Starting to see HUGE political ads on reviews I read....this is very disappointing to say the least.. I can understand rv related ads to keep the site running, but not political No desire to stick around here....darn shame..
Notice that the OP has only ONE post. I think it's a spam post. ADMINS, recommend removing this entire thread. JJ
I"m not a spammer, i've used rv reviews and posted reviews for years....... And I also posted this on rv net....You can see my post there.. However, I did find a way to remove them with ad blocker plus by firefox... Love this site, hopefully now I will be able to continue on here with the ad blocker in place.. If the Admin wishes to delete this post, they are more than welcome... QUOTE(dalsgal @ Oct 1 2010, 11:28 AM) [snapback]24374[/snapback] What ads? I haven't seen any! Which reviews? Hey dal, I noticed them in the middle campground reviews I was looking at..(I don't remember exactly which ones I was looking at at the time, I think maybe tumcari, mexico koa was one, i think)..anyway...they were all of one certain persuasion.. I downloaded firefox ad blocker and was able to get rid of them QUICK, thanks to help from the rv net folks.
I checked the Tucumcari KOA listing, and all I saw was an ad for "groupon." I am not exactly sure what this is, but I am assuming it is for some kind of coupons. I am not aware of any political ads on this site. Your complaint would be more valid if you could be more precise about what the ad was for and where you saw it.
QUOTE(Texasrvers @ Oct 1 2010, 10:26 PM) [snapback]24385[/snapback] I checked the Tucumcari KOA listing, and all I saw was an ad for "groupon." I am not exactly sure what this is, but I am assuming it is for some kind of coupons. I am not aware of any political ads on this site. Your complaint would be more valid if you could be more precise about what the ad was for and where you saw it. The ad was for Ted Strickland of Ohio...against John Kasich...something about Kasich and his voting for the gun ban in ohio...Maybe it was just directed toward me since I live in ohio...who knows....I just don't remember which reviews I was looking at...I look at them everyday and different ones...
What ads? Do you mean the one liners at the top and bottom of the reviews? Other than that I don't get any. Maybe they checked my bank account and found out I am a poor prospect.
QUOTE(buffy @ Oct 2 2010, 01:41 AM) [snapback]24386[/snapback] The ad was for Ted Strickland of Ohio...against John Kasich...something about Kasich and his voting for the gun ban in ohio...Maybe it was just directed toward me since I live in ohio...who knows....I just don't remember which reviews I was looking at...I look at them everyday and different ones... I have never seen anything like what you have described on this website. I even contacted a high up admin and asked if he knew anything about the ads. He said that the webmaster would never allow anything like that. He even wondered if you were actually on this site when you saw the ads. Whether you were or not this whole situation made me think of something that happened to me about 2 years ago. I got a virus that caused ads to appear whenever I did a search. I would use either Google or Yahoo and do a search for "varieties of tomatoes" (for example). The search results would look normal and would list many websites that sounded like they were about tomatoes. However, when I clicked on the listing I would get an advertisement for a product that had nothing to do with tomatoes. Usually they were selling knock-off watches or something similar, but quite a few were pornographic. Eventually I discovered the whole first page of the search results was this way. I finally had to take my computer in for repair, and all they could do was wipe the hard disk. What a mess! Anyway my point is maybe you have a virus that is putting the ads on your computer or at least it is allowing them to display. You might want to have your computer checked, and in the meantime if you see any more ads that are of this nature, please write down exactly where you saw them and also make note of the date and time. You may either post the info here or send me a personal message. Either way we would like to know if something like this is appearing on the website.
If a politician wanted to pay to advertise on this site, I would be fine with that. First, I would think that it would show they at least had a passing interest in RVing, which would be good. Second. it would provide the site owners more revenue, which would help keep the site up and running and maybe even make the site owners "the rich" so those same politicians can start taking money from those rich site owners and give it the common man. In a perfect world (according to the politicians) the rich site owner would have to sell their Prevosts and start using a tarp draped over a clothesline to camp. That would make them more like the common man. One other suggestion, if the site needs more advertisers, please consider Strippers. If you allowed strippers to advertise on the site, I would disable my ad blocker! :blink:
Oh well, lol...the firefox ad blocker took care of the problem...have not seen one since...thank goodness!
I don't know how it is that people don't see these ads, but I see them all the time on this site ... right-wing political things about guns and anti-Obama rhetoric. People are entitled to their beliefs, but this is supposed to be an impartial resource about RV camping, not a forum for hardcore right-wing political statements. I've been posting reviews here for over a year now, so please don't think I'm "spam", even though I'm a "newbie" in this forum section. I just think these ads are inappropriate and totally out of line.
You need to check your firewall because apparently you are the only one that sees them. Those ads are not posted on this site. I think your accusations are totally unfounded. Getting angry at us and this forum is not the way to solve the problem that you are having. I have never, ever seen any ad like you are speaking of. You definitely need a better spam filter. There are no ads here, paid for or not.
Hello John Tucson and welcome to the forum section. B) Where are these ads, at the top of the page? All I can find say: "Ads by Google" and are generally Campgrounds and Parks. They are part of the top border region when I pull up a state to search for a city and park. Usually they are targeted to whatever region I've pulled up to search. (Just now, I found a Yellowpages.com ad and a Progressive Insurance ad). Or: do they pop up and/or travel across your screen, blocking whatever you are trying to read? (My AOL homepage does this. I loath it.) Just curious how this is happening. Do you use a blocker or filter like Norton or anything?
I use Firefox and have block pop-up windows set to yes. I never see any ads less the Google ads for RV items. Sometimes I see a car ad near the top but it is not a pop-up.
I originally wrote this post for John Tucson, but I think that anyone who is seeing ads on this website will find this information interesting. John Tucson, If you will go back and read the whole thread you will see that apparently some people see ads and some don’t. This probably has a lot to do with what browser you use and what ad blocker protection you have. If you read my last post (#8) you will also see that on Oct. 3 I was not seeing any political ads although I did see ads for coupons and RV related items. However, shortly after I wrote that post I actually did see a political ad. It was for the governor’s race in New Mexico. I thought this was interesting because I was in New Mexico at the time. I thought there had to be a connection. Then another strange thing happened. When we got home I needed to purchase a lamp so I looked on line at a particular lighting store. Shortly after I was on the site I noticed that an ad for that store started appearing on this website. I knew there was no way this was a coincidence, so I have done a little investigating and found something interesting. These ad companies somehow place a cookie on your computer and get their information directly from searches you do. One of the ad companies is Ads by Google, and here is what their website says: “Ads by Google appear throughout the web on sites that use Google's AdSense program to show ads. Sometimes the ads we show you are based on the content of the page you are viewing. Other times, the ads are intended to reflect your interests which are based on the content of the webpages from participating websites that you've previously visited.” The other company is called Criteo. (This is the one that has the lamp ad.) Their website says they collect browsing data and then display products you have recently viewed. They also display personalized dynamic banners from other merchants that are a partner of Criteo. They indicate that they place cookies on computers to gather information, but they also tell you how to disable the banners from your browser. So I feel more than ever that if you are seeing a lot of ads that do not relate to RVing it is a problem with your browser and the lack of security on your computer. I already have my security set pretty high, but now that I know a little more about how the ads are getting here I plan to check my computer and take the appropriate measures to get it stopped. You should do the same.
I use IXQUICK to do searches. That search engine doesn't retain your information. But your searches get weird results. For example, my own blog comes up top of the list on a "google" search, but on IXQUICK it's like..... sixth down the list and numbers 1-5 are.... strange..... Also, speaking of ads, I recently found out something that really REALLY annoys me. Well, you know those stores that ask for your zip code when you buy something? It seems like an innocent question but DON'T DON'T DON'T give that information. If you pay cash, and give out your zip code, nothing they can do. But if you use a credit card and give out your zip code, well, now they have your name and your zip code. So, they do a process called "appending" and they search all public information (property web sites, phone books, etc) and if they find your name then they "append" and next thing you know you are on their junk mail list. I shopped at two well known store chains, used a credit card, and REFUSED to give my zip code. Next thing I know I was on their junk mail list anyway! I contacted Privacy Rights Clearninghouse and they sent me some information that I found appalling! A company called Axiom does this "appending" thing. And, in my case, if you use a credit card and REFUSE to give your zip code, they can do a process called "trade area append" which presumes you reside in the "trade area." They search all public information in the "Trade area," latch on, and you are on the junk mail list. This really ****ed me off! Apparently, California is trying to pass legislation to outlaw "appending." The two companies that put me on their junk mail list SWORE that the way I got on there was that I gave out my zip code. NO I DIDN'T! I don't ever give that out. If you are a "Full-timer," then you probably won't have an issue with "trade area appending" because you probably don't "live" (by the full-timers definition of "living") in the "trade area" you are shopping at. But DO NOT give out your zip code. Sometimes they ask for your phone number. DON'T give that out, either. If you want the information Privacy Rights Clearinghouse sent me, send me a PM. I have not had a problem with Wal-Mart or Target or Kroger doing this. The stores that did it were "specialty" chain stores (hint hint.... a chain store that sells bath products, and a chain store specializing in women's intimate apparel). (Didn't mean to hijack the thread, but thought I should point this out for your shopping.) JJ
Update: I ran a program called CCleaner that is supposed to remove all "Programs" that are gathering personal information. It removes cookies and wipes out browsing history and does some other things that I can't begin to understand much less explain. Unfortunately it also wipes out some things I would prefer to keep, but no biggie. Anyway I guess it worked because the ads for the lamp company are gone. Some of the google ads are still there, but they are the RV related ones so that is not a problem with me. JJ, That is good information. Thanks for sharing. Unfortunately it sounds like they will get our info one way or another, and we will probably never beat them.
QUOTE(Texasrvers @ Nov 20 2010, 10:40 PM) [snapback]24923[/snapback] ...One of the ad companies is Ads by Google... Very interesting Texasrvers! Of course. I use Google 99% of the time as my search engine. Ergo I "see" ads by Google everywhere I go. Time to do the ole: TOOLS/Internet Options/Delete cookies, saved stuff, etc. Oh yes JJ. Learned long ago not to give our zip codes (Sporting Goods chain stores), or phone numbers (Haircutting chain stores). I just smile at the clerk (who is usually clueless why they must ask for this information) and say I'm in transition, and have no numbers. The chain grocery store discount cards are the other bugaboo... Ok...now I've hijacked this thread! Sorry folks.
QUOTE(FosterImposters @ Nov 21 2010, 09:45 AM) [snapback]24927[/snapback] The chain grocery store discount cards are the other bugaboo... Ok...now I've hijacked this thread! Sorry folks. Those are a joke! You are not "saving" money. You are paying market price. The people who do NOT have the cards are getting "gouged." Albertson's will just GIVE you a card no paperwork required. At least they did two years ago. The Ingles chain in the South will, too, I got one last year. So will Food Lion. Safeway wanted address information but I talked them down to just city and state, I did NOT give a phone number. And when I moved, I didn't give them a change of address. The only advantage with giving them a phone number is that you can use the phone number and not the card. But if you give them your phone number, you are setting yourself up for the information to be sold. I like the way Fred Meyer/Kroger does theirs. Everyone pays the same price, silly card or no silly card. But, if you have their silly card, you get rebates every three months. That's fair. And, with Fred Meyer/Kroger, I "opted out" of all mail, all I get are the rebates, nothing else. But in this case, if you move, you need to give them a change of address. Well, ok, sorry about hijacking the thread, but this does pertain to "ads" just a different kind. And Foster, you are right about the clueless clerks. If you ask "why" they will just say, "we want to know where our customers are from." BULL! There is more to the story. JJ
We ate at Chile's last night and there was an ad on my bills saying that they had a weekly $1,000 giveaway and gave you a website to "register". Like an idiot, I did and immediately my Android which notifies me of emails began to vibrate off the table. I switched to check my mail and had 16 emails welcoming me to be a price checker at various websites. I try to be very selective when giving out my email or web address. Lots of spammers out there. I have a gmail account that I use for anything that doesn't look right.
