This site has become very annoying, as well as the original Chowhound who I dearly miss.

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Remember the dancing baby?

Seagrass, lots of us from Chowhound moved to Hungry Onion.

Bcskye, I hear complaints about ads that GW run, over at the Kitchen Table as well. I've never, ever seen ads on *any* site that I go to because I have AdBlockPlus installed. Do install it. It's free and works on all browsers......Opera, Chrome, Firefox, etc.

I get the pop-up you are mentioning on my phone. adBlock on every other device. I'm such a klutz on an iPad trying to hit the x and some adds are bouncing now so you end up hitting the ad, lol. Not really funny but annoying. Rarely use my iPad but for books and newspaper. Just sat down the other day to up-date it. I also use it for pepperplate recipes in the kitchen.

There are ad blocking browsers for iPhone and iPad, and you can even install some that work on Safari and Chrome (and probably Firefox) in the latest iOS. I would rather they made ads that weren't intrusive so they could get paid without being blocked. Oh, well.

Bcskye, that's odd. I get that if I'm looking on the Houzz site, but not either the Garden or Home GW forums. I removed AdBlock a couple of years ago, it was interfering with something but now I've forgotten what. IE for this site, Firefox for others....

Ad block won't stop those, only signing in will. The real reason is not to push the emails, but the very fine print that informs you that Houzz will track you whether or not you sign up/in if you continue navigating the site. I see them when not signed in and I have an ad block, ghostery, and glimmerblocker.

Don't get anything!

Veda Beeps - I go to Hungry Onion now. Not as dynamic as the old Chowhound.

I don't get anything.

It occurred while reading this thread......

Seagrass, not as dynamic but a great crowd. :)

I've never been to Chowhound and I was just noodling around. I didn't see any type of ads at all.

As annoying as the ads are, this is how Houzz makes it's money. They host these forums for us at no cost to us.

Back in the "old days" of stand-alone Gardenweb, it cost $15 to join and Spike ran things.

Yeah, I paid to join and I miss Spike! I would gladly pay to be part of that era again. Corporate America ruins everything they get their grubby hands on.

Back in the old days.....and I go waaaay waaaay back, Spike "suggested" that $15 would get you a T-shirt and help support "this rinky-dink operation" but it was not necessary to pay in order to post....then literally the day of 9/11 he made it mandatory to pay to post....
Garden Web was a way many were keeping track of what was going on.....and he decided to get his piece of the pie.
Spike ran GW out of his apartment in New Jersey....and it grew and grew....made a bundle when he sold it, I'll bet. If he didn't he wasn't very smart!
He sold to iVillages....which fired the original Spike staff....and then they sold to houzz.

They aren't ads, just a legal warning. I've never heard of anyone getting them once logged in--by logging in you've already given Houzz the right to track all your internet use.

Are you saying you still see them once logged in?

I'm also here since the "Spike" times, and before he charged to post. When he made it mandatory to pay to post, I was newly divorced and couldn't afford the $15 so someone kindly and anonymously paid for my membership. After I got my feet back under me, I paid for a couple others anonymously, that was the kind of friendships we developed. We had get togethers and swaps and phone calls across the country is someone had a problem with a recipe. it was much more.....personal.

Every time things change hands there are more ads, and it's true of every place I go and everything I do on the internet. Email? Side ads. Local news station? Huge ads over top the news. Even the kids' sites have advertisements, always. (sigh) My girls do tease me, though. They say I'm an analog person in a digital world, and remind me that I found both my dog and my husband on the internet. (grin)

Annie

I haven't been here since "Spike" times, but I've been here quite a few years and last Tuesday was the first time I've ever gotten these ads. I understand that Houzz makes it's money by ads, but right in the middle of what you're trying to read and one right after another - too much. And I do believe I was signed in, I usually am.

Madonna

bcskye,

I see this sometime on my iphone when I am surfing. I log in and it goes away for a while and then it comes back. I don't get it on my ipad or my computer. It is very annoying.

I only see the pop ups when not signed in.

But sometimes I can't sign in. The computer thinks I've made an error. So I hit the 'have you forgotten your user name or password?' and then I 'change' my password to the exact same password that I've always used.

When looking up an unfamiliar ingredient or refreshing some knowledge and wanting something new, i find myself on a 'food' recipe site that has a jumping pop-up that can't be navigated. I just sign off and even that is hard to do and annoying. I actually don't mind side ads knowing that is expected. No biggie if not 'jumping'.

An old friend of mine has been in the magazine consulting business for decades and now retired but still does a bit of internet consulting from home. We don't argue much about it but he does not cook! At all. The 'experts' will always be a bit off in advising.

A site that has multiple hits will get more advertising dollars. I noticed on one blogger site that every response is repeated twice to gain more 'hits'. A well known one and kinda sleezy and obvious what they have set up.

I have AdBlocker and it does not get rid of this massively annoying nag-screen. You have to be logged on to get rid of it. Sometimes I just want to lurk without signing in. This site is bound and determined to drive members away.

I don't think it's difficult to sign in, and be free of the annoying ads that people are talking about. Me, I never sign out of GardenWeb. It's not like a banking site or anything private and crucial.

Same as Jasdip here - I try to stay signed in & the pop-up only happens when I'm not, for some reason or another( like a brown-out making my computer restart).