Author Topic: There's a a lot of Garbage being advertised (Read 12130 times)

J.R.E. · « **on:** January 03, 2011, 07:43:01 pm »

From the Google ads on this site. Some are health related. For those that are new to the site, and in shock, about their HIV status, don't go buying any of this crap. You will be throwing your money away.

Ray

Basquo · « **Reply #1 on:** January 03, 2011, 09:15:25 pm »

I've noticed that the one on the left, which frequenty advertises Groupon (which I love but whatever,) isn't there when I log in.

komnaes · « **Reply #2 on:** January 03, 2011, 11:01:33 pm »

I posted something about the ads since our admin has switched to using Google Ads.. it's now all Groupon and services for setting up offshore company ads but a while ago I got a few really, er, sexy ads..

I am all for the forums making money, but wouldn't it be more appropriate if we stick to HIV-related ads....?

zach · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2011, 11:13:26 pm »

why dont i get ads with her in it

whats the kanji say anyway? is that like a phone number or something?

Quote from: komnaes on January 03, 2011, 11:01:33 pm

I posted something about the ads since our admin has switched to using Google Ads.. it's now all Groupon and services for setting up offshore company ads but a while ago I got a few really, er, sexy ads..

I am all for the forums making money, but wouldn't it be more appropriate if we stick to HIV-related ads....?

Basquo · « **Reply #4 on:** January 04, 2011, 10:22:09 pm »

I think she's saying "You need to use a condom with me and don't nick it on my boots."

odyssey · « **Reply #5 on:** January 05, 2011, 12:24:00 am »

On the previous page where I was reading all of the posts I was getting an ad for the LapBand weight loss surgery. Now I'm getting an ad for Israeli tourism. What I want to know is how these people know I'm fat. Am I being fat-people profiled? Do I need to start looking over my shoulder?

jkinatl2 · « **Reply #6 on:** January 05, 2011, 12:27:09 am »

Quote from: odyssey on January 05, 2011, 12:24:00 am

On the previous page where I was reading all of the posts I was getting an ad for the LapBand weight loss surgery. Now I'm getting an ad for Israeli tourism. What I want to know is how these people know I'm fat. Am I being fat-people profiled? Do I need to start looking over my shoulder?

I'd be more concerned that they thought you were Arabic, and were trying to lure you to Israel.

odyssey · « **Reply #7 on:** January 05, 2011, 01:07:53 am »

Quote from: jkinatl2 on January 05, 2011, 12:27:09 am

I'd be more concerned that they thought you were Arabic, and were trying to lure you to Israel.

I just got another fat related ad, this time for a diet product. Could there somehow be something that knows I'm visiting weight loss sites and is thus targeting me with ads related to that? Makes me nervous. Because if so, I wonder if my info and the association with HIV could end up in the wrong hands. Never can be too careful these days online.

jkinatl2 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 05, 2011, 01:14:03 am »

Quote from: odyssey on January 05, 2011, 01:07:53 am

I just got another fat related ad, this time for a diet product. Could there somehow be something that knows I'm visiting weight loss sites and is thus targeting me with ads related to that? Makes me nervous. Because if so, I wonder if my info and the association with HIV could end up in the wrong hands. Never can be too careful these days online.

Yeah, I surrendered the privacy thing a while back. Each time you set the stuff up for privacy, there's another leak. Thank the Gods I don't hunt for 420 online.

I make it a point to click on an ad or two every week I am online at AM - on my ancient iBook, before I delete my cookies and crap.

PS: almost ten years old, and I adore that damned machine.

I know there are ways to safeguard ones' privacy, such as it is. But I will be damned if I can keep up with all of them.

odyssey · « **Reply #9 on:** January 05, 2011, 01:17:23 am »

Quote from: zach on January 03, 2011, 11:13:26 pm

why dont i get ads with her in it whats the kanji say anyway? is that like a phone number or something?

Those aren't kanji by the way... it's not Japanese writing. They're hanzi.... Chinese writing. How do I know? I can tell the difference, and the website is based in Hong Kong, lol. Just thought it'd be interesting to point out

Rev. Moon · « **Reply #10 on:** January 05, 2011, 01:19:32 am »

Quote from: odyssey on January 05, 2011, 01:07:53 am

I just got another fat related ad, this time for a diet product. Could there somehow be something that knows I'm visiting weight loss sites and is thus targeting me with ads related to that? Makes me nervous. Because if so, I wonder if my info and the association with HIV could end up in the wrong hands. Never can be too careful these days online.

I think it's all random. I just got one of those fat-loss ads and I haven't read anything online related to that subject (unless your entry is triggering it now). Prior to this I was getting a lot of ads for drug rehab programs (and I have not looked up anything in that field) and some stuff in Dutch.

PeteNYNJ · « **Reply #11 on:** January 05, 2011, 09:56:28 am »

I keep getting one about outdoor cages for your indoor cats....I am apparently a sad old woman

zach · « **Reply #12 on:** January 05, 2011, 10:53:00 am »

Quote from: odyssey on January 05, 2011, 01:07:53 am

I just got another fat related ad, this time for a diet product. Could there somehow be something that knows I'm visiting weight loss sites and is thus targeting me with ads related to that? Makes me nervous. Because if so, I wonder if my info and the association with HIV could end up in the wrong hands. Never can be too careful these days online.

yes, there is a way, tracking cookies left on your computer, advertising targeted to those cookies, i bought a shotgun, and sure enough i saw a hunting related ad on this forum

komnaes · « **Reply #13 on:** January 05, 2011, 12:18:34 pm »

Quote from: odyssey on January 05, 2011, 01:17:23 am

Those aren't kanji by the way... it's not Japanese writing. They're hanzi.... Chinese writing. How do I know? I can tell the difference, and the website is based in Hong Kong, lol. Just thought it'd be interesting to point out

Arrr.. hate to be picky, but kanji just means "Chinese characters" adopted by the Japanese to use in their written language.. so technically they are the same, though the characters in some cases have different meanings.

Modified to add.. Kan-Ji consists of two Chinese characters, which are the same as Han-zi...

odyssey · « **Reply #14 on:** January 05, 2011, 01:33:59 pm »

Quote from: komnaes on January 05, 2011, 12:18:34 pm

Arrr.. hate to be picky, but kanji just means "Chinese characters" adopted by the Japanese to use in their written language.. so technically they are the same, though the characters in some cases have different meanings.

Modified to add.. Kan-Ji consists of two Chinese characters, which are the same as Han-zi...

Right... but those aren't Chinese characters adopted by the Japanese. They are traditional Chinese characters. I studied Japanese and I know what kanji do and dont look like. Not to be picky.

phildinftlaudy · « **Reply #15 on:** January 05, 2011, 01:42:31 pm »

I get hit with a bunch of ads for rehab -
None for Corona???

"they wanted me to go to rehab.... I said...."

Rev. Moon · « **Reply #16 on:** January 05, 2011, 02:53:49 pm »

Quote from: phildinftlaudy on January 05, 2011, 01:42:31 pm

I get hit with a bunch of ads for rehab -
None for Corona???

"they wanted me to go to rehab.... I said...."

I'm still getting them also. They must think that all of us South Floridians are meth fiends like certain adam4adam tippy-toe ballerinas out there.

thunter34 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 05, 2011, 02:57:47 pm »

I keep seeing a banana...which means they either know I'm concerned about my midsection or that I sometimes abuse fruits and vegetables.

phildinftlaudy · « **Reply #18 on:** January 05, 2011, 03:00:14 pm »

I've been getting the big banana too ----
and seeing the one on here as well.

Tim Horn · « **Reply #19 on:** January 05, 2011, 04:42:04 pm »

Hi Guys...

AIDSmeds is, for the most part, dependent on ad revenue -- unrestricted educational grants are now very difficult to come by.

What helps us to get advertisers is our traffic, including the number of times our pages are visited, the number of new users and the length of time people spend reading AIDSmeds content and participating in the Forums. We're doing well in this regard.

What helps us keep advertisers is the number of ad impressions -- the number of times the ads are viewed -- and the number of clicks on ads. In this way, software that blocks ads works against AIDSmeds and the Forums, especially if such software is being used by regular, frequent users of the Forums.

Google Ads are proving to be a decent source of revenue for us -- what really counts here is the number of clicks on ads that appear. The one thing I will point out is that Google ads are somewhat targeted -- they are based on a user's Google cookies. In other words, if you've been using Google to access sites providing information or products -- everything from graduate degrees to cell phones to, yes, weight loss -- the Google ads you see will likely reflect this. To what extent Google Ads tracks users, I don't know, but virtually all websites employing Google ads operate the same way.

I'm not going to beat around the bush, advertising is the lifeline of AIDSmeds and the Forums. Clicking on the ads are the easiest way for everyone to contribute to the ongoing existence of AIDSmeds and the Forums.

No pressure... just an explanation and food for thought,

Tim

Matty the Damned · « **Reply #20 on:** January 05, 2011, 04:58:31 pm »

Hi Tim,

I understand why AM has to have advertising on the site - and Google ads are, as ads go, not that bad.

But, as you probably know, I use an adblocker. Not because of the ads, I'd be happy to whitelist aidsmeds.com and forums.poz.com, but because of that flash widget which was installed to bring AM content into the forums.

For a Linux user it makes accessing the forums impossible. It constantly crashes the Adobe Flash Plugin for Linux, which in turn makes firefox quite unstable.

And ADB+ is an elegant solution to this infuriating state of affairs.

Now this is not necessarily because the widget is badly coded. It's because Flash support for Linux totally sucks pants. That said, few other sites with Flash content cause such faceache for us Disciples of the Penguin.

I know what you're gonna say -- "if you've got a better idea for bringing AM content into the Fourms, I'd like to hear it, Matty."

Well it just so happens that I do.

Why not try an RSS Feedbot? These are available from the SMF modifications site and work rather well.

Rather than having some ugly assed Flash critter shmutzing up the sidebar and crashing Firefox when I'm jerking off to Redtube, articles from AM (and other sites if wanted) via the RSS feeds and are posted as threads in the forums.

There are Feedbots available for both SMF 1.x and SMF 2.x flavours.

I encourage you and the S+S Nerd Herd to consider this option.

MtD

Miss Philicia · « **Reply #21 on:** January 05, 2011, 05:00:09 pm »

The new widget also causes intermittent flash plug-in issues on a Mac.

Tim Horn · « **Reply #22 on:** January 05, 2011, 05:06:56 pm »

Ah. Good to know. While I knew that some found the widget to be unsightly, I didn't realize it was affecting functionality to this extent -- Going to look into this tomorrow. I think an RSS Feedbot is a good alternative to explore.

Tim

komnaes · « **Reply #23 on:** January 05, 2011, 08:06:24 pm »

Quote from: odyssey on January 05, 2011, 01:33:59 pm

Right... but those aren't Chinese characters adopted by the Japanese. They are traditional Chinese characters. I studied Japanese and I know what kanji do and dont look like. Not to be picky.

The Japanese have not adopted all simplified Chinese characters, though they do in some cases... just use the word Kan of kanji (かんじ) as an example, they continue to use "漢", not "汉". I would say though one word that appears in this particular ad is "獨" (meaning "alone", "independence", etc), the Japanese have since the 40s changed it to the simplified "独", at a time that Communist China began to launch simplified characters.

Modified to add - though I need to concede that in their adoption the Japanese have even created modified kanji that are neither traditional or simplified, like the words "応" (オウ) or "戯" (ギ), so it's not entirely correct for me to say all kanji are the same as hanzi.

Jody · « **Reply #24 on:** January 05, 2011, 08:16:07 pm »

As someone who has greatly benefited from this outstanding website for the past decade I just wanted to chime in that I have no objections whatsoever to AIDSmeds bringing in needed revenue to continue being there for us until there is a cure. The good folks who work behind the scenes for AIDSmeds, POZ, and Smart+Strong to educate us, help us cope, give great advice, and generally bring us all together have to eat and live as well. With those educational grants Tim mentions that are so hard to come by in these difficult economic times, revenue from ads are required. How else can you put out fine magazines and maintain a website such as this without bringing in money?

I never understood why some folks here in the past, people I loved dearly in some cases, seemingly objected even mildly to this website keeping itself healthy and functioning by having sources of revenue aside from just magazine sales. Navigating a few ads- we all deal with them sometimes intrusively on a daily basis on TV, radio, in all OTHER magazines and websites as well as on subways and buses, heck even on highways for decades can't be that difficult to deal with. Also remember many folks use those ads to their benefit, be it weight loss, dating services, medications, advocacy, etc.

Jody

odyssey · « **Reply #25 on:** January 05, 2011, 09:06:04 pm »

I'm all for Aids Meds getting money to keep things running too! As long as I don't get outed as poz I'm happy. Maybe I'll go use google to search for hot guys a bunch of times to up my chances of getting sexy man ads alongside the forums!

phildinftlaudy · « **Reply #26 on:** January 05, 2011, 09:10:53 pm »

Quote from: odyssey on January 05, 2011, 09:06:04 pm

Maybe I'll go use google to search for hot guys a bunch of times to up my chances of getting sexy man ads alongside the forums!

I actually had the same thought earlier today Odyssey LOL

WillyWump · « **Reply #27 on:** January 05, 2011, 09:13:29 pm »

Quote from: phildinftlaudy on January 05, 2011, 09:10:53 pm

I actually had the same thought earlier today Odyssey LOL

Apparently I've been searching for drugs, cause I'm getting alot of "Passages Malibu" ads. $:-\$

phildinftlaudy · « **Reply #28 on:** January 05, 2011, 09:18:34 pm »

Quote from: WillyWump on January 05, 2011, 09:13:29 pm

Apparently I've been searching for drugs, cause I'm getting alot of "Passages Malibu" ads. $:-\$

I'm getting the same ones - I'm thinking it has something to do with our New Year's Eve thread discussion --- or it could be my endless searches to find out the status of Lindsey Lohan.

WillyWump · « **Reply #29 on:** January 05, 2011, 09:34:15 pm »

Quote from: phildinftlaudy on January 05, 2011, 09:18:34 pm

I'm getting the same ones - I'm thinking it has something to do with our New Year's Eve thread discussion --- or it could be my endless searches to find out the status of Lindsey Lohan.

ohhhh of course the inmfamous New years thread where the booze was flowin and the drugs were aplenty.

komnaes · « **Reply #30 on:** January 05, 2011, 09:35:26 pm »

Quote from: phildinftlaudy on January 05, 2011, 09:10:53 pm

I actually had the same thought earlier today Odyssey LOL

It may not work as I have definitely NEVER look for cosplay girls dressing up as sexy robots and look what still shows up..

Again, just want to say it again that I am all for AIDSmeds getting good advertising money..

Miss Philicia · « **Reply #31 on:** January 06, 2011, 01:30:48 pm »

I get to see advertisements for this -- you folks are such plebes.

http://www.yliving.com/

odyssey · « **Reply #32 on:** January 06, 2011, 08:48:18 pm »

Quote from: Miss Philicia on January 06, 2011, 01:30:48 pm

I get to see advertisements for this -- you folks are such plebes.

http://www.yliving.com/

Ooh, classy! They must know how refined you are Ms P. *snark*

Ann · « **Reply #33 on:** January 07, 2011, 01:24:52 am »

Quote from: odyssey on January 06, 2011, 08:48:18 pm

Ooh, classy! They must know how refined you are Ms P. *snark*

~grin~

Basquo · « **Reply #34 on:** January 09, 2011, 08:43:37 pm »

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

I just clicked on the "5 Foods to Never Eat" link at the top of the page. This is what I was directed to:

http://flatbelly.naviibk.com/flatbelly?tid=Gqfjcy65H19D9M1

Now imagine one of our comrades with wasted arms and legs and a big lipo belly reading that. People come here for support. How in the world is that supposed to make this seem a place of support? Is there no way for the powers that be to specify what kinds of ads scroll there? I mean, I can forgive Groupon, because someone with money to spend just might click there, but come on; ads on this web site targeting belly-fat reduction for a general fat population of English-speaking people are just in bad taste and reflect poorly on our community.

I just had to say it.

Matty the Damned · « **Reply #35 on:** January 09, 2011, 08:47:53 pm »

We're waaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of you sweetie.

http://forums.poz.com/index.php?topic=36027.0

MtD

Basquo · « **Reply #36 on:** January 09, 2011, 08:54:03 pm »

Yeah I even posted in that thread. I just got very pissed with what I saw and forgot about it. Maybe one of the moderators could merge this with JRE's thread. Thanks for the reminder Matty.

Oceanbeach · « **Reply #37 on:** January 09, 2011, 08:58:18 pm »

Have the best day
Michael

J.R.E. · « **Reply #38 on:** January 09, 2011, 09:04:03 pm »

Quote from: Basquo on January 09, 2011, 08:43:37 pm

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

I just clicked on the "5 Foods to Never Eat" link at the top of the page. This is what I was directed to:

http://flatbelly.naviibk.com/flatbelly?tid=Gqfjcy65H19D9M1

Now imagine one of our comrades with wasted arms and legs and a big lipo belly reading that. People come here for support. How in the world is that supposed to make this seem a place of support? Is there no way for the powers that be to specify what kinds of ads scroll there? I mean, I can forgive Groupon, because someone with money to spend just might click there, but come on; ads on this web site targeting belly-fat reduction for a general fat population of English-speaking people are just in bad taste and reflect poorly on our community.

I just had to say it.

And thanks for saying it. In the other thread I made a reference to the fact that a lot of the newly infected will be clicking on these ads, thinking that these ads are supported by Aidsmeds. When In fact, most are BS. I've seen the same ad

Ray

Matty the Damned · « **Reply #39 on:** January 09, 2011, 09:04:31 pm »

Quote from: Basquo on January 09, 2011, 08:54:03 pm

Yeah I even posted in that thread. I just got very pissed with what I saw and forgot about it. Maybe one of the moderators could merge this with JRE's thread. Thanks for the reminder Matty.

Sorry doll. I forgot you'd posted in that thread. I can't brain today coz I has the dumb.

MtD

littleprince · « **Reply #40 on:** January 09, 2011, 11:24:47 pm »

took me a while to work out what you are all on about. Then remembered that I have a Firefox ad blocker add on. Works well, not one single add do I see on this site. If you have Firefox go to Tools>> Add ons Then Get ad ons and do a search for 'Adblock Plus'.

phildinftlaudy · « **Reply #41 on:** January 09, 2011, 11:30:53 pm »

Quote from: littleprince on January 09, 2011, 11:24:47 pm

took me a while to work out what you are all on about. Then remembered that I have a Firefox ad blocker add on. Works well, not one single add do I see on this site. If you have Firefox go to Tools>> Add ons Then Get ad ons and do a search for 'Adblock Plus'.

Even though that would be a good solution - having read Tim's reply earlier in the thread, I understand the need for the ads on the site and the importance of the revenue they bring in (especially when they get clicked on and viewed) in regards to keeping the site alive. So, I will deal with them. I do sometimes wish they could be a bit better ---- i.e. not for drug addiction, fat reduction, etc --- but, hopefully, if major advertisers see that they are successful they will get viewed. Just one of those things that we have to accept if we want to ensure that we have a site to come to.

Matty the Damned · « **Reply #42 on:** January 09, 2011, 11:49:58 pm »

Quote from: phildinftlaudy on January 09, 2011, 11:30:53 pm

Even though that would be a good solution - having read Tim's reply earlier in the thread, I understand the need for the ads on the site and the importance of the revenue they bring in (especially when they get clicked on and viewed) in regards to keeping the site alive. So, I will deal with them. I do sometimes wish they could be a bit better ---- i.e. not for drug addiction, fat reduction, etc --- but, hopefully, if major advertisers see that they are successful they will get viewed. Just one of those things that we have to accept if we want to ensure that we have a site to come to.

Yeah, I gotta agree with Phil on this one.

Quote from: littleprince on January 09, 2011, 11:24:47 pm

took me a while to work out what you are all on about. Then remembered that I have a Firefox ad blocker add on. Works well, not one single add do I see on this site. If you have Firefox go to Tools>> Add ons Then Get ad ons and do a search for 'Adblock Plus'.

As I said above I use AdBlock Plus too, but not one sites I visit regularly and want to support. Those sites I whitelist so I can see the ads and the site can benefit from that. The reason I use it here is because of browser stability issues with a particular flash widget.

In fact I'm trying to work out a way to just disable that widget and leave the ads ublocked. I'm not having a great deal of success with that. For his part Tim has undertaken to look into an alternative to that widget, which I greatly appreciate.

The problem with using ADB+ is that it deprives this site of much needed income and without that income running the Forums could become unviable. A very bad outcome.

If it's possible you should whitelist the AM Forums in ADB+ to help out with the running costs.

MtD

littleprince · « **Reply #43 on:** January 10, 2011, 01:35:50 am »

True. I see your point.

The main ads I hate and have to block are on news websites. Why do they always have to flash? Makes it impossible to read the story. It would be like buying a news paper hand having someone flashing a flashlight on and off in your face the whole time.

Ann · « **Reply #44 on:** January 10, 2011, 11:30:55 am »

Hi Basquo, I merged your thread for you.

Oceanbeach · « **Reply #45 on:** January 10, 2011, 04:28:30 pm »

Quote from: Tim Horn on January 05, 2011, 04:42:04 pm

Hi Guys...

AIDSmeds is, for the most part, dependent on ad revenue -- unrestricted educational grants are now very difficult to come by.

What helps us to get advertisers is our traffic, including the number of times our pages are visited, the number of new users and the length of time people spend reading AIDSmeds content and participating in the Forums. We're doing well in this regard.

What helps us keep advertisers is the number of ad impressions -- the number of times the ads are viewed -- and the number of clicks on ads. In this way, software that blocks ads works against AIDSmeds and the Forums, especially if such software is being used by regular, frequent users of the Forums.

Google Ads are proving to be a decent source of revenue for us -- what really counts here is the number of clicks on ads that appear. The one thing I will point out is that Google ads are somewhat targeted -- they are based on a user's Google cookies. In other words, if you've been using Google to access sites providing information or products -- everything from graduate degrees to cell phones to, yes, weight loss -- the Google ads you see will likely reflect this. To what extent Google Ads tracks users, I don't know, but virtually all websites employing Google ads operate the same way.

I'm not going to beat around the bush, advertising is the lifeline of AIDSmeds and the Forums. Clicking on the ads are the easiest way for everyone to contribute to the ongoing existence of AIDSmeds and the Forums.

No pressure... just an explanation and food for thought,

Tim

One thing an advertiser expects is a return on investment for advertising purchases. So, if 12,000 Forum members click on the same link, it could appear the advertiser just spent their entire budget with no sales. However, Google gives away $100 in pay per click advertising while Facebook gives $50 in hopes the advertiser will spend more. Even though both Google and Facebook are giving away free advertising, the advertiser does need to supply a credit card number before any free advertising is posted.

In most cases neither the advertiser nor the site manager knows where Google has placed the ads or the time and dates of rotation so nobody loses if we click on the links to help support our Forums

Have the best day
Michael

Tim Horn · « **Reply #46 on:** January 10, 2011, 08:00:48 pm »

Quote from: Basquo on January 09, 2011, 08:43:37 pm

Is there no way for the powers that be to specify what kinds of ads scroll there?

We do have some leverage here, yes. Google AdSense has an ad review center that allows us to block ads from particular advertisers -- I will add the flatbelly.naviibk.com advertisement tomorrow.

If anyone comes across ads they find particularly repugnant or threatening to this environment, please PM me or e-mail me with the full URL. While I can't promise that all ads reported to me will be blocked, I'd appreciate the opportunity to review them and decide whether or not to move forward.

And while AdSense does allow us to block certain ads -- and all ads from a particular advertisers -- it doesn't allow us to block ads in a general theme (e.g., weight loss).

Tim Horn · « **Reply #47 on:** January 10, 2011, 08:09:20 pm »

One more thing...

I think it's great many of you guys are willing to allow the ads to be viewed and to click away. But don't feel compelled to click on the same ad repeatedly. If the same ad is clicked more than once from the same computer terminal during a set time frame -- like within a 24-hour period or the same "user session" -- no ad revenue is generated. AdSense qualifies this as double-clicking or malicious repeated clicking and doesn't bill its advertisers if this is detected.

odyssey · « **Reply #48 on:** January 10, 2011, 08:18:23 pm »

I click on an ad here and there when it seems like a reputable site that won't give me a computer virus. Just the other day I visited kayak.com from a link posted on here. I only clicked on the link once of course, figuring it wouldn't work to do it more than once. Always glad to help out AidsMeds/POZ!

odyssey

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Author Topic: There's a a lot of Garbage being advertised (Read 12130 times)