# Noisy obtrusive ads



## AlanF (Sep 15, 2014)

Audio/video ads are being posted by Google that are activated simply by moving unintentionally the cursor over them without clicking. This activation happens when scrolling and the cursor slides over the ad. They are horribly noisy. Admin please get rid of them.


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## AcutancePhotography (Sep 15, 2014)

Sure, as soon as you start sending the owners of this website some money every month.


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## AlanF (Sep 15, 2014)

Ads are a fact of life, but ones that start shouting at you without clicking a link to activate them are a step too far.


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## Old Sarge (Sep 15, 2014)

If you are using Firefox you can use AdBlock plug-in to avoid ads altogether. Not sure about IE since I rarely use it.


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## Don Haines (Sep 15, 2014)

The purpose of an add is to sell product.... not piss people off to the point that they will never do business with that company.... the advertisers need to re-consider what they are doing....


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## ChristopherMarkPerez (Sep 15, 2014)

Old Sarge said:


> If you are using Firefox you can use AdBlock plug-in to avoid ads altogether. Not sure about IE since I rarely use it.



+100!!!


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## AcutancePhotography (Sep 15, 2014)

Even if I want the article they are selling, and even if the price is the lowest, I will never order anything from a pop-up ad. 

But clearly I am in a minority as these ad companies would not invest in such technology unless they got back a good return. So some people (probably many people) are using these pop up type ads to order stuff. 

The problem I have is that with a "traditional" pop up ad, the person has to deliberately click on the ad. This generates a report back to the advertisement company and they can, in turn, report that their ads generated so much interest because a number of people were interested enough in the product to click on the ad.

Hence the term click-revenue.

Since I have no interest in any pop-up type ad, I never click on them.

But these mouse-over ads are a way for the advertisement companies to report higher interest in the ads by reporting mouse-overs as interest in the ad. Unfortunately, a mouse-over does not always indicate interest.

But as a customer of a website, I don't really care. As long as product manufacturers can be conned into paying to support websites that I can access for free, I am happy. 

I think that the product manufactuers might have a problem with the advertisement companies, but advertisement companies are in the business of manipulation and lies. ;D

Someone has to pay for my access to these websites. I am not miss-representing anything so morally I am in the clear. But if some ad company can scam a product manufacturer/seller into paying so I don't have to pay, more power to them. 

At the end of the day, I am still getting something of value for free so I really can't complain.


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## tolusina (Sep 15, 2014)

Don Haines said:


> The purpose of an add is to sell product.... not piss people off to the point that they will never do business with that company.... the advertisers need to re-consider what they are doing....


'splain me this then...
A few days back, I clicked through some links, likely starting here, got to the Canon Europe CPN site, augured in a bit further to this page.......
http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/education/technical/using_the_c500_for_need_for_speed.do

OK Canon, I've been lured in, advertising is successful so far, now I'd like to watch the video, maybe I'll get more interested in your product(s).
But, the video won't play, according to Chrome on PC, the video stream is blocked, possible causes include.........

Required ports:1935
443
80Required domains:*.brightcove.com
*.brightcove.co.jp
bcove.me
*.o.brightcove.com
brightcove04.o.brightcove.com
hls.ak.o.brightcove.com
uds.ak.o.brightcove.com
brightcove.vo.llnwd.net
*.llnwd.net
*.edgefcs.net
*.edgesuite.net
*.akamaihd.net
*.analytics.edgekey.net
----
Adservers, analytics, whatever else, I'm already there Canon, I've jumped the hoops and hurdles, do you really have to further analyze the traffic that has already passed the road blocks? You'll get no clue whether I'll actually purchase this specific product or not, what else could you possibly care about?


.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 15, 2014)

What Ads? I've never seen any for two years. I use Adfender, its free (I donated to them). If enough people block Ads, Google might get the idea. 

In the meantime, its expensive to maintain a high traffic website, and Google helps pay for it.


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## Tanispyre (Sep 15, 2014)

I am generally opposed to the whole shift towards video content. I hate how many news articles are available as video only, I can process information so much faster as text, I don't want to spend 3-4 minutes to learn what I could read through in less than one.

I agree video ads are particularly obnoxious, especially if you are like me and open 4 or 5 tabs at once, and they all start spewing the same video ad, slightly out of sync.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 15, 2014)

Tanispyre said:


> I am generally opposed to the whole shift towards video content. I hate how many news articles are available as video only, I can process information so much faster as text, I don't want to spend 3-4 minutes to learn what I could read through in less than one.
> 
> I agree video ads are particularly obnoxious, especially if you are like me and open 4 or 5 tabs at once, and they all start spewing the same video ad, slightly out of sync.



+10


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## DigitalDivide (Sep 15, 2014)

tolusina said:


> Don Haines said:
> 
> 
> > The purpose of an add is to sell product.... not piss people off to the point that they will never do business with that company.... the advertisers need to re-consider what they are doing....
> ...



I'm not an IT guru by any means, but it looks to me like the port needed to play the video is blocked. This could be a problem with the configuration on your PC (firewall settings perhaps), your home cable or DSL modem (whichever is applicable), your router if you have one, or it could be something that your ISP chooses to block for some reason. I once ran into a problem like this for video streaming, and I worked with my ISP to get it resolved.

The majority of users have no idea how the internet works, and quite reasonably most don't care - they just want it to function properly every time they use it. However, the process of supporting a wide range of services between a server and a computer which may be located almost anywhere in the world (and could in fact be moving, on a bus or a train for example), is far from trivial. The internet is a distributed network operated by a vast number of different companies, and often there are multiple interpretations of the standards they are trying to support. To me it is far more incredible that it usually works as intended than that there are occasional glitches.

Big companies like Canon with lots of resources to devote to their websites generally put a lot of effort into making sure the content is accessible to as many people as possible, because as you note it is in their best interest. So when you encounter a video that won't play, more than likely the problem lies at your end or somewhere in between, as Canon will do their best to make sure the video plays under every possible scenario. Most of the variables are outside Canon's control, so unless a lot of people report the same problem it is probably not their fault.

For the record, the video plays perfectly with Chrome on my PC, even when accessed through a company firewall and a VPN. That's actually quite impressive, if you think about it!  I'd suggest you contact your ISP to see if they can help.


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## AcutancePhotography (Sep 15, 2014)

Tanispyre said:


> I am generally opposed to the whole shift towards video content. I hate how many news articles are available as video only, I can process information so much faster as text, I don't want to spend 3-4 minutes to learn what I could read through in less than one.



I have been trying to find a good text only news site. I too hate the imbedding of video in news stories. I suppose I am one of the few considerate people who want to get news without bothering the people around me?


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## Old Sarge (Sep 15, 2014)

AcutancePhotography said:


> Tanispyre said:
> 
> 
> > I am generally opposed to the whole shift towards video content. I hate how many news articles are available as video only, I can process information so much faster as text, I don't want to spend 3-4 minutes to learn what I could read through in less than one.
> ...


I am in concurrence with both of you. Lord knows that written news accounts are poorly done in today's world but video is even worse. Neither contain enough real information in my opinion.


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## tolusina (Sep 15, 2014)

DigitalDivide said:


> I'm not an IT guru by any means, but it looks to me like the port needed to play the video is blocked. This could be a problem with the configuration on your PC (firewall settings perhaps),.....


hosts file
My rant was not questioning why I couldn't view the video, I know precisely why.
My rant regards the tracking and analytics in use.
Why why why does anyone in marketing and advertising care how I've arrived once I've arrived. They have gotten my undivided attention and prefer to analyze rather than inform.

In a bricks and mortar retail situation, when a customer has arrived and is asking about a product, does the retailer first ask that customer how heshe found out about the product or the store, or does the wise retailer attempt to first make the sale?


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## Click (Sep 15, 2014)

Google Chrome and AdBlock plug-in. No problem at all, works fine for me.


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## phigment (Sep 15, 2014)

tolusina said:


> My rant regards the tracking and analytics in use.
> Why why why does anyone in marketing and advertising care how I've arrived once I've arrived. They have gotten



The simple answer is they want to know where and to whom they should focus their marketing energy.

Example: if a company trying to sell professional gear is having ads pop up on gimmicky consumer sites (which then generate clicks, but no purchases), they should remove that target from their campaign.


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## preppyak (Sep 15, 2014)

AcutancePhotography said:


> But clearly I am in a minority as these ad companies would not invest in such technology unless they got back a good return. So some people (probably many people) are using these pop up type ads to order stuff.


I think you'd be surprised. The guy that invented pop-up ads wrote an article a month back...the effectiveness of pop-up ads is laughably minor. Click through rates in the hundredths of a percent, etc

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/08/advertising-is-the-internets-original-sin/376041/?single_page=true


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 15, 2014)

AcutancePhotography said:


> Even if I want the article they are selling, and even if the price is the lowest, I will never order anything from a pop-up ad.
> 
> But clearly I am in a minority as these ad companies would not invest in such technology unless they got back a good return. So some people (probably many people) are using these pop up type ads to order stuff.
> 
> ...



The ads we see are tailored to each user using the cookies placed on your computer from previous visits to other web sites. If you look at a Nikon D810 on Amazon, you will likely see ads almost everywhere you visit.

You can turn off some of the annoying ones by clicking on the tiny icon in the corner of a ad and then selecting your preferences.

CR can, or used to be able to block a few ads (Limited number) and they used this to block obvious camera scam ads).


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## tolusina (Sep 15, 2014)

phigment said:


> tolusina said:
> 
> 
> > My rant regards the tracking and analytics in use.
> ...


Still missing my point.
Their advertising has worked. Among the billions of possible internet distractions, their ads have worked, I'm there, I want info, they want more analytics from ad servers instead.

Retail 101, make the sale, maybe ask how and why afterwards.


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## tolusina (Sep 15, 2014)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> ...... using the cookies placed on your computer from previous visits to other web sites.......


Which can produce downright creepy results.
On my phone I was shopping Home Depot's site for a particular type of lighting globe. I now see ads on that phone from Home Depot for that exact item while browsing CR. I bought the globe already, paid cash in store, but there's no way for cookies to know that so I'm still being urged to buy.


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## AcutancePhotography (Sep 15, 2014)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> The ads we see are tailored to each user using the cookies placed on your computer from previous visits to other web sites. If you look at a Nikon D810 on Amazon, you will likely see ads almost everywhere you visit.



I swear, it must have been someone hacking my account. I don't know where those penile enhancement ads came from!!!! :-[


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## scottkinfw (Sep 15, 2014)

Any angry x's?



AcutancePhotography said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > The ads we see are tailored to each user using the cookies placed on your computer from previous visits to other web sites. If you look at a Nikon D810 on Amazon, you will likely see ads almost everywhere you visit.
> ...


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## chris_w_digits (Sep 15, 2014)

It's almost unthinkable that anyone this day and age would be using a browser without AdBlock and NoScript (I use them under Firefox). The web is practically unusable without them, and quite dangerous.


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## c.d.embrey (Sep 15, 2014)

Don Haines said:


> The purpose of an add is to sell product.... not piss people off to the point that they will never do business with that company.... the advertisers need to re-consider what they are doing....



*Got that right!!!*


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## c.d.embrey (Sep 15, 2014)

*Adblock* works on Chrome, Firefox and Safari. 

Also good is *Privacy Badger* from the *Electronic Frontier Foundation*. Privacy Badger blocks spying ads and invisible trackers. It's available for Chrome and Firefox https://www.eff.org/privacybadger


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## DigitalDivide (Sep 15, 2014)

tolusina said:


> phigment said:
> 
> 
> > tolusina said:
> ...



Good to hear you were able to resolve the problem, and sorry I misunderstood the point of your original post.

I think the feedback is very valuable to Canon precisely because among the billions of possible distractions, this method was successful. They want to keep using it to attract hundreds or thousands of other potential customers. The analytics are supposed to be transparent of course, but they probably consider that the small risk of losing an occasional sale is worth it. How many people actually bother to fill in the "how did you hear about us?" questions that get asked after a sale? Accurate marketing feedback is like gold...

I'm certainly in agreement that such glitches are annoying when they happen though.


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## slclick (Sep 15, 2014)

adblock on safari is pretty reliable


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## AlanF (Sep 15, 2014)

chris_w_digits said:


> It's almost unthinkable that anyone this day and age would be using a browser without AdBlock and NoScript (I use them under Firefox). The web is practically unusable without them, and quite dangerous.



Thanks - Adblock installed and it works.


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## Roo (Sep 15, 2014)

I still get text ads on this site but I turned off the video plugin for this page in Chrome and no more auto running ads .


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## AcutancePhotography (Sep 16, 2014)

scottkinfw said:


> Any angry x's?



Is there another type?


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## Canon Rumors Guy (Sep 18, 2014)

AlanF said:


> Audio/video ads are being posted by Google that are activated simply by moving unintentionally the cursor over them without clicking. This activation happens when scrolling and the cursor slides over the ad. They are horribly noisy. Admin please get rid of them.



I will talk to Google about it, I'm not sure if I can opt out of those. Thanks for your patience.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 18, 2014)

Canon Rumors said:


> AlanF said:
> 
> 
> > Audio/video ads are being posted by Google that are activated simply by moving unintentionally the cursor over them without clicking. This activation happens when scrolling and the cursor slides over the ad. They are horribly noisy. Admin please get rid of them.
> ...


 
There seems to be complaints around the internet. Facebook autorun videos started it when smartphone users discovered they were eating their minutes.


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## Rocky (Sep 18, 2014)

It all depends which browser that you are using. It is "Ad-free" on this site when I am using Internet Explorer. If I use Firefox on this site, the noisy ads and the other ads are so bad that I cannot stand it. To be fair, there are a lot popup ads and noisy ads even on Amazon and a few other sites when I use Fire fox. It is up to a ppoint that I do not even use Firefox anymore. P.S. My Firefox has been set up to block ALL popup already.


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## Steve Balcombe (Sep 18, 2014)

AcutancePhotography said:


> Mt Spokane Photography said:
> 
> 
> > The ads we see are tailored to each user using the cookies placed on your computer from previous visits to other web sites. If you look at a Nikon D810 on Amazon, you will likely see ads almost everywhere you visit.
> ...



Joking aside, I did once start getting ads for erotic books from Amazon. I have absolutely no idea what prompted it, but it could potentially have been really embarrassing.

More recently, I got seriously fed up with one particular Canon ad playing over and over and over again on dpreview so I installed Adblock Plus. I now see no ads at all, which is a shame because I never objected to being shown static, non-popup ads. The advertisers who play nice are also being penalised.


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## Mitch.Conner (Sep 18, 2014)

DigitalDivide said:


> The majority of users have no idea how the internet works



Rope, pulleys, and counterweights right?


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## mackguyver (Sep 18, 2014)

Mitch.Conner said:


> DigitalDivide said:
> 
> 
> > The majority of users have no idea how the internet works
> ...


No, no - it's hamsters in cages and tin cans connected with string these days. We've come a long way


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## AcutancePhotography (Sep 18, 2014)

DigitalDivide said:


> The majority of users have no idea how the internet works



I have it on good authority that the Internet is a series of tubes


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Series_of_tubes

"They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something that you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material"


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## TeT (Sep 18, 2014)

run AdGuard ap on Google Chrome and you too will be saying "what ads?"


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## Joe M (Sep 18, 2014)

I'm not sure what ads you're speaking of because I don't see them. I usually use FF along with noscript. I only allow the scripts I need to properly access the parts of any website I need. Usually I can get by with most sites popping no ads in my face. Most times they are at least minimal.


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## wsmith96 (Sep 18, 2014)

mackguyver said:


> Mitch.Conner said:
> 
> 
> > DigitalDivide said:
> ...



I guess my internet is slow because I'm still using smoke signals.....hamsters, who knew...


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## Logan (Sep 18, 2014)

Roo said:


> I still get text ads on this site but I turned off the video plugin for this page in Chrome and no more auto running ads .



uncheck the box "show some unobtrusive text ads" in your filter subscriptions.


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## Marsu42 (Sep 18, 2014)

Old Sarge said:


> If you are using Firefox you can use AdBlock plug-in to avoid ads altogether.



If you must, at least don't use AdBlock Plus or plugins from the same company for other browsers. Their "acceptable ads" whitelist is simply a way to ransom sites into paying them to be included, and the author has enough leverage because it's the most popular plugin.

I know this is argued as a service to the community to invite sites to create less obstrusive ads and the payment is a mere service fee, but when you read up on how much money is collected this behavior is imho simply extortion and as criminal as it gets w/o directly breaking a law.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 18, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Old Sarge said:
> 
> 
> > If you are using Firefox you can use AdBlock plug-in to avoid ads altogether.
> ...



Interesting comment about AdBlock Plus. I don't use it, and I never see a ad on CR using AdFender, but I do see unwanted videos on some news sites


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## Logan (Sep 19, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Old Sarge said:
> 
> 
> > If you are using Firefox you can use AdBlock plug-in to avoid ads altogether.
> ...



thats horse potatoes, just uncheck the box, problem solved.


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## Marsu42 (Sep 19, 2014)

Logan said:


> thats horse potatoes, just uncheck the box, problem solved.



Indeed, that's just what the Adblock Plus author says. But how many of all these Joe Sixpack users stumble upon this option, and why is it opt-out instead of opt-in? 

This box is simply there to as an argumentation aid, just as you can just remove Internet Explorer from your PC or use a Windows N version. Strangely, very few people do, and strangely Microsoft still drove Netscape out of business...

It's not about *you* (being able to opt out), it's about lessening the userbase of such an addon to make the point that this extortion tactic doesn't work. Unfortunately, as you just demonstrated, people tend to think no further than they are absolutely forced to do.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Sep 19, 2014)

Marsu42 said:


> Logan said:
> 
> 
> > thats horse potatoes, just uncheck the box, problem solved.
> ...


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