I've got that Marines ad to go on at least 15 times. Plus you have to be incredible careful when you close it or it just re-triggers the ad. Maybe I'm on the site too much + lack mouse coordination.
Is it too late to "undelete" from an edited post? I'd originally pulled back from my original commentary based on your response, but I'm not so sure I was in the right seeing this. While I don't dispute that delivering this site is an expensive proposition, allowing ads that are as obtrusive and offensive as these we've been discussing while offering a paid subscription to avoid them smacks of extortion.
Hmm - good point - I can see how it sounds that way - but it's not intentional. It would take a whole heck of a lot of premium memberships to make a big difference and I don't think anyone would want to buy premium membership just because they were harassed into it. Or if they were motivated by that, there'd always be a little underlying resentment/pissed off feeling about it. I know because I'm a red bull season ticket holder!
A bit unfair to mention extortion - Dark Knight has been reasonable in addressing the ad concerns, and it's not as if they do the annoying stuff on purpose (apart from the regular Facebook pimping ). The site is great, and whilst a large part of that is due to the posters, the admins also get credit for it. We get the site for free, and nobody is forced to use it, so use of "extortion" is harsh imo.
Just to be clear, I'm not saying that it's done with actual malice, or even that it crosses the line into being extortive. However, it does have some of the elements: 1 - Something undesired or negative is being done to users. 2 - An offer to avoid the undesired/negative action for a fee is being made. Let's be honest. The guys who deliver this site do great work, and provide a great service. I appreciate it. But it would be better if the policies that drive the site took a little more adversarial view toward ads that don't comply with the spirit of good user experience on the internet.
There is another issue with the Marines roll over advert - it hides the bottom of the My BigSoccer drop down menu. It effects the service of BS.
Commitment was taught to me by AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH - this Marines flash ad is killing me. You only have to rollover to start it, but of course click to close. It's in a high traffic area of the page that is nearly impossible to avoid, especially if you use the My BigSoccer link at all. I click on ads all the time, and purposely don't block them to support the site in at least a small way, but this is just crappy tactics from the ad designer (and BS in placement) to force the audience to listen.
I'm getting old waiting for d1.openx.org. Why did I bother to upgrade my connectivity (20Mbps/15ms) if it takes 30 seconds for a page to load anyway?
These ads are terrible! I expect this sort of thing from illegal streaming video hosts, not from my soccer website of choice. I am not exaggerating when I say that if these ads are not removed, I will stop visiting the pages they are on entirely. I'll just change my bookmark to the forum page. I like Bill's posts (and sometimes Dan's), but I don't have a real problem never reading one again. Yes, these ads are that annoying.
I've just given up and setup AdBlocker to block every ad hosted on http://www.bigsoccer.com I'm sure I'm not the only one.
[FONT="]I finally just gave up and installed Flashblock for Firefox due to the ads on the home page. The video ad was causing numerous loading delays, spinning beach balls and endless frustration. It is definitely an unpleasant experience.[/FONT]