com
    http://a820.g.akamai.net
    http://iv.doubleclick.net
    http://i.ivillage.com
    http://m.2mdn.net
    http://tste.ivillage.com
    http://img-cdn.mediaplex.com
    http://ads.vmirror.com
    http://cmhtml.ivillage.overture.com
    http://ads.pointroll.com

    The Universal Solution.This will work on Windows systems for all browsers; IE, FireFox and Netscape.

    The Windows operating system provides a system-level method to block specific IP addresses before they even get to the browser. To effect this solution you need to edit a Windows system file called hosts. This file is located in the directory:

    Windows XP: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
    Windows 2K: C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
    Windows 98: C:\WINDOWS

    Open the file in Notepad. Cut the following from this post and paste it to the end of the file.

    127.0.0.1 amch.questionmarket.com
    127.0.0.1 a820.g.akamai.net
    127.0.0.1 iv.doubleclick.net
    127.0.0.1 i.ivillage.com
    127.0.0.1 m.2mdn.net
    127.0.0.1 tste.ivillage.com
    127.0.0.1 img-cdn.mediaplex.com
    127.0.0.1 ads.vmirror.com
    127.0.0.1 cmhtml.ivillage.overture.com
    127.0.0.1 ads.pointroll.com

    Edit each entry so that there is a tab between the IP address 127.0.0.1 and the URLs. Save the file and you're finished. Close and re-open your browser and all the ads will be gone.

    Unfortunately, iVillage may in the future buy ads from a new source. In this event the new ad source will have to be added to the list.

    The IE solution.Most of the ads are placed using Java$cript. You can remove the more offensive ads in IE with the browser settings. You can't however remove them all. To improve GW using IE do the following:

    From the menu select Tools -> Internet Options -> Security and click on Custom Level. Scroll down to the end of the list and you'll see an entry for Scripting. Disable all the sub-entries. Now select the tab labeled Privacy. In the bottom of the box that appears check on the option to block pop-ups. I recommend you also click on the button Advanced and select the option to block Third-party Cookies.

    NOTE: By disabling Scripting you will also effect the way other websites behave. You may need to get used to switching scripting on and off as desired. That's why this is the least desirable of these various options.

    The FireFox solutionThis is an excellent choice -- it's the fastest...

  • Kryptea
    18 years ago

    Fratelli_can, I can't thank you enough for posting that. What a great Christmas gift you just gave to all of us. You just made my life so much better! Thank you! Have a wonderful and happy new year.

  • Klodec
    18 years ago

    YES ! Fratelli_can, Your method using the "hosts" file is exactly what I meant in my previous post !
    I've been using it for long now, very effective indeed to block everything that comes for offending addresses, like ads !

    Nothing to download, no change to your config, no security risk with adding new sorftware : this is the simplest and safest solution, I think.

    Thanks anyway for being that precise !

  • Klodec
    18 years ago

    Another tip for the "Hosts" file method :
    in the "Hosts" file, you can add a comment after each entry with the "#" char :

    127.0.0.1 iv.doubleclick.net # your comment goes here
    #127.0.0.1 ads.doubleclick.net # this entry, started with "#" is therefore disabled (the address will be accessible, not blocked)

    So this is a convenient method to enable / disable address blocking without physically removing the entry for further use.

    save the edited Hosts file and you're done.

    Easy, wasn't it ?