Amiga.org
Amiga.org specific forums => Amiga.org Discussion and Site Feedback => Topic started by: cgutjahr on November 06, 2013, 03:10:36 PM
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In the first two postings in this thread (http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66253), four occurences of the word Debian have been turned into hyperlinks to an ebay auction. This was obviously not done by the authors of said postings, since the link is added through Javascript after the page has been loaded.
Anybody familiar with this phenomenon? Has a.org been hacked by some spamming script, or is somebody testing new ways to generate money?
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(Edited: it's *not* my browser, it *is* a.org)
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I've seen similar behaviors in some places, usually news articles and comments. Though that was before the arsenal of advertising blockers installed in my Firefox. I do not see the behavior you're describing here.
I will say, though, that I have seen this behavior present when a machine has been "infected" with some kind of adware add-on, usually present as a tag-a-long installation with something the user installs, like a media player, etc.
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I have this too when using android chrome. I installed a few media players like rocket, winamp so that must be where it came from. I don't many other apps or games.
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This has annoyed me A LOT quite some time now. I think site owner tries to make more money by allowing this kind of scripted spamming. I really hate this because important links in postings are lost because people won't click any links anymore because of these frigging spam links.
When you say it does happen only on certain browsers or machines, I don't think it's made that way. I believe it is intented to happen with all setups, but some setups just manage to block it.
For me it happens for example with OWB on MorphOS and I don't believe my machine is infected with any adware add-ons.
This is over the limit I'm willing to accept for advertisements.
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In the first two postings in this thread (http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66253), four occurences of the word Debian have been turned into hyperlinks to an ebay auction. This was obviously not done by the authors of said postings, since the link is added through Javascript after the page has been loaded.
Anybody familiar with this phenomenon? Has a.org been hacked by some spamming script, or is somebody testing new ways to generate money?
What does it mean " by the authors of said postings"? Why do you say "said"?
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Yeah, checked some more - looks like it is the site doing it. The advertising partner is VigLink ("Make money with ordinary links"):
http://www.viglink.com/
I simply didn't see it so far because my Adblocker usually filters that crap out (I'm using a backup machine right now, apparently the adblocker isn't properly configured on this one).
Meddling with user postings really is the lowest from of advertising, as far as I'm concerned. I really don't want to have random commercial links added to things I write... I'd be pretty pissed if I had posted about an open source Amiga emulator for Debian and my post would now contain three links to some ebay seller.
Can this be removed please? Or at least some form of opt-out being offered?
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What does it mean " by the authors of said postings"?
It's just a phrase, as in: "the postings I just talked about". I could have simply used "the authors of these postings" instead, but I tried to sound cool ;)
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Sorry, a.org - this is definitely a reason to use an adblocker - and never deactivate it around here...
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Here (http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65866) is a quickly picked thread for an another example.
Ad links for words "mac g5", "Apple PowerPC", "Mac mini", "PowerMac G5", "professional OS", "alternative OS", "Mac PPC"... all in one page only.
And I've seen those links on more general words too... and with clearly Amiga related words.
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Paying members of Amiga.org don't get this. It sure beats huge graphic banner Ads that have no relation whatsoever to the sites content.
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This (http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66154) is quite horrible thread too, with all those general computing terms linked... and oh there's a link to a new A5000 machine too.
If I was a paying member, I still wouldn't want to be logged in all the time when reading forums to get rid of that crap. Put those ads anywhere else, but not on artificially created links which ruins the experience and purpose of the real links in posts for the most.
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This has been going on for a while, surprised you guys haven't noticed. When I use Opera or Firefox I don't see them (both configured with adblockers), but when I use IE I do. I tend to just ignore them since they have no relevance to the topic in question, but it sure is annoying!
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Like Oldsmobile_Mike if this is a Ad feature you don't like on Amiga.org feel free to use an Ad Blocker. Amga.org has to generate revenue somehow and huge graphic banner Ads the have nothing to do with Amiga or the content of this site are even more annoying!
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So? Many sites do offer still much worse ads.
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@SysAdmin - I am a lifetime member and a subscriber I still see the "VigLinks" but im quite used to them so it doesn't bother me at all.
Edit: Had to check if subscription still was active, paypal checks out that last payment to "DFX" was done the 3 days ago so yepp subscription is still active :)
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I can't stand the web without adblockers these days.
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So? Many sites do offer still much worse ads.
Or just use other sites. EAB, AWN, MorphZone, aros-exec etc. There is rarely any content at a.org you cant find elsewhere.
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@SysAdmin - I am a lifetime member and a subscriber I still see the "VigLinks" but im quite used to them so it doesn't bother me at all.
Edit: Had to check if subscription still was active, paypal checks out that last payment to "DFX" was done the 3 days ago so yepp subscription is still active :)
I'll check your account for you.
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Or just use other sites. EAB, AWN, MorphZone, aros-exec etc. There is rarely any content at a.org you cant find elsewhere.
Stay a while, stay forever.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1_fDwX1VVY
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The fact that this can be blocked doesn't make it any less tasteless.
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I'll check your account for you.
Im a lifetime member and I still see the links. Please check my account too.
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amiga.org has ads?
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if this is a Ad feature you don't like on Amiga.org feel free to use an Ad Blocker.
You are missing the point - this form of advertisement is meddling with my postings. I have no control over what links are added to my posting, or what they link to. I do not want to promote some leecher who sells DVDs with copies of Linux distributions on ebay. Apparently, that means I have to avoid mentioning Debian Linux, because otherwise a link to said leecher will be added to my posting.
At least today, god knows what said link will point to tomorrow or the day after that.
Amga.org has to generate revenue somehow
You're not the only person running an Amiga website. Some of us do have a clue how much that costs per year, you know.
How much is your hosting? And how much does this form of socalled advertising generate?
Paying members of Amiga.org don't get this.
Apparently that's not true.
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I don't mind the link throughs in the least. It's obvious what they are just from the context of what's written in a post and the fact that they're little one or two word deals with a line underneath them. :roll eyes:
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I don't mind the link throughs in the least. It's obvious what they are just from the context of what's written in a post and the fact that they're little one or two word deals with a line underneath them. :roll eyes:
Some of us use the links for real purposes, but when people are taught that they're mostly spam, you lose content from your postings in practise. I'll become unlikely that your informative links will be noticed anymore. Real Mac mini (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/index-macmini.html) links won't be clicked because of spam Mac mini links etc.
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Some of us use the links for real purposes, but when people are taught that they're mostly spam, you lose content from your postings in practise. I'll become unlikely that your informative links will be noticed anymore. Real Mac mini (http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/index-macmini.html) links won't be clicked because of spam Mac mini links etc.
Nah. You have to go out of your way to make links look like the advertisement drops. For example: http://ask.slashdot.org/story/13/11/07/1555247/ask-slashdot-tools-for-managing-multiple-serial-console-servers <- that's an example of how normal people dump links into posts, it requires zero effort. Why on Earth would I go out of my way to mess with BB tags to make a link look like the auto generated ad referrals?
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@cgutjahr
Your never satisfied with anything done on Amiga.org but your also unwilling to submit Amiga news links or do anything to improve the site. If I made Amiga.org shoot solid gold bars out of your computer when you visited the site you would still find something to compain about!
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Why on Earth would I go out of my way to mess with BB tags to make a link look like the auto generated ad referrals?
Because of readability. I've been fooled by those VigLink ads before as well; thinking "why is this poster linking to what appears a be a mildly relevant ebay auction?"
It's the ads which look like people generated links instead of the other way around.
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Easy enough to check a link if you're on a PC, mouse over it and see where it's pointing. I do also get the not wanting to be seen as the provider of the links though, might just have to intentionally misspell things so the words don't get hijacked.
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Your never satisfied with anything done on Amiga.org but your also unwilling to submit Amiga news links or do anything to improve the site. If I made Amiga.org shoot solid gold bars out of your computer when you visited the site you would still find something to compain about!
"Sure, maybe I'm plastering ads all over everything and using any tenuous connection I can imagine to 'justify' the bullcrap I post as being Amiga-related, but I don't see you doing anything!"
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@cgutjahr
Your never satisfied with anything done on Amiga.org but your also unwilling to submit Amiga news links or do anything to improve the site. If I made Amiga.org shoot solid gold bars out of your computer when you visited the site you would still find something to compain about!
/me promotes cgutjahr with the official blue troll award
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Your never satisfied with anything done on Amiga.org
Why don't you adress the question I asked, instead of trying to label me a troll?
How much income does this perversion of an advertisement create?
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Why don't you adress the question I asked, instead of trying to label me a troll?
How much income does this perversion of an advertisement create?
I dont know if he is going to answer but I doubt it could generate much revenue. There is no money coming from clicks. Just only if that click leads to a sale you earn money.
Not much potential here. If it was good everyone would use it.
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Why don't you adress the question I asked, instead of trying to label me a troll?
How much income does this perversion of an advertisement create?
Someone is being nosey.
:)
http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Nosey-People
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I guess everyone complaining to the management about their words being hijacked to promote dodgy Ebay "predators" has had an effect.
Today I come here to read this thread again and I see a Great Big Honking Banner Ad :biglaugh:
At least it is an ad for DiscreetFX so it is Amiga Related.
I like the banner ads better than the hijacked word links. Word links have tricked me several times in the past. Many ppl do make their own real wordlinks using BBtags.
With Banner Ads it is 100% obvious what is an ad and what is not an ad.
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this site has always been run to make money. The fact is the only value of the site is that contributed by the users. The hosting costs very little - it always did. Maybe the best thing to do would be to stop contributing to the site though rather than complaining - just because I don't think it will change anything.
I do not like the inline links in postings. ugly and unnecessary. it is a shame the site was given such a silly "value" in the first place and sold on. I guess current owners are trying to claw back some of the money they spent/wasted (which it was never worth).
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Edit: problem solved, thanks.
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I guess current owners are trying to claw back some of the money they spent/wasted (which it was never worth).
The current owner (note the singular) is BillP, who claims to have been given amiga.org as a free gift from the (alleged) previous owner Tedd G_a_l_l_i_o_n.
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Thought current owner was connected to the (alleged) previous owner though previously ? I've not been paying much attention in recent years though I guess, but I was of course referring to the earlier sale. Tis all far too secretive..
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The current owner (note the singular) is BillP, who claims to have been given amiga.org as a free gift from the (alleged) previous owner Tedd G_a_l_l_i_o_n.
He said that she said that he said that he was quoting what he allegedly said and knows what he intended. It's all documented on Amiga.org for anyone that wants to read it.
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Can these links be removed from people's signatures at least?
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@SysAdmin
As a Lifetime member, I also see the viglink ads, something must be configured incorrectly.
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I say bring back that whack job Wayne. As much as he b1tched and whined about being broke and losing money on this site at least he didn't actually bombard us with popups everywhere.
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I say bring back that whack job Wayne. As much as he b1tched and whined about being broke and losing money on this site at least he didn't actually bombard us with popups everywhere.
Wait where do you see popups? Ive never seen a single popup ad?
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@SysAdmin
As a Lifetime member, I also see the viglink ads, something must be configured incorrectly.
How about now, do you still see them?
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How about now, do you still see them?
It still happens, even in this thread, see the 1st post. the ebay word is changed by viglink.
EDIT: Also my own post has 2 of these words.
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Mine doesn't. Might be your browser. I'm using Firefox 25. I'm also using AdBloc+
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Mine doesn't. Might be your browser. I'm using Firefox 25. I'm also using AdBloc+
True, when I enable adblock I also don't see those changes. But it's strange that I should revert to using adblock as a lifetime member...
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New status doesn't seem to affect the issue... I still see the links too.
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Sometimes they're funny, the plug used to point at an anal plug on eBay...
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True, when I enable adblock I also don't see those changes. But it's strange that I should revert to using adblock as a lifetime member...
Why wouldn't you just keep AdBlock enabled all the time? Honestly on my machines running Firefox or Opera, I don't even remember how to turn it off... I've never had to for any site that I visit.
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Why wouldn't you just keep AdBlock enabled all the time? Honestly on my machines running Firefox or Opera, I don't even remember how to turn it off... I've never had to for any site that I visit.
It doesn't work with all browsers. For example AdBlock implementation I have in use doesn't block those embedded links.
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Since the links are added dynamically via Javascript, using a JS whitelist/blacklist plugin like NoScript and blocking viglink.com will kill 'em good.
Not that that makes their presence any less tasteless.
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Ads + all the censorship and posts/replies being deleted = bull%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!%&$#?@!.