Those in-text ad links have been there since 2010. I find them very irritating, especially when using a pad. If you follow the link below the Information about Posting at the bottom of the page, you can learn more about them. Supposedly, you can opt out of seeing them. But that option has never worked for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Learn more about in-text links

Duplicate post

Here is a link that might be useful: Learn more about in-text links

This post was edited by Ohiofem on Sun, Jan 25, 15 at 11:49

They have always been there (underlined links), but they've never popped up of their own accord for me before, so I guess that answers my question and I will either have to get some official pop-up-blocker installed or stop visiting this forum.

Thanks,
Linda

Yes! I've been noticing this recently as well - it's irritating because it seems that even scrolling near them seems to open them, which interferes while I'm reading. Not to mention they have nothing whatsoever to do w/ the linked words, seemingly...

Edited to add that after installing Ad Block Plus on my Chrome browser, the problem seems to be resolved - just do a search for 'ad block plus chrome'...

This post was edited by carolb_w_fl on Sun, Jan 25, 15 at 22:22

Irritating>>>>> frustrating indeed. I GW is in need of $, I would be willing to make a small donation if these would be blocked.

Regards,
Tom

"They have always been there (underlined links), but they've never popped up of their own accord "

You mean the double underlined key word ads, right? They never bothered me since the revenue helps keep GW site as free as the butterflies. If GW took donations, it would then depend on purse strings. Equally sharing the inconvenience is nice in one sense.

Jumping to life on their own, as in "It's alive!" and potentially blocking text doesn't cut it, though. Something is going amok on your computer since on mine they require the cursor to be passed over them for the javascript program to open the popup, ever since I've joined ... and nothing has changed here.

Where I had difficulty is in editing messages. So much gets inserted that it is sometimes hard to go back and correct a there that should be their ;-) Oops, a their that should be they're, ummmm, THERE!!! THERE! ;-)

PC

Jumping to life on their own, as in "It's alive!" and potentially blocking text doesn't cut it, though. Something is going amok on your computer since on mine they require the cursor to be passed over them for the javascript program to open the popup

They jump to life for me too and it is very annoying. This started recently. I *X* them out but as soon as I scroll with the cursor anywhere they come to life again.

You can click on ad choices on the banner and it takes you to a long explanation that I did not read. It did say they were evolving.

Zeuspaul: Thanks for the tip. I believe I found the way to opt out of the intext links at the URL I link to below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Go to this page to disable in-text pop-ip links

Something did change recently. GW has become 100% unreadable on my phone because the ads pop up over whatever I'm reading and as I scoll down the page even more pop up over the text. GW for me is now an on-my-laptop-only experience.

I get that GW needs to make money to operate, but they're partially disabling their site in the process.

hope they read this and make and adjustment. If not, I am afraid many of us will be moving on. Very sad...

I would like to report that I tried the link that Ohipfem posted above, and it indeed seemed to work.

Thanks to Ohiofem!!!

Mike: You're welcome. It seems to be working for me too. But, be aware that you will need to go to that link on every device you use to access the site (desktop, laptop, pad, phone) because it puts a cookie on your device.

It didn't work for me. However Adblock Plus did work. No more green text and no more pop ups. I still have the other ads but they are fine with me.

I am using a Win 7 PC with Internet Explorer 11.

Here is a link that might be useful: adblock

I tried to do the honorable thing and write (contact us) GardenWeb about my concerns for the invasive pop-ups....in part, here is what I got as a reply from Garden Web:

Hi fireduck,

We've got some exciting news to share with you.

Last week, GardenWeb joined the Houzz family. The GardenWeb and Houzz communities have a lot in common with regard to our shared passion for our homes and gardens and the overwhelmingly positive experience we try to provide our members. You may even belong to both GardenWeb and Houzz already!

You may have some questions about what to expect in the coming weeks, so we wanted to share some preliminary information with you. Rest assured, it is very important to us to maintain the incredible community you have been a part of creating over the years.

We will:
• Preserve GardenWeb forums - We love the GardenWeb community and we want it to remain strong and vibrant.
• Respect your Privacy - Houzz does not and will not share your contact information with any advertisers.

Next week we'll be in touch with more information and an email to confirm your GardenWeb account, but in the meantime, if you have feedback, questions, or concerns please don't hesitate to email us at feedback@gardenweb.com. We would love to hear from you.

The GardenWeb and Houzz Teams

Sounds like Garden Web sold out.

garf, In the Internet world, if someone asked us before if Houzz owned GW, I would have said "heck if I know who owns the site", so good for them and thanks for the free site on their dime. I think that may explain the browser problems with the popups. They are swaping around servers and data, so it is just like any upgrade or maintenance.

After looking up Houzz, it sounds like it could be a good thing, and maybe they will even remove the present popup ads as soon as they work the bugs out iof the merger.

They say they want to maintain a vibrant community. The cheap ads that made no sense will probably be history. Just watch. GW has a valuble participant base. If they are smart they will just support and expand it, with more resources they have now, since it costs very little to maintain and can use improvment. Their main interest is in growing, so there's a good chance the experience here will improve. We'll see ;-)

PC

Since the beginning of GW we long-term members have been through ownership changes before. For the most part it made no difference in the site and what did change was for the good.

Dave

ahhh....the eternal optimists. I hope things do change for the better. A non-descript and impersonal response to my email does not encourage me, however. Of course, for you guys that have more computer skills than I have...killing those pop-ups solves your problems.

Fireduck,

I also received an email from GW and the Houzz teams, exactly like yours. I hadn't written to them and assumed that everyone who is a member of GW had also received one.

Linda

I suppose I'm one of them optimists LOL! Because I think the fact that you got a response at all is pretty amazing considering they were bleeding money and now that is solved, and the site is on the operating table getting an owner transplant. GW has a big purse backing it assuming it goes through without a hitch, and the new owners bring to the table already a large online community which will likely bring new contributing members.

I am not blocking the ads anymore, I just wanted to see if it could be done. If the ads are popping up without mousing over them, that is a bug that I can't imagine isn't an artifact of the process of change in ownership and will shortly disappear.

I'll give you a made up personal response, which is a parody for entertainment purposes only. No resemblance IRL to anyone, just pure fiction in an attempt to humor you, which we hope won't miss the mark! Please bear with me if you have lost your sense of humor. It sounded to me like you still had it...
(Begin Parody)Hi fireduck!

We're sorry about that impersonal message we sent. It was just a quick acknowledgement because we care about you, so we didn't want it to go unanswered like other sites do for months. We thought we sorta answered it by letting you know that GW was getting a facelift so we are working on all these problems and are well aware of them. Edit: My colleague says labs got the message too, well, we didn't send it to PC, because you and her posted you might leave, but it sounded like we had PC in the bag, so we didn't send PC diddly-squat.

To tell you the truth, half of us are outta here, and I mean gone, and we who are left don't know whose coming or going for the next two weeks. So be patient, please! Whoever stays will be more committed to GW than ever!

About that. The old owner lost a boat-load of cash so he's stuffing a couple of $20's in his pocket before the official transition date as he gets into his Honda limo, because he still gets a penny per crap click, but he'll be outta here in a week and will no longer have access to GW. We all love and respect him for using his wallet to bankroll us for so long, so no one is saying anything and we hope that's cool. Please don't be mad at us and please don't leave us for it, since we're all human after you take our computers away from us and we look into the mirror and can't believe it;'s over and wonder what we'll be doing tomorrow to earn a buck.

Pessimists have lousy luck growing tomatoes. Come over to our team, the optimists! And give us a break, we have been running this site with ridiculous ads that miss their target so far, and I mean it's like watching Moe, Curley and Larry twisting each others' noses. The new owners won't be pleased, hey though, what's a stubbed toe when you're getting open heart surgery? Did you ever sell a house and have a neighbor come over to complain that the movers stepped on her marigolds in the hellstrip while you were getting in the van to drive away?

Yours fictitiously,
Yesterday's NOT Management ;-)

(End Parody)

OK, I hope that doesn't offend, and if it does, please forgive me, let me know and I will edit and delete it because it is meant to be a parody and I have no idea what is happening, and this thread is so off topic (OT) anyway, so whatever we write here has nothing to do with the forum. (What other forum's moderator would let you guys post about leaving and how some things about the site are bad? Don't try that elsewhere.

I unblocked everything BTW and am paying attention to the ads which are so ridiculously targeted missing the mark by 180, I can't help understand perfectly well why it is such a good idea to sell. I mean, you were not pleased with how the advertising was being managed that supported the site before: Now new owners that say they have the resources to do a better job are taking over. What's not to be optimistic about? On this site anyone can walk up and join with a few keystrokes, the owners don't mess with posters opinions, and spam is dealt with rapidly, and people are friendly. I like that!

One last comment... Houzz are expert webmasters. I fully expect that will make this site a very pleasurable forum to use compared to any other general forums. You can't get the explosive growth they have by offering a second rate product.

PC, who has a high opinion of GW and is eternally an optimist because the other option doesn't sound like fun

This post was edited by PupillaCharites on Thu, Jan 29, 15 at 12:29

That's hilarious PC! Thanks for the giggle :-)

Linda

fireduck- As Linda said, the "response" you got was an automated email which many have received. It can also be viewed, word for word (minus the salutation), at the link under the "What's New on GardenWeb" heading near the top of the forum pages.

I too am one of the optimistic ones. Well, to be honest I don't really expect the forums to change much. If you want pessimistic people there is a thread on the rose forum and in reading it you'd think it's the end of GardenWeb.

Rodney

This post was edited by theforgottenone1013 on Thu, Jan 29, 15 at 16:24

Thanks labs, figs/mints of imagination for fun before the thread is zapped along with others like it. I never could resist a sledgehammer jalopy bash at the carnival with free tickets! OT or not, I'm glad you didn't mind ;-)

PC

PS, TSP night!

This post was edited by PupillaCharites on Thu, Jan 29, 15 at 21:55

Guessing that TSP means Tomato Seed Planting! We're back on topic - yeah! Good luck with germination!

Linda

LOL, that too!

Just noticed the contact that fireduck would have used for contacting GW at the bottom of the page hasn't been updated from:
the old: http://letters.gardenweb.com/letters/nph-ind.cgi
to the new: https://support.houzz.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

the email gets to Houzz:
feedback@gardenweb.com

That could be another reason for the canned reply.

TSP, is Trisodium Phosphate!

Similar chemical Sodium Tripolyphosphate, STP, is used to artificially bloat up shrimp, scallops, flounder, salmon, etc., up to 50% and was recently banned in detergents in 17 states along with TSP both in detergents, after being the most important ingredients in many cleaners like Spic &Span and Cascade).

PC yes, back to tomatoes ;-)

Oh! Nasty stuff that! I was going to try a little bleach soak for my seeds - not that bleach is any better (healthywise). I know they put it in our drinking water, but.......

Linda

Healthywise? LOL, phosphates in trace quantities are a nutrient, or so we are told. Next time look at a vitamin tablet, check the ingredient for phosphorous, Calcium Phosphate in my bottle of Centrum here. Then consider that some other ingredients are sodium salts ... but when dissolved in your mouth or on the way down, they are all mixed up (soluble ionic solids do this) and it is the same as ingesting TSP straight. Still not convinced? Got some toothpaste, check the ingredients for TSP. If yours doesn't have it here's the most popular toothpaste in the USA ... you can see TSP is one of its star "inactive" (uh huh, inactive my butt): {{gwi:2131861}} TSP damages your kidneys in appropriate low concentrations, but for plants any potential residue on seeds will just be used as a good hydroponic source of phosphate and if anything help in germination.

Clorax Bleach should be banned since because of it everyone thinks twice before spelling chlorine right. Its byproducts are water and table salt, nothing to worry about. But if you drink it straight it is a carcinogen. Boiling tap water removes this minimal risk. The action of bleach is as an oxidizer, so take some antioxidants with it ;-) Water from your tap concentration is about 1 ppm if that's their disinfectant. Drinking it straight will simply react and destroy the first organic molecule it meets in your body. Hopefully it won't be an important piece of DNA and just some tooth bacteria or coffee stain. With plants, getting a mutant might not be so bad if any got into the seed ;-)

Cheers!
PC

Sometimes we think we are in full understanding scientifically...then things change. I try to apply common sense to science...and make decisions on those two. I remember for years the cleaning routine was to mix dutch cleanser with bleach. It really got out stains and dirt. Now we know that combination gives off toxic fumes that damage your lungs and wrecks your health.

Ah yes! The bleach isn't that bad per se, it's the darned fumes that will get us. And now they've come out with bleaches that smell fragrant - arghhhhh!

Linda