[META] Intrusive Macaroni Ad
For the past couple days every time I open a new page on the blog with my phone I’m treated to this:
This wouldn’t be a big problem, but A) The little ‘X’ button has a pretty much nonexistent zone of effectiveness and I’m always directed to the ad, which then reappears the next time I load a new page and B) it’s too soon after the Dave Brandon Michigan Stadium noodle for this.
I have no clue if Seth and Co. are able to disable specific advertisers with whatever system they use, but if they can this would be a good one to do so with because it’s making the site borderline unreadable for me on mobile.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
What kind of porn are you watching?
November 18th, 2019 at 10:37 AM ^
Elsa and Legolas fan fiction, apparently.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:24 AM ^
I was getting inundated with OSU adds for their hats, shirts, etc.
I switched to DuckDuckGo browser and all adds are now gone!
November 18th, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
He searched for, "MILF Kitchen Cooking Sex Hairless Japanese Businessmen"
November 18th, 2019 at 11:12 AM ^
"Elbow Cheese" Porn?
November 18th, 2019 at 4:44 PM ^
^^^^Schemheckler's post.
Stop watchin' the anime porn on your CPU, seriously... you'll start to go blind.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:33 AM ^
This is a cheesy post.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Let me noodle on it...
November 18th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
Ziti's not working for him, one could say.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
The cheesiest
November 18th, 2019 at 11:37 AM ^
I wish he had krafted a better one.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:33 AM ^
You must google macaroni and cheese a lot.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
You don't even have to Google anymore.
He could've said macaroni and cheese. I'm wondering if I even think about mac n cheese would it work.
November 18th, 2019 at 1:19 PM ^
Very true. Even though our microphone isn’t on, it’s on.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:34 AM ^
Thanks a lot Dave Brandon.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:14 AM ^
PRAISE BIG NOODLE
November 18th, 2019 at 10:36 AM ^
Dave? Is that you?
November 18th, 2019 at 10:37 AM ^
Yeah, I started getting that, too. Noticed it for the first time over the weekend. I also started getting ads that I can't hide when trying to post a comment. If I minimize the ad it also hides the comment box. I'm strongly considering switching to a mobile browser that allows ad blocking because it's getting ridiculous.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Yep. The yelling-in-your-face ads here have reached a point where the remarkable content isn't worth contending with them. It's either ad blocker or way less visits.
I don't begrudge the crew their right to make $$$. Just do it in a way that doesn't make the site nav and controls inaccessible and/or fill the entire freaking screen blotting out all the content.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:37 AM ^
Mine was Matt Stafford pop-up every time I opened a thread. Haven’t seen macaroni, but probably will now.
November 18th, 2019 at 2:41 PM ^
Had that a few days this weekend, had macaroni for the first time this morning or last night, idr
November 18th, 2019 at 10:47 AM ^
It's the internet gods telling you to go to the San Diego Comic-Con dressed up like Elsa.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
Noodle in the stadium?
November 18th, 2019 at 10:53 AM ^
How much would a "premium" version of this website with zero ads cost? It's getting to the point where it's unreadable with ads, but I feel guilty using adblock. I'd rather just give money directly than have them fund the site through (shitty) advertising.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
Technically you could just use adblock and donate via the beveled guilt button if this is your preference. https://mgoblog.com/content/supporting-mgoblog
November 18th, 2019 at 11:24 AM ^
Yeah, that's certainly a workaround. Either way, it'd be nice to get an idea of the "value" of an typical user in ad dollars.
November 18th, 2019 at 12:10 PM ^
Someone asked this a month or so ago and while the actual answer was very nuanced and dependent on a series of factors, I recall $4-5 a month being thrown out as an ad revenue number from an "average" site visitor.
November 18th, 2019 at 12:13 PM ^
https://www.mgoblog.com/mgoboard/meta-how-much-does-running-adblocker-cost-mgoblog
this was the thread.
From Seth:
There are a lot of factors to calculate so it's best to do it by time. Figure the ads you see are $3/thousand (depreciating if you click a lot) and they'll change every time you reload the page, or automatically every 30 seconds. Also figure Paypal will take 10% off the top.
Conservatively I'd guess a regular reader is about $5/month annually, some are up to $20, and most of our flyby readers are in the $0.35 to $1.00 range.
We're looking into a membership thing that would serve the site without ads, plus a book and a shirt every year. We won't lock any content behind a paywall though.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:55 AM ^
I googled garden gnomes a few months back, because I really need one in my back yard. Now the Toscano garden stuff is my main advertisement here.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:13 AM ^
Was this gnome koala-shaped?
November 18th, 2019 at 11:40 AM ^
Good point. Would help with target practice.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:58 AM ^
You are obviously Dave Brandon and this is targeted advertising.
November 18th, 2019 at 10:59 AM ^
Ads shouldn't cover content and shouldn't be animated. Until that happens, I will use an ad blocker.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:02 AM ^
I currently have a Walgreens ad up top and "celebrate with the Spartans" (which is deliciously ironic) down below, so essentially I have this really awesome, almost zero bezel iPhone, but minus the ads I really have the equivalent of an iPhone 3.
I understand the math but man I really hate it. I've been following the blog for 12 years so I can't really bail now but if I were new I don't think I'd stick around. Absolutely obnoxious.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:17 AM ^
Yeah, I laughed out loud the first time I saw that ad on Saturday evening. Irony at its finest.
Now that I've seen it non-stop for 48 hours it's getting a little tiresome.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:11 AM ^
shapes always fall short of the standard elbow noodle in both texture and taste (oddly, could be mental).
but my favorite is the velveeta shell.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:29 AM ^
When I was in college spirals and shells were my go to.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:12 AM ^
Frozen macaroni and cheese doesn't sound very appetizing
November 18th, 2019 at 11:14 AM ^
Bottom ads (usually for Dr pepper) are incredibly annoying and difficult to dismiss (takes up 1/3 of screen).
November 18th, 2019 at 11:14 AM ^
Dave Brandon has infected your computer!
November 18th, 2019 at 11:18 AM ^
That and Matt Stafford at the bottom of my page. I have gotten to the point where I just don't use my phone for this site anymore.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:23 AM ^
Never forget that macaroni ads can be far more intrusive....
November 18th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
Speaking of Meta, how come points are broken again?
November 18th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
Yes. Have been for a couple weeks. Go visiting the pinned thread for site malfunction to see.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:52 AM ^
Different thread. Try Moderator Action Sticky.
November 18th, 2019 at 12:29 PM ^
I think anytime the wind blows the points break.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:56 AM ^
Those macaroni look nothing like Frozen characters.
November 18th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
Let it go, man. Let it go.
November 18th, 2019 at 12:30 PM ^
The ads never bothered me anyway.
November 18th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
I see a similar one that takes up the sides of my screen, but it’s for Clorox. Frustrating.