I’ve been getting no end of messages, here at the BBS or back at the main site, about these ads that steal focus, scroll down and play, often with sound.
To be 100% crystal clear: We do not support ads that autoplay with sound, or that steal your focus, pop up or otherwise affect your reading of the site.
The problem is, in the modern world of programmatic and remnant ads, very many orgs are involved in displaying a given ad on a page. egregious content ads tend to be quickly squashed because customers closer to the source tend to complain about them. But these ads for otherwise-inoffensive companies that are just being displayed in shitty ways and with non-customer-friendly settings are considered ok for some sites, so less reports, and more effort to track down.
We are working with our providers to try and figure out which of the umpteen source feeds that determine (mostly programmatically) what ads you see is the culprit so we can shut these down. I assure you the second we find them they will be nuked with extreme prejudice.
This is, unfortunately, the price you pay for being an independent blog without a dedicated ad network (and the staff to manage it!), and instead find yourself the “little fish” in this situation.
We appreciate those of you who have endured these annoying ads, reported them, sent us screenshots, etc. - they’ve all been put to good use trying to track down the source.
Thanks.
