That is a good analogy Cameron! I totally agree. I've been doing we design since 1997 and one of the foundations of good design is that you don't irritate the user. Not to say that is isn't done all over the place, but when I was first learning, I had it hammered into my head that pages need to load fast, be presented in an appealing way and not offend, harass, annoy, badger, berate or generally irritate the visitors. One thing about these ads that jump out like that - if they weren't effective, they wouldn't be so widely used. Now, I'm not sure if their effectiveness is measured in clicks or in sales, but if it's clicks - a lot of those are false. Also, since so many people are annoyed by them and the fact that they are tricked into visiting the sponsor, I can't imagine that it has a positive effect on sales. I'm glad that you guys told me about AdBlock Plus. If more people knew about it and used it, then probably they'd see a decline in the clicks (false and otherwise) and have no choice but to deduce that the ads are ineffective because people hate that kind of thing. /rant

1. Wrapping paper or Gift Bags? Both...mostly wrapping, but gift bags work well for odd shaped things to wrap..or gifts that go somewhere to be opened where the paper mess is unwanted such as out to eat, maybe work? Ect.. 2. Real or Fake Tree? Fake, I have a fear of a fire with real....and I am also terribley allergic. 3. When do you put up the tree? I begin thinking about it the first week of Dec..it takes about a full week cuz crazy me cleans everything as I go. 4. When do you take the tree down? When I get sick of the mess, early January or when the urge to put the couch back in a better viewing position hits :) 5. Do you like eggnog? Love it, as does my entire family. It is a tradition to begin Thanksgiving morning with our first eggnog of the season. 6. Favorite gift received as a child? Betsy Wetsy Doll 7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yep, I handpainted it years ago. It has been boxed away tho for ten years or so. It is just to large for my space. This year I will pass it on as a Christmas gift to my daughter. 8. Hardest person to buy for? My brother, he doesnt care about anything but work...it is ALL he does..and he has no hobbies and cares nothing about clothes as long as they cover and are clean....makes gifts tuff.. 9. Easiest person to buy for? This is an easy one, my first grandchild...just 7 months this year.....super easy...and for now, inexpensive :) 10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A vaccum cleaner...bought by my husband because ours broke :(. 11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Snail mail also. I look forward to pictures in them from family...and tho I hate to admit it, even the stupid christmas newsletters from braggy family members. 12. Favorite Christmas Movie/show? A Christmas Story. 13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometime in October..but more heavily after Thanksgiving. 14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Maybe, I can't recall :) 15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fudge...Shrimp cocktail and mom's blueberry cheesecake. 16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear, nice and elegant...but I like colored outside.. 17. Favorite Christmas song? Grandma got ran over by a reindeer...a family joke. My dad's favorite to tease my mom with once she became a grandma. He is gone now..so it has become a whole family favorite now..just because.. 18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Christmas Ev about a 1/2 mile from here..Christmas Day at my home. 19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Only if I sing the song as I do.. :) 20. Angel on the tree top or a star? mm..star usually..sometimes nothing :) 21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve we go to my mom's and have a huge caotic gathering where we exchange gifts and dozens of kids run about...then we come home late late late, and stay up and open ours now that my children are grown. They like to sleep in the next day and be lazy ... :) 22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Trying to please everyone.... 23. What I love most about Christmas? The love, the fellowship....the laughter..

I thought I wasn't alone. I answered all the questions in the survey, maybe 10 different areas as vaguely as possible without providing any info. I'm guessing that most sites rely on advertisers to keep them up and running so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I guess it could be worse. I LOVE this site and wouldn't want to jeopardize being removed from all the incredible and insightful information everyone has provided. It's just a shame that they allow that obnoxious banner ad.

Firefox with the adblock, noscript and flashblock extensions will eliminate any and all pop-up problems you might have. Gardenweb won't allow me to link directly to the pages the extensions are found on; however, if you perform a search here you will easily find them. Apart from learning how to manage extensions and the occasional poorly coded website (in that case, you may be stuck opening an internet explorer window) there is little to no learning curve in using firefox. The icons are so similar that I often don't really notice which browser I'm using if I'm using someone else's computer. Ryan