Cruise Talk: Nothing is for free; but do we need ??

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Topic: Nothing is for free; but do we need ??

Grant
First Class Passenger
Member # 1000

posted 03-01-2002 12:13 AM

There have been several posts lately wondering why there are less posts from "the regulars" from days gone by. I live in a small city (360,000) on the Pacific coast. I know of 11 readers of this board who over the last few years have read and posted on a frequent basis. However, I am now the only 1 who even opens the site.
Why? For those that are not computer savvy, they are fed up with trying to rid their screen of invasive advertising! Even for me, that has a very limited ability in working through the complexities of the computer world, I have almost given up at removing the banners that pop up when I log off. If the current banner that takes 2 attempst to remove continue, there will be no one left to read or post!
For those that administer this site, is there no better way to cover the cost of running this site? If something is not done soon, there will noone reading or posting other than single time board readers. This was the greatest board for ship and cruise lovers but now it is changing to something else; far too much of "trying to get a thread going" than actual solicitating opinion and generating opinion.
Any other comments?

[ 03-01-2002: Message edited by: Grant ]

Posts: 834 | From: Victoria, BC, Canada | Registered: Jan 2000 | IP: Logged

Renegade4
First Class Passenger
Member # 392

posted 03-01-2002 06:43 AM

Well Grant, I fully agree with you regarding pop-ups. However, it is not only this board, but the majority of websites that are now "plagued" with this cyber advertising.

I installed a pop-up stopper about 6 months ago and this was the best little background application that I ever installed. It has the option of sounding a short "beep" whenever it intercepts a pop-up and on some sites, it is almost a constant tone when changing pages.

I have been reading (and occasionally posting to)this board for quite some time now and will continue to do so until the cyber advertisers find a way around my pop-up stopper, then... well who knows.

My wife and I support a couple of websites and know that, especially for a site of this size, the maintenance and storage costs can mount up rapidly. Without some sort of cash input (read advertising) the lifetime of a large website is not very long.

That stated, it would seem that the adverts could be confined to the initial entry to the home page rather than on virtually every page change.

I do not wish to post the pop-up stopper that I use to the board, but would respond to an email request.

wishing all smooth seas and gentle breezes...

Posts: 57 | From: Kingston, MA, USA | Registered: Apr 99 | IP: Logged

scorpio
First Class Passenger
Member # 1245

posted 03-01-2002 07:21 AM

I have "Mail Watcher" (from Computer Associates) installed and it intercepts most of the annoying advertising with the message
"A suspicious VBScript is about to be created in iexplore"
and the options:
"Details - Disallow - Allow - Terminate"
I automatically click on Disallow and have no problems. The static advertising still displays, but any interactives and popups are blocked. This has improved my enjoyment of the sites and I hope it can help others.

Posts: 92 | From: UK | Registered: Apr 2000 | IP: Logged

topgun
First Class Passenger
Member # 928

posted 03-01-2002 08:14 AM

I agree about the popup problem. The ones on this site are immune to my zapper.

Concerning the "seeding" of topics, I must plead guilty to starting some fairly innocuous topics. If they are too inane, I apologise.

I personally see many threads started that seem to be planted only to get the hit rate increased. I hope I am wrong.

Posts: 759 | From: Burlington ont,canada Cruise center of North America | Registered: Nov 1999 | IP: Logged

sympatico
First Class Passenger
Member # 797

posted 03-01-2002 09:58 AM

This site isn't bad - other web sites I go into are worse and it seems the ads are getting more frequent.

Don't stop posting with your "innocuous" topics, Topgun - they are fun and no apolgies needed. We all need a laugh now and then.

Posts: 3305 | From: Toronto, Ont. Canada | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

gohaze
First Class Passenger
Member # 586

posted 03-01-2002 11:12 AM

Topgun...try this one called POW. www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/pow.htm they also have one that controls cookies.
Whilst on this sort of subject try www.grc.com to see how secure your computer is - especially if you are using DSL or cable.
...peter

Posts: 1909 | From: Vancouver.BC | Registered: Sep 99 | IP: Logged

joe at travelpage
Administrator
Member # 622

posted 03-01-2002 11:17 AM

Grant,

Is it really that bad?

I have been trying to block all pop-up ads from running but the way the advertising system works is that I can only block them after the begin running. I thought I had been doing a fair job of catching them but obviously have not been able to get all of them.

The ad serving system is fairly sophisticated and serves different ads depending on where you are located so if there is a particular ad that you find offensive please drop me a line and I will kill it.

As you may suspect, the pop-up ads generate significantly more money than the passive banner ads and I have already cut the ad revenue in half by killing most of the pop-ups (...if you think the ones that sneak through are bad, you should see the ones I block). I was hoping that we could reach a balance so we could continue to use advertising to help cover some of the costs of running the site.

Even if I end up removing them completely, they are still an unfortunate part of the Internet so you might be interested in the following software. It is free and does a great job. Here's a link to the download page.

As always, your comments are appreciated.

Joe at TravelPage.com

Posts: 29976 | From: Great Falls, Virginia | Registered: A Long Time Ago! | IP: Logged

Namlit
First Class Passenger
Member # 1940

posted 03-01-2002 11:37 AM

I've been using the ad stopper Joe is suggesting for about eight weeks or so. It does an excellent job, filtering out 95% of the ads that pop up. Instalation was easy, and the thing is free. There's no reason to let those pop-up ads keep you from enjoying this site, as long as there's a handy work-around like this.

Thanks Joe!

Posts: 309 | From: Greene County, Indiana, USA | Registered: Apr 2001 | IP: Logged

Malcolm @ cruisepage
Cruise Director
Member # 301

posted 03-01-2002 01:31 PM

I find the pop-ups a annoying too, but I don't let them spoil my enjoyment of the site. To me its a bit like TV advertisements, a necessary evil.

Some of the pop-ups appear behind my browser, but the really annoying ones appear on top. I do not use 'killer' software (yet.) I almost subconsciously close them down, as they appear.

I find it hard to believe the pop-ups really cause CruieTalkers to leave in droves? However, a subscription fee certainly would!

Lets not forget that we are getting an excellent web site for free!

(Joe, you can put my cheque in the post now.)

Posts: 19210 | From: Essex (Just Outside London) | Registered: A Long Time Ago! | IP: Logged

Willy Paul
First Class Passenger
Member # 473

posted 03-01-2002 04:24 PM

I have pretty much given up on this site because of the pop up ads. I pop in now and then but don't stay to long. I have found there are other sites with just as much info and no aggravating ads.

So long, it was fun but off to other sites.

Posts: 151 | From: Auburn, Ma. | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

AKMA
First Class Passenger
Member # 1843

posted 03-02-2002 12:31 AM

I have been reading these posts (lurking?)
for a couple of years now. While the "pop-up"
ads are a pain in the butt, I think that the problem started last year when it became more and more difficult just to READ the
messages.

In my case, everything used to work fine with
Netscape4.7 Now I can only access Cruise Talk via IE, which is VERY slow. I can't access it at all, with Netscape.

It could be that a lot of people can no longer easily access this site.

"if it ain't broke don't fix it"

Posts: 18 | From: Mississauga,ON, Can. | Registered: Mar 2001 | IP: Logged

sympatico
First Class Passenger
Member # 797

posted 03-02-2002 08:16 AM

AMA- and I had the opposite problem. Couldn't access the site with Netscape and it was very slow, so both Joe and my son suggested that I switch to IE and everything is fine.
I don't know where all the complaining is coming from about "pop ups" on this site. I get one when I open the site (which is now my home page) and then nothing after that. On other sites they are popping up constantly and seem to be coming from MICROSOFT and SYMPATICO. Not much you can do about it except delete them. Why let such a little thing bother you? There are bigger things to worry about in this world right now.

Posts: 3305 | From: Toronto, Ont. Canada | Registered: Jul 99 | IP: Logged

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