Skybird,

Yes, I have been getting the same pop-up recently, and it seems to not occur after signing in. I do clear out cookies after I visit various sites and did notice that after I signed in, a cookie from houzz showed up. And since you sign in using your email address, maybe it is a ploy to send some additional junk mail out and/or track what or where you are surfing.

George

And I should add that once you sign out and go to another forum, the same annoying pop-up returns.

No pop-up here.

I just stay signed in all the time. Never have seen a pop-up.

But, a website has to make money somehow I guess. Though, I'm sure they could find a less obnoxious marketing strategy....

Now that I know you are back and will see it Skybird, I have an update for you I will post separately. So, be on the look-out.

I'll be lookin', Zach, for whatever it is I'm lookin' for!!!

I agree, Zach, a website needs to make money, but when popups (or, for me, animated media!) get too obnoxious and people stop visiting the site, that doesn't help them at all! And with as much advertising as houzz has on every page, I kind of doubt that they're lacking for income!

I'm with you, PondGardener, on cookies! When I first got my Mac it came with a "defective" version of Safari that wouldn't/couldn't/didn't block ANY third party cookies--no matter what my settings said, and if I clicked on one site--ANY site, I wound up with somewhere between 30 and 50 tracking cookies! So I got in the habit of constantly deleting them--over and over and over! I use Firefox now, and when I go to a site I usually only get one or two cookies, but I'm still in the habit of watching what cookies are there and deleting them as soon as I leave the site. With houzz/GW, I get 2 cookies anytime I "read," and if I sign in I get a third houzz cookie. And each time I leave the site I delete them--two or three! FF saves my passwords so it's really quick and easy to sign in if I want to post, so I just stay signed out unless I have something to say. Thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one getting the popups! I guess I could avoid the popups by staying signed in, but since I have an aversion to cookies, that's not gonna happen!

I wonder why you don't get them, PopMama! Do you stay signed in too?

Skybird

No pop ups. Signed in.

I get lots of houzz emails advising me of a new post on every thread I have participated in. And, there is like 1 each day on something that is supposed to be of special interest, for their remodel forums. Somewhat bothersome because they appear in mailers on my multiple devices but I haven't unsubscribed to any thread, yet.

There are no animated ads, somewhat the opposite. This page has ads that have grown long familiar. It's been years since I have employed an ad-blocker. The need for one on houzz wouldn't have occurred to me.

Save passwords electronically? I don't do that. Only a few places am I always signed in but I don't trust browsers with my passwords. Oh wait, the libraries' ... Firefox has my passwords there. Every one of my 4 devices has a pin number for use and there are different passwords to lots of accounts on paper. Shoot. That's bothersome.

I'm no subversive and stay away from porn. Long ago, I've given up on trying to hide my tracks on the internet by asking the devices to delete cookies.

Clickbait is offensive and I'm willing to leave a page immediately if I'm subjected to it. If I'm checking on a product I am well past the years when I'd be surprised to see an ad the next day. Sometimes, I surprised that an ad seems to anticipate an interest. More often, I'm humored when they are seriously off-base.

Steve

No pop ups here either, but I, too, remain signed in all of the time. Since I don't go to what I consider as "bad" sites, I normally remain signed in at the sites I frequent the most, and, yes, I have my browser save my passwords. I do have a good firewall set up as well as programs running to protect my system from malicious stuff; thus far with 20 plus years of computer use, my systems have not been infected. (Insert image of me knocking on wood, lol.) The only sites that I make sure to log out of are banking and other financial sites - which is silly, I suppose, because with my lack of finances it isn't very likely that I would be any sort of a target. Someone would be mighty disappointed if they decided to go after my wealth! (Unless they came to dig up my garden, of course! That is where my disposable income, such as it is, seems to go.)

I signed out of Houzz to see what you were seeing, Skybird. Very annoying indeed. The only solution seems to be to not browse the forums anonymously, you have to sign in. I agree - if I weren't a member and able to sign in to eliminate this "get on our email list" pop up, I would probably avoid this site like I do others that are just too annoying to me due to popups and other behaviors that get in the way of a smooth browsing experience. I would think that these types of "annoyances" would be very counterproductive to generating interest in the site, let alone generating income, so I don't understand why some webmasters employ them.

Holly

If the email notices are a torment ...

At the bottom of each thread where you have posted (& will therefore receive those emails), you can click the "click to switch off notifications about new comments."

I haven't done that yet because I have an interest in those threads or wouldn't have commented.

Steve

now, very disinclined to logoff ...

I'm just gonna bump this up to let you all know that when I try to read here and get the NASTY POPUP--which is most of the time--I x-out of houzz/RMG immediately! I refuse to play their stupid game of needing to "tell it" "no thank you" on EVERY SINGLE THREAD I TRY to read! When a site becomes unusable, I stop using it! I do try several different times on any give day to see if THE NASTY is there or not, and occasionally it seems to be deactivated or something, so I don't get it, and then I do read, and, if I have time, reply to some threads, but as of right now it looks like I won't be around here very much! Sad, but I guess that's just the way it is! It seems to me that if other people hate the popup enough that their traffic starts to go down it'll eventually go away for good--at least that's what I'm hoping! And I will not stay "permanently logged in" (so they can have their cookies tracking me!) just to be able to read! Another game in which I will not participate!

So, if you don't see me much, that's the reason, and know that I'm hoping they lose the NASTY POPUP so I can spend more time here again!

DOWN with POPUPS!

Skybird

Skybird - you will be missed!

I remain signed in here, but I take it you do not sign in even when you come to the site. Not quite sure why this is so; as far as I know, that is the only way to avoid the pop up, and if it is so annoying to you (it certainly would be to me!) why don't you just sign in to avoid it? You have to sign in eventually anyway if you want to respond to a thread. I know you like your anonymity, but, still, isn't having a better experience at Garden Web worth the extra step?

Sorry if I am being totally obtuse here, lol - it is so easy to avoid the pop up that I don't understand why you are unwilling to take that step, not that it is any of my business! :-$

Holly

For what it's worth I have noticed that Google Chrome blocks the popup whereas Firefox does not.

Hi all,

I just signed in this one time to let you all know that I
haven’t been around for the last couple months because I can’t get past The
Gate Keeper—a/k/a, the BIG NASTY POPUP!
When it first showed up, sometimes it wasn’t there, and that’s when I’d
read and post. But for about two months
now, EVERY SINGLE TIME I’ve tried to read even just one thread, it immediately
blocks everything and keeps me from even scrolling further down on a thread to
“get past it!” I don’t sign in, or stay
signed in, to ANY site unless I need to be signed in to do something!

I know that, apparently, both Safari and Opera do block it,
even when you’re not signed in, but I refuse to “play games” just to be able to
use a website! The only way we have to
“vote” in this world seems to be with our dollars, and for a website, my
“clicks” are my dollars, since sites count on the number of clicks they get to
convince their advertisers that a lot of people are seeing the
advertising. When the popup shows up, I
immediately x out, and they don’t get any of my clicks! When a site makes it so nasty and/or
inconvenient for me to use it that I don't want to be there, I just don't go
there!

When iVillage first took over GW they came up with some
nasty popups, too, but (apparently) when their traffic went down, and/or when iV
got enough complaints, they went away again!
I keep hoping that enough people will complain about the Big Nasty, or
that houzz’s “clicks” will go down enough that houzz, too, will make the
(intelligent!) decision to get rid of it, but until (IF!) that happens, I won’t
be around here! If that popup had been
there the very first time I found GW, I would have x’ed out and never gone back
to the site—and never found RMG!

If this is the end for me, it’s a sad way for it to
end! There were a couple threads I was
planning to reply to—a couple months ago—when all of a sudden the Big Nasty was
ALWAYS there and I couldn’t even read anymore!
I do still usually check at least once a day to see if IT’S still there,
so if it ever goes away, I’ll be back!

I've been on RMG for eleven years now, and I HOPE this isn’t the end for me! You all take care of each other—and—Happy
Gardening!

Skybird

Hi Skybird - I haven't been on the site in awhile, so didn't see your thread till now. I know how irritating those pop-ups can be (yes, I get it too if I'm not signed in). Very nasty one indeed, since the only way around it is like you said - to click that no thanks button. I've seen similar ones on lots of other sites, but usually you just have to click somewhere else on the main page and it goes away. Maybe the hosts of houzz will notice this thread and take note of how much it is disliked, and hopefully change it.

But signing in once in awhile to check the RMG site, and get around that pop-up, hopefully will work for you. You would be SO sorely missed if you completely dropped out of the group!!!! I think you'll get an email when we post to this thread, since you created it, so hopefully you'll see see this and know we refuse to let you go :)

On a tangent, I am so tired of commericals/ads. TV is really getting bad with them. We've timed them before and found there are usually 3 minutes of commercials about every 10 minutes of a show! That's way too much. But at least you have the option to record or pause shows so you can buzz through the commercials. Too bad we can't do that with websites!!

Marj

"You would be SO sorely missed if you completely dropped out of the group!!!!"

HEAR HEAR! I say we start a petition to get Skybird to STAY!!

Sorry you are having so many issues... We have been at a loss without you around here Skybird, even more so if you were to leave forever :(

I'll sign that petition!

I've never received a single pop-up whether I'm signed in or not.

That sucks, Skybird! You definitely would be missed if you decided not to visit the site anymore, I really hope Houzz does something about the issue. I've not seen the pop-up but I do remain logged on to this account all of the time, probably why.

I can so relate. I had this so bad a year or so ago, I stopped using the puter completely for a while. Eventually; I broke down and downloaded something that very convincingly pretended to be a chrome product (my computer op system) and promised to stop the ads permanently. While completely frustrated, I just pushed install, for some relief. The absolute worse thing I could have done. The program took over my computer, even changing my homepage and web browser, and kicking me off the web if I tried to close or uninstall it or use google. I was never able to uninstall it permanently. I had to do a mini wipe, and hope for the best. My sons are programmers and came to the rescue, but even then the only solution was to do a mini wipe. I felt lucky I did not have wipe the whole thing it was so bad.

Hope you all find a quick and safe solution. Support thru your op system may give the quickest results. Good luck.

I don't know what to say, Skybird. Perhaps you just need to tell someone at Houzz and they can turn it off for you or tell you how to turn it off.

I'm signed in, if that makes a difference with pop ups. I don't get 'nary a one! Popmoma doesn't have the problem signed out but moms tend to demand control in lots of situations ... we should and have learned from them ...

A number of times I have breathed easier just seeing that you have responded to someone's question, Skybird. What a shame it would be to lose you on RMG!

Steve