Am I the only person that now gets popup ads when visiting this site? I dont' remember getting them before.

Trevor

i don't get popup ads here.

I got a pop-up survey thing here today, thats it.

It seems like I got one this morning. I'm not sure what it was for or what page I loaded to get it. Now I can't get it back. (Not that I want it: I hate those pop-up ads.)

I got one when I went to look at the picture this section. It was unauthorized by my company, so that could cause problems.

I also noticed advertising that I don't remember them ever having.

Yes, we have finally decided to accept advertising. We do want to keep this site a going concern for a long time. A few ads (but the minority) are pop-unders (not pop-ups). These are standard on virtually all commerical Web sites. Thanks for your understanding.

Gentlemen,
First of all I want to thank all of you for making this site one of the best sports sites around. I enjoy it for its lively discussions about sports--and I am also amazed that a site like this has the social/political/religious threads that have permeated this family. For someone who is as inundated with sports on a daily basis as I am, I find that I get a lot of "outside" information right here, which prompts me to go learn more about it--although often I get all I need to know right here.

Where else can we have a lively discussion of football (and American football), baseball, hockey and the like right next to a discussion of the players' looks as well?

I also need to thank Jim and Cyd for having the vision and dedication to create--and more importantly--maintain a site like this. I for one am extremely thankful, and I think that the areas in which Outsports has made a positive contribution to community life--and to our own lives--has made this site and the work that these two men have done even more remarkable.

And regarding that work, please understand that all of this is done as a labor of love. There are no membership fees, and (until now) no advertising. There are no revenues being generated to pay for the upkeep of the site, much less to pay for the server space. And with the incredible growth of the site, that price is increasing.

I know all too well the conflict I have with advertising and athletics. I spend a good portion of my day trying to raise money for athletics and then administering a budget for teams that don't have revenue. I have come to realize that I have to work with sponsorships of athletic apparel to outfit teams. I have to be conscious of logos on players. I've been called on the carpet for allowing a player to have a headband of a competitor at practice in the offseason. I hate having to refer to tournaments as the like as the "ACME Tournament" simply because they gave us money.

But the reality is that athletics is a business, and that business needs money to operate. It's no different than Outsports. This unique service needs money to continue providing the top-notch work that it does. I'm no more fond of the advertising from a purist side of athletics that I have held dear all my athletic career, but I recognize it as a necessary continuation. If it means that Outsports will continue, then I will do what I can. Remember that at the heart of the site is the same mission. That's something we don't ever want to lose sight of.

And for the record, I placed an ad for Outsports in a program I did at a tournament I ran last year. I didn't charge them a thing. Quid pro quo, as they say. I've learned something!

Again, thanks, Jim and Cyd, and thanks, men, to all of you for making this site such a success.

[Edited for typos and clarity]

[ July 02, 2002: Message edited by: Chip ]

All things are relative, and I for one consider the presence of 'standard' pop-ups a wholly acceptable aspect of using Outsports.

Judging from previous even-handed judgment displayed by the board owners, I feel confident that they will choose their sponsor/partners well.

I do, however, request vigilance to avoid some of the more onerous types of ads, to wit:

• Those graphical \"action\" popups that move over the screen, sometimes disrupting other programs running on the PC.....
• Sound-activated popups - many people acess at work and don't need a blaring cacophony of sound just as the vice president walks by.....
• Pop-ups that, when closed, call other popups

Here's hoping that the ads are for stuff I might use, and therefore that my click-throughs can help in keeping the board going .....

[ July 02, 2002: Message edited by: Wurm ]

We're looking to get ads where a soccer player strips off his shirt and he dances across the screen.

Noooooooooooooooo ... we're THROUGH with 'soccer' until June 2006 (aren't we)?

[quote]Originally posted by Jim at Outsports:
We're looking to get ads where a soccer player strips off his shirt and he dances across the screen.

---

Now I could tolerate that.


Seriously, I don't begrudge you from taking advertising. I used to work in advertising and I like it (when it's good).

What would be nice is if you could get more legit or useful or visually appealing advertising (Mike Piazza-long distance, Raphael Palmeiro-Viagra) than "you are a winner--click here to claim your prize."

But keep up the good work guys! This is a GREAT site!!

A soccer player strip teasing would be pleasant, how bout Joe Sakic or Eric Lindros doing the strippin. Yummmmmmmm

My only complaint is that I will not be able to access parts of your site anymore in the future (such as picture this) because as stated above, your pop-up, or pop-under or whatever it's called, is prohibited by my companies filter. If I hit that site too many times it sends a message to my boss, and I can get repremanded. Not a fun situation for me.

Please choose your content with those of us, who access this site from work, in mind.

Could not have said it better than Chip!! Thanks for everything Jim and Cyd!!!!!

I agree with Chip & Sparty - hey, how about a gay detective series about two "questioning" teenagers who delve into things more mysterious than the criminal happenings in their faux-50s small town? They could be jocks on their HS football and basketball teams and occasionally pair up with a cheerleader and student council "veep" dyke duo to solve crimes - and get laid once their detective work was done. Only Norman Lear could direct something like this.

Anyway, many thanks to you both, J&C, and I understand perfectly the need to pay the bills. This site IS the best!

The only other drawback, and hang in there msu ok?, is that I could have eaten lunch today in the time it took for the homepage to open because of the "banner" ads. For those of us without dsl, its really slows down the speed of openings from time to time.

If you do see the survey banner ad, it would help us a great deal if you filled it out. It is COMPLETELY anonymous (they don't ask for e-mail or anything) and takes under two minutes to complete. We REALLY appreciate your support!

Ditto to J&C. Just don't get carried away with ads. First comes one, then two then thats all you'll see. I used to like IWIN.com. It's now all ads. Please don't let that happen here. I'd would hate to have to jump off a cliff. Since Oklahoma is so flat I'd have to travel to another state to find a cliff. Spend money on gas and food. Maybe a hotel room. All because some advertiser wanted to sell me a pair of shoes for people with only three toes. Of course if I jumped of a cliff I would probally end up with only three toes. But I would be dead, wearing shoes for three toed people in my coffin where no one could see them. A big waste of time and money. Now that I think about it, just don't use ads. If you need money, I'll ask my cousin to give you some. He's loaded. He owns a shoe company for three toed people.

In another thread, cubsfan1982 posted:

Is anyone else getting pop-up ads for a free psychic reading when you come to the home page? Personal opinion only, but those suckers are awful annoying.


RazorbackTX replied:

I had a vision on Tuesday, May 6 that this would happen.


Joe in Philly replied:

I've only seen popups for things like travel websites and the like...but I delete them as soon as they pop up.

Chip - I could not have said it any better. I really value this site. Thanks!

Didn't know where else to put this so I thought I'd try it here. Ok, I've got this problem. The first time I log on to Outsports each day this pop up ad appears. Whenever I try to click it off my computer freezes up. I have to shut down and reboot. Get very annoying. Anyone else have this problem?

If this is the annoying ad that implies your computer has been infected with spyware, then I am getting that ad as well. I hope Outsports can get rid of this pop-up (assuming they have anything to do with it).

This morning I got "Congratulations You are the 1000th visitor..." and then it goes on to offer a free Disney vacation. Each day it does seem to be a different one.

I used to see various pop-ups, including the one you mention. Then I downloaded the Google toolbar, which has a pop-up blocker. It's wonderful. I highly recommend it. As for thumper's problem, if there's a problem with freezing up and such, maybe his computer did get some kind of spyware program or something and it needs to be removed by Ad-Aware or a similar program.

I get the spyware pop up at least twice a week now. A month ago I was really stupid and clicked ok, to check my system. It said that there were supposedly 16 files that were "infected", and I clicked yes, to have them cleaned/eliminated, but when it gets to that part after most everything spyware related has been downloaded it wants $...DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID!

[ December 05, 2003, 07:52 AM: Message edited by: puckman1 ]

As Joe suggested, there are a couple of FREE, SAFE and STABLE applications that will clean your Windows PC of nasty spyware/trackware.

Ad-Aware Standard (can also block Windows Messenger Service popups)

SpywareBlaster (can also block Flash)

They're no-brainers, the only effort needed on your part is to run them from time to time.

It doesn't matter which ad it is. They all make my computer freeze up. But it only happens once a day. When I first click on the homepage each day.

Is the home page for your browser Outsports, or some other website?

I really think you should check your system with one of the programs mentioned above.

I tried those kinds of devices and they were more hassle than they were worth.

I rarely go to the main Outsports site, maybe once or twice a week, if that, so it's not really an issue for me. How many others here spent most of their time on the messageboard?

My favorite pop-up that I get when coming to the Outsports site is the one for Cornerstone University!!!! eek!
In case you didn't know, Cornerstone is a "christen-based" learning establishment that embraces the early teachings of the Evangelical Church...they promote abstinence and if you look far enough into their website I'm sure, are totally opposed to Homosexuality!!!!...Gee...wonder why they picked this site to "pop-up" on....

I *think* Jim & Cyd have a guy who buys the ads; I don't know how much control they have over the content. Jim? Cyd?

[ December 05, 2003, 07:30 PM: Message edited by: Jim Allen ]

Well, one of Cornerstone University's stated \"core beliefs\" is that "Sexuality is often perverted to sinful ends by both men and women. God condemns any and all alternatives to monogamous, heterosexual marriage... Sometimes (people) yield to immoral behavior, whether heterosexual or homosexual." Blah-blah, abstinence, blah-blah...

When a similar issue with a \"religious\" publishing house came up previously, Jim said No doubt the same would still apply...

[ December 05, 2003, 08:04 PM: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

Joe, I have to say thanks for the tip. I have been using the Google toolbar forever, however, I never knew there was a pop-up blocker option. I have now set that option and look forward to fewer pop-ups! Thanks again.

Happy to be of service.

If you get that popup from bad ol' Cornerstone U., you may be able to right-click on it, then select "properties" and it should show the web address it leads to--highlight that address, copy & paste it to an e-mail and send it to Outsports.

We are doing our absolute best to snuff out some of these hideous ads. These come from a large group buy via an ad service. What apparently happens is that these groups buy certain keywords, then target their ads to these sites. "Gay" or "Homosexual" are among them.

If you can do what others suggest by right-clicking and send us the link we can contact the ad service and have them banned. Unfortunately, sometimes when one is banned another comes in to take its place.

Obviously, we would never intentionally buy advertising from any such company.

Thanks!

Yes, thanks for the tips guys. It's strange that my computer only freezes up when the pop up ad comes on the Outsports homepage. It doesn't happen anywhere else. When I log on to the internet the standard AOL window appears. So I know nothing is wrong in that area. It must be the ad companys software who places the pop up here at Outsports. I might try those blockers. But I'm so computer illiterate, I'll probaly get into more trouble.

Thumper, if you're using the browser that came with AOL, the Google toolbar may not work, since it requires Internet Explorer. Any AOL experts on board?