Posted
by Phil Cauthon
February 3, 2009 at 7:41 a.m.
What's up with the pop-ups
Dear reader and lawrence.comrade,
You might have noticed that a pop-up advertisement appears now when you first come to lawrence.com (or ljworld.com and kusports.com). Yes, that is a first. Like most businesses, we find ourselves in particularly challenging times, and this is one revenue opportunity which allows us to keep on keepin' on, and keep our sites free. However, some readers—especially those using Safari, and some users of IE6—are being affected in an unintened way. The code supplied by our advertising contractor is designed to distribute ONE pop-under per 24-hour period. Some browser configurations have a problem handling this limit, and we are working with the contractor to fix this bug. In the meantime, if you're able to use another brower—such as Firefox—that is our best suggestion.We are working quickly to solve this problem and sincerely regret the inconvenience it has caused some of you. —homies
and 3 others
Comments
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nathan (anonymous) says…
I fixed the problem on my Safari browser by going to Preferences > Security > Show Cookies and searching for"zedo." I deleted all the "zedo" related cookies and things are fine now.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
Okay, Nathan, I did that, but how did they get there in the first place and will they return?
PatrickJoseph (Patrick Giroux) says…
Thanks Nathan.
MyName (anonymous) says…
Wow, I actually feel better about the decision now that I realize that having a new ad show up every time I open a new article means that it is not in fact working as intended.
nathan (anonymous) says…
@alm77 Not sure why that fixed it. Cookies are set for almost every big site you visit and it's possible those were set incorrectly, I dunno. I personally only accept cookies from sites I visit and disallow third party cookies. Helps mitigate spam and viruses.
lori (anonymous) says…
Unfortunately that did not help me; I'm still getting a new popunder every time I click on anything in the ljworld/lawrence.com site. It sucks and it's stupid--how much revenue do those things actually generate? I'd rather pay a subscription fee to read the paper online than deal with this crap on my computer.
lazz (anonymous) says…
at least the advertising is via on-screen pop-ups and not ass tattoos ...
DOTDOT (anonymous) says…
I heard that on-screen pop up ass tattoos will be built in to Windows 7. The DRM says that Redmond will get a cut every time you take a crap. A little invasive, I know, but one can't afford to be offended by revenue opportunities these days. Anyway, don't you think this answer to the ipod whoopee cushion is a little like overkill?
lori (anonymous) says…
If it were an ass tattoo, at least I wouldn't have to look at it all the time. Well, I take that back. I actually see quite a bit of ass in my line of work. I would be just as annoyed to see an advertisement for Netflix or American Express on some 80 year old pt's bum as I am to see it on my computer after I've read the paper. Pop up/under ads are annoying under any circumstances, no matter the medium.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
lori, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. If it were a local company, once a day (as homies have explained is, in fact, the intention) then I'm okay with that. We do get our l.com jollies for free, after all. Yeah, the bazillion pop ups suck, but just be patient while they get it worked out. It's only been a few days and they are working on it. And how'd you get Netflix and American Express anyway? Mine have all been Publisher's Clearinghouse and auto insurance.
lori (anonymous) says…
Why not offer "enhanced subscriptions" where, if we pay a monthly subscription fee, we can get ljworld and lawrence dot com without internet ads? I don't mind *local* ads, but the embedded ads that come up at the end of every story and the popunders drive me crazy. I'll pay to not see them.
editer (Phil Cauthon) says…
lori—That's a great idea, and something that we may well try some day. Also, good point about the ass tattoos.alm77—Thanks for being so understanding.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
Enhanced subscriptions? No way! l.com has a bad enough reputation as being elitist. Enhanced subscriptions reminds me of Bret Mossman's terrible idea of VIP tickets at Wakarusa. There was this huge area roped off (they got to stand by the stage!!) and like five rich people stood there, embarrassed while we all laughed (but didn't point!). So, you and two people you probably don't even like are going to *pay* for access to comment on......what? secret stories? I don't know of any pay-to-read websites that actually work. Well, except the obvious and even lawrence.com showed some ass for free last week. ;)Suck up the ONE pop up a day and just be glad you're not spending your money.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
Um, let me just clarify, that came out wrong. About the elitism, I actually kind of like it: keeps out the riff-raff. But my point still stands, I think bestowing status on people who are willing to pay for it is silly.
editer (Phil Cauthon) says…
Ha, thanks again alm—To clarify, I can't imagine that we'd ever be a paid-to-use site (if the NYTimes couldn't make that work for their most valued content, I kinda doubt we could). But I think a scenario is possible where paying a modest amount would allow you to use the site sans national advertising. Another scenario might entail something more like what you suggest—a Wikipedia-style donation drive, etc. No one that I'm aware of has found the complete revenue model that will allow journalism to continue on the internet as it has thus far via print, radio, and TV. Whatever it is, it's surely going to be different than traditional advertising, pop-ups or otherwise.
editer (Phil Cauthon) says…
It sounds like the pop-up madness has come to an end. If anyone continues to see more than one pop-up, I'd very much appreciate a heads up via phil /at/ lawrence /dot/ com or 832-7270. Thanks again for your patience~