Pop-Ups Must Die
If you're a Firefox user, you've probably noticed that over the last month, certain nefarious individuals have begun using JavaScript and Flash to sneak pop-up and pop-under ads past the browser's blocker code. Well, the good folks at Mozilla are solving the problem; a new patch should be out very soon. However, if you're like me and can't wait for the patch, you can get the Pop Ups Must Die extension file here.
Note that this code also blocks HTML target pop-ups, such as I use on my links, so you'll have to click the little "!" icon on the bottom right of the browser and allow my site (and others who use that code) to open a new window after you've installed the extension. Otherwise, it will appear that nothing is happening when you click on a link.
When are these idiots going to learn that pop-ups not only don't work, they actually alienate potential customers. They're the electronic equivalent of a front door solicitor--you know, the idiots who can't read the signs posted at every entrance to the subdivision that say "NO SOLICITING." I turn the dog loose on those assholes--and there's nothing more terrifying than a pissed-off, 75-pound basset hound! Well, maybe there is... Okay, it's not exactly like being attacked by a dire wolf, but he tries really hard. And if they've got a sandwich anywhere on their person, I can assure you they are in mortal danger unless they surrender it immediately.
Note that this code also blocks HTML target pop-ups, such as I use on my links, so you'll have to click the little "!" icon on the bottom right of the browser and allow my site (and others who use that code) to open a new window after you've installed the extension. Otherwise, it will appear that nothing is happening when you click on a link.
When are these idiots going to learn that pop-ups not only don't work, they actually alienate potential customers. They're the electronic equivalent of a front door solicitor--you know, the idiots who can't read the signs posted at every entrance to the subdivision that say "NO SOLICITING." I turn the dog loose on those assholes--and there's nothing more terrifying than a pissed-off, 75-pound basset hound! Well, maybe there is... Okay, it's not exactly like being attacked by a dire wolf, but he tries really hard. And if they've got a sandwich anywhere on their person, I can assure you they are in mortal danger unless they surrender it immediately.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 09:37
2 Comments:
The problem is that, like junk mail, pop-ups actually do work in high volume. The percentage may be low, but it is obviously not zero since they are so commonly used. To say that they don't work is to underestimate the stupidity of the average net user, which these days is only slightly lower than the average person. I never thought I wouldd see the day when you would miscalculate the LCD of idiocy, but perhaps you are being a bit nostalgic of the days when connecting to the internet required some degree of technical know-how.
-J
Well, that's the first time anyone has ever accused me of overestimating the intelligence of Joe Public, that's for sure.
Perhaps you're right, and there are people out there stupid enough to click on pop-ups and buy some piece of junk. But it still smells of very much the same sickly odor as the financial circle-jerk of banner ads, which led directly to the dot-com collapse of a few years ago.
It's like a Ponzi scheme with no money in it. Which would make the people involved in it either very, very clever, or extremly stupid. That means the people who click on their ads would have to be only marginally above the level of protoplasmic mobiles on the sentience scale.
Looking around at the people I work with, however, I can see your point. My opinion of the human animal has been duly revised toward the negative.
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