hoovb, I don't have it on my screen.

Hoovb -- Yes, I'm getting it, too . . . For this particular irritant, you'd be better off WITHOUT adblock because the ad is very easy to close with a quick single click of your mouse . . .

Well, I get ads all over the place also some will drop down and block the whole screen until I move the mouse or x them out..... but I don't get annoyed very easily, and figure it pays for the site and I want the site... just like the TV, nothing is free...... sally

Well, you know they're actually just trying to pay for the site through advertising dollars instead of membership fees, but the DEFINITE result is driving ME away! I do have pop up blocker running but the ads on top and bottom are still there and I HATE them. So, I just don't come here as often. The one which makes me hate using the site is the one to the right of my GW screen which prevents the scroll bar from showing. When that occurs, I have to reload the page and hope it appears. When it doesn't, I just move on to somewhere else where the irritants aren't as extreme. I know some do, but I will definitely NOT click on any pop up or ad on any site I frequent. The opinion survey which continually pops up and follows the curser as I move it across the screen is EVIL! Kim

I cannot visit this site from home. We have dialup and due to the popups it is impossible to open a page here.

Hmmm, I don't have them this time. But everytime I see a new type of ad, I go to this link and try to block it. And sometimes it actually works. I think it needs to be redone every time you clear your cache, which some systems do quite often.

Here is a link that might be useful: Popunder blocker

I don't get irritated easily. I click on the "x" or other method of closing the ad. For the scroll bar issue, I click on the refresh button and it comes up. I'm very free with delete and junk so Spam doesn't really bother me either.
There so much other stuff to be concerned with than things I can easily control or delete

Adblock Plus + Element Hiding Helper works wonders. Here's what the bottom of the page looks like for me:

{{gwi:203120}}

I also use noscript, which probably cuts down on a lot of ads too. I allow gardenweb.com and msn.com scripts, but nothing else that tries to load on this site.

I see it too. I'm never using Angie's list. And I work for an online ad agency. This is too intrusive, IMO.

I'm having the same problem. I actually can't close it. I use Adblock Plus and NoScript because I don't trust ads. Ads can hide viruses and keyloggers.

It showed up today and was driving me bonkers. I use adblock plus and noscript. If you click on the Adblock Plus pulldown (a down arrow next to the ABP stopsign on my display) and open blockable items, you'll get a list of items displayed. Scroll down to the "angie's list" item, select it, right click, and block it.

Makes the box go away!

Well, I added popunderblocker, noscript and element hiding helper. and it didn't make the darn thing go away. I appreciate the suggestions, though! Thanks!

My MIL tried Angies list and got incompetent workers for her trouble. So much for that.

Back in the Spike days I paid a yearly subscription to support the site. I was happy to do so. I'd be happy to pay a subscription to get an ad-free site, but there doesn't seem to be an option to do that...is there?

If you use FireFox and follow lucretia's advice:

"If you click on the Adblock Plus pulldown (a down arrow next to the ABP stopsign on my display) and open blockable items, you'll get a list of items displayed. Scroll down to the "angie's list" item, select it, right click, and block it. "
Worked for me. Easy.

I really enjoy GW and simply accept the bit of inconvenience the ads may present. I'm also on dialup, though use accelerator software that significantly speeds up the loading of pages and photos!

Terrance

I have an Apple so I use Safari for a browser. I go to Preferences and unclick 'Enable plug ins' and nothing on the page moves. I can see a gray solid bar at the bottom after that, which I can close by clicking, and I can see an ad across the top of the page, but it's a stationary ad and I can easily ignore it. If I need to go to You Tube or anywhere I want to watch a video, I go back to Preferences and click on 'Enable plug ins' again and all is right with the world. I also have 'Block Pop up Ads' checked off and that eliminates the survey window someone mentioned.

Thanks to lucretia! That worked!!!

Until a couple of months ago, I saw no ads. I also had paid when we could pay, and would love to do it again.

Whatever is for free means that we are on someone's list. If we click on "close", then that ad has our identification. Just like if we click that we do not want to continue getting email, we become part of that list.

I feel very vulnerable anymore, and am either considering using firefox or even thinking about a mac.

Sammy

Sammy, the same happened to me. I used to pay and for years after Spike left, GW was still ad-free for me until around the first of this year.

I do believe they are determined to reduce their traffic the way they have gone about this advertising. If they marketed their site(s) a little better they wouldn't have to use so many ads. The ads really reduce their credibility because this is a good, informative site.

I know I come here less (even with popup blocker) because of the intrusive ads. It just makes it too slow to load and sometimes the pages freeze up. I got a virus from here too last year. Besides the ads just being annoying.

The ad WAS easy to disable with one click of the mouse, but every time you navigated to a different part of the site, you had to do it all over again.
Kinda like Whack-A-Mole.
That said, I am greatly relieved that it's not here today.
And if anyone thought this would make anyone here kindly inclined toward Angie's List, they'd be well advised to reconsider.

What happened to Spike, anyway?

I had that problem a few days ago. I was about ready to quit coming here, but I knew I had some updates to do. I don't use Windows. My son downloaded a Linux program called "Ubuntu" on my computer last yr and it uses Firefox. It had several updates including a bunch for Firefox. I did the downloads and haven't seen that stupid ad since then. However, the layout here on the Roses Forum is a little different now than it used to be. But the Gallery is still the same.

I had a real problem signing on yesterday morning tho. All of a sudden I was logged off. I kept trying to sign on and it would give me this weird looking text page with all these failure notices and crap. Or it would act like I was signed on, then I'd go to post something, and I was still logged out. I got frustrated and clicked the tab off, then reopened it in a new tab. and there I was all signed in again. Weird..

For the record, many of us do not get ads --no ads at all. I wish I were enough of a computer wizard to tell you how to do it, but I can't. Over time, I've just followed advice that is periodically given on this forum about how to get rid of ads--and it works.

My advice is to go to the search box and do a search for "ads." This topic comes up every few months, so there are lots of past threads with advice.

By the way, I use Internet Explorer, so a new browser is not necessarily needed--though there is nothing wrong with the other browsers if you want to use one of them.

Kate

I prefer the ads to subscription fees. It's the free nature that makes this the most used gardening website I've found. Dave's Garden, for all it's worth as a reference, is not well traveled, and other sites seem to be nearly vacant. The second busiest site I know, also free, is HGTV's 3 forums on gardening....it would probably be better used if HGTV actually had gardening programming!

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Musings blog

Well it seems to me that GW is more interested in maximizing profits! How suspicious of me!

It would be better if they are in need of help in financing this site if they just came out with a subscription plan. I even thought about starting my own site as my two daughters used to have a web design company. In fact they even asked if I wanted a rose site. Naturally being a very volunteer type like apparently Spike was I didn't do it. Now I'm thinking about the idea.

Anyone else interested? How about some sort of cooperative?

Well, I know I am going to get put down for this but....all of you who are b----ing about the ads are free to leave the site. No one is making it mandatory for you to use Garden Web. I have been on this site for many many years, and have visited other sites that even tho they have fees to pay still get ads.

As far as GW making money, I say good for them, it allows me to have a great place to get info, for free. Soooo, go to the sites with fees and no ads, and be happy. :>D

Gardenlady, the people I see who are complaining have been some of the most supportive and informative posters on this site. I think you've got some nerve suggesting that they leave. The people make this site, not the archaic layout or anything else GW does. This won't be such a great place to get (or exchange) info if all that's left is newbies.

There is no objection to ADS persay its the WAY the ads are being presented. they take over. Many are flash related and many are intrusive. When I click to close an ad that is blocking my view I DO NOT want to see it show up again the next page. The larger ads like we are complaining about are why many cannot view the site. I have no objection to site owners making money. I have no objection to site owners having ads. My problem is actually with the web advertisers that think that they can shove their ads down my throat and interfere with what I want to do. If they had any marketing experience (I do and I run a successful business to boot!) they would kn ow that aggravating possible customers is not the way to earn a clients business.

And adding to what particentral said, many folks still have dialup (really) and the ads just slow down an already slow process with the content rich web pages that are the norm these days.

You might say that those people can opt out as well (I dunno) but that seems to be an elitist point of view since that becomes an issue of not being either able to afford dsl/cable or being in an area that requires satellite which is expensive and is slow for what you pay.

Similarly, if you were annoyed about getting text ads to your cell phone, even if they didn't cost you, you wouldn't appreciate someone telling you to just not use your cell phone.

Just looking at the flip side of the coin.

What has annoyed me the most is the creeping commercialism. First no ads if you were a member. Then the tips at the beginning of the posts. Then the underlines that popped a commercial. Then the moving ads. Then the ones that started appearing on the side. Then finally no logging in without ads And last but not least the more knowledgeable rose people started dropping like flies and the site is now primarily new rose growers.

Please don't leave this site. I agree with mehearty here. There are lots of intelligent posters here with great knowledge on roses. Without them, I wouldn't know which rose has the strongest perfume and which rose I should avoid growing.

I don't want this rose forum to turn into another
'OZ rose forum' - that forum used to be quite popular back then, and all of the sudden, the members had disappeared.

I haven't heard from Cupshaped_roses, Celeste or Randy for a long time...and I certainly don't want others to leave just beause of those bloody ads.

hey I thought I was the ONLY one who lived in an area where nothing is available but dialup! Satellite doesnt even work at my house cause I live in a pecan orchard......sad truly when my Iphone is the best way to view web pages at home......