Peachy Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Okay,all I wanted to download was a file so I chose a mirror that pointed to MajorGeeks' site, but as I waited for the autodownload to start I got this message in Firefox: Sorry you are not allowd to view this page"; echo "We have determined that you are using some sort of ad-blocking software or using a browser that downloads our site to your machine.Please understand that we are able to provide this content free because of our Sponsors (ads) and if you choose to block them, we will be unable to display the pages, if people continue to block our sponsors ads using ad-blocking softwares then we will be forced to charge for the content and we do not wish to do this so Please shut of your ad-blocking software and revisit our site."; echo "Thanks!"; echo ""; exit; } ++; } ?> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zox Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 That is good reason to NOT download from them.Pick another mirror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Man Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 What ad-blocking app are you using that triggers this response from them ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted February 17, 2004 Author Share Posted February 17, 2004 What ad-blocking app are you using that triggers this response from them ?The built-in Mozilla Firebird/Firefox ad-blocking software! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Peach I think you gave up to soon.I just tried it and got your message as well but the download DID start and worked fine. I think Majorgeek maybe testing something that isn't working well yet. Sign of things to come.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rons Posted February 17, 2004 Share Posted February 17, 2004 Sign of things to come....I started hearing and reading about this about six months ago.Some sites won't allow you access - if you are using a pop-up stopper. Which usually tells me I don't want to deal with them - and I go to another site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havnblast Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 one good way to kill traffic to your site - unreal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Please note what Nathan said ... apparently if you wait it will still give you the file.MajorGeeks has been a good friend to many small software developers over time. I am not sure why they are doing this. It's a shame to put some folks off for being smart in their browsing. Some ads on some sites are actually dangerous. I hope they change their policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I think this is a sign of things to come. Too many people seem to think everything on the Internet should be free. It's not uncommon to see forums posts asking about the best "free" anti virus, pop up blocker, anti trojan, mp3 player, image editor, etc. Why should they be free? It takes time, effort, and money, to create and support these things. I'm not sure what kind of business model MajorGeeks is using, but it requires funding to continue in operation. When this all started, people were doing lots of things for no charge because it was so new. Now, people are starting to want to be paid for their time and effort. I don't see a problem with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 It appears to have been a bug because it is back working today. But it might be a sign that they are wishing to setup an advertising enforcer.Personally I don't have a problem with it. I think that it will backfire on them. I would think that most viewers of that site wouldn't have any blockers in place. Upsetting the few "leechers" that do would cause more lost viewers to site do to bad will then the amount lost because of the few that do have ad blockers in place. OTOH this is a tech site so maybe that ratio is higher then the average site would get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Man Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Apparently they did, Fran.I just went to MajorGeeks to see for myself, as I use a popup stopper. The site is accessible, and so are files. In checking a screenshot, 2 "sponsored" popup stoppers are above the screenshot in the same window...Draw your own conclusions.While I agree on one hand that some free software developers are now taking the "shareware" route, or now offering 30 day trials prior to charging a few bucks for their hard work, we're free to go elsewhere for downloads.One such example is jv16 powertools. Since the start of january, it's no longer free. You get a popup telling you (in other terms) that the software is outdated, and go to the website. The owner has since updated his website too. A popular replacement seems to be RegSeeker 1.35 It is a beta version, but seems to work quite well for many, including myself.All this makes me wonder : should we keep a good secret to ourselves, before it gets so popular and the website gets so flooded, thus forcing the developer and site owner to do the same and start charging to pay for his bandwidth usage suddenly going through the roof ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjf123 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 All this makes me wonder : should we keep a good secret to ourselves, before it gets so popular and the website gets so flooded, thus forcing the developer and site owner to do the same and start charging to pay for his bandwidth usage suddenly going through the roof ? Personal opinion here, but I think we just need to accept that most software, and many web sites, will cost money to use or visit. After all, the user is getting a value. Why shouldn't he or she pay for it? Doesn't the poster boy for free, the Linux community, now have Red Hat, one of the most widely distributed flavors, charging for it's product? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 It appears to have been a bug because it is back working today. But it might be a sign that they are wishing to setup an advertising enforcer.Personally I don't have a problem with it. I think that it will backfire on them. I would think that most viewers of that site wouldn't have any blockers in place. Upsetting the few "leechers" that do would cause more lost viewers to site do to bad will then the amount lost because of the few that do have ad blockers in place. OTOH this is a tech site so maybe that ratio is higher then the average site would get.Thanks Nathan for the update.Phil ... Yes, it is a shame that as a site gains popularlity that it gets flooded with visitors so much as to make it probable that they can't continue without some ad support. But massive bandwidth is expensive and it is the nature of the beast that the more popular a site, the more bandwidth it will use.I really don't have a problem with that. I block popups, and I block images in email, I also block bad scripting, but I don't block ads within pages, I just don't click on them. If all they want is for folks to view them, I have no problem with that as long as they are not popups or try to push some sleezeball scripting on visitors.I feel that it is my choice to make. I will not leave it up to to marketing bozos with deceptive and/or devious programmers.I do not feel that after all this time of being a friend to programmers that MajorGeeks would intentionally block folks who wish not to see the ads. There are plenty of folks who will see them.Also as mentioned, in many cases, other sites are also available for downloading programs.I am thankful for those who can still provide their products at no cost, because they really do not have to do so.They do this out of the kindness of their heart and to help promote their products. I enjoy them as long as they are there for free and when/if they feel they need to change their policy, I will make my decision based on how important that program is to my needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddy Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Have you read the Mod's tips:http://www.majorgeeks.com/vb/showthread.php?t=27176I don't have popup or ad blocking, so cannot attest to this problem. I find the site very informative and usefull so a few ads here and there are well worth the price for what you get.I have found on occasion an issue with a mirror, at which point I use the alternative site. Thus the purpose of mirrors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thanks Freddy ...answers a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfProRM Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Nathan... quick question... Was this related to the Popup stopper or the ad-blocker? The conversation is trailing toward popup stopper, so I wanted to be clear if you're talking about the ad-blocker.(For those of you who don't use Firefox, the ad blocker allows you to right click on any image and select "Block images from servername." It's a really handy feature) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Attitude Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Hi guys, this thread was pointed out to me by a board member, so thought I would respond if thats ok :)We run 1 popunder ad per ip, per day. We used to run more, but one upshot to more traffic was getting rid of popup ads. We hate popups too, but we had to try and make it. We hope to phase out the final popunder eventually. You will find in our forums us suggesting to people how to block popunder and up ads. When we started this thing, thats all that paid. Allow me to clarify, we started MajorGeeks as an attempt to stay alive in this business just over 2 years ago when all the dot coms had crashed. We survived and its been tough. We work 7 days a week on this website and it is how we make our living. We figured we would try this and if it failed we would get jobs at Wal-Mart The main webserver and fileserver cost a lot of money, but it allows us to help out a lot of authors who can not afford the bandwidth and to offer obsolete files. So, keep in mind that we not only LOVE what we do, but its our living. If thats a problem for someone, I really cant apologize for it and doubt it would help someone who just is not interested in visiting what they consider a commercial site. As for anti ad blocking, once again, there is an explanation. Nortons 2004 just came out and it is blocking ads by default. Now, the more savvy users, like you guys and gals, can block ads and it does not hurt us. If Joe Average starts blocking ads, were out of business. SO, we are tinkering with anti ad blocking not to use, but to use IF the day comes when ads become blocked by Internet Explorer and most popular firewall software. We are researching in advance is all. You can hate us for that too, but believe me, if ad blocking goes mainstream the advertisers and webmasters will fight back. Like spam, they will find a way to deliver it. They will fight for this just like any of you would fight to keep your career... I hope that explains it and at least some of you continue to visit. Thanks for letting me explain!Tim Tibbettshttp://www.majorgeeks.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thanks Tim! :thumbsup:I really appreciate what you do for authors and obsolete software and those of us who enjoy downloading software from your site, in making software available through MajorGeeks!Welcome to the SFNL forums!Thanks for posting about this. It really helps to understand how it came about.Hope we see more of you here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thanks, Tim.My concern only was that I guess I happened to try a download at some moment in time when you may have been tinkering with the site. I have nothing against banner ads and pop-up blocking is something I like to use to deal with certain sites (not yours, of course! ). I think you have every right to do whatever you have to do for your site to maintain your ad revenue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Excellent point Peachy!Those of us who use popup stoppers can and do allow certain popups from certain sites -- if those popups are benign (which I am sure they are on MajorGeeks ) -- and will help the site owner get the revenue to be able to continue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Attitude Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thanks, Tim.My concern only was that I guess I happened to try a download at some moment in time when you may have been tinkering with the site. I have nothing against banner ads and pop-up blocking is something I like to use to deal with certain sites (not yours, of course! ). I think you have every right to do whatever you have to do for your site to maintain your ad revenue.Thanks for the response, I was not really sure what to expect. I really apologize for the hassle you went through at the time, hopefully it will not happen again, but if it does, you know were just tinkering and it should be temporary. We just dont want to get caught with our pants down a year from now and trust me, thats not something you would want to see either Often times if people do not have an alternative download location, or cant download because of a spyware issue, I gladly email them whatever they need, so if you, or anyone, gets stuck needing a program you can only get from us, drop me an email at tim@ and I will take care of it for you! Like I said, this is a living for us, but its a passion too, so if I can be of help.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rons Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I feel that it is my choice to make. I will not leave it up to to marketing bozos with deceptive and/or devious programmers.FranThanks for the chuckle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Tim,Thanks for the honest reply. Lots of websites start this stuff up and then put up some kind of attitude about it. Your post was honest and to the point. I respect that. I have no problem with banner ads. Popups I find very annoying as they are disruptive to web surfing. I ignore many ads but sometimes one is of value and if that helps a bit with the massive bandwidth costs then that is great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Nathan... quick question... Was this related to the Popup stopper or the ad-blocker? The conversation is trailing toward popup stopper, so I wanted to be clear if you're talking about the ad-blocker.(For those of you who don't use Firefox, the ad blocker allows you to right click on any image and select "Block images from servername." It's a really handy feature)Ryan,I don't use the image blocker only popup blocking. I'm quessing that is what triggered majorgeeks script. From what Tim said it sounds like it isn't working correctly anyway and it is turned off. Hopefully they can work out a method that works without making the site too anoying to visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Attitude Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Nathan... quick question... Was this related to the Popup stopper or the ad-blocker? The conversation is trailing toward popup stopper, so I wanted to be clear if you're talking about the ad-blocker.(For those of you who don't use Firefox, the ad blocker allows you to right click on any image and select "Block images from servername." It's a really handy feature)Ryan,I don't use the image blocker only popup blocking. I'm quessing that is what triggered majorgeeks script. From what Tim said it sounds like it isn't working correctly anyway and it is turned off. Hopefully they can work out a method that works without making the site too anoying to visit. Hi nlinecomputers,Well... it worked, just not with IE, we are just testing for what we fear MAY come down the road, maybe a year, maybe 2, hopefully never If it becomes a problem we just want to be ready to protect our jobs. So, this should not be a problem again (unless were testing a script quickly) for the forseeable future. I talked to my partner and what happened was he was testing it when he had some spare time and then forgot to remove it until he received some emails from visitors also using Firefox so it was up for 40 minutes, something that was unintended. He removed it immediately when he realized it was blocking access to our site from regular visitors. Until those emails we just thought it was not working properly. Anyhow, we figured we could find one that works, possibly tweak the code and then store the program and hope the day never comes that we have to use it. Frankly, I wish there was a way to just get around it without blocking website access, but again, we dont know whats out there, whats going to happen, all we can do is be prepared for anything we can imagine could happen. With the internet, who knows what the future holds I surf a lot and I am with you, theres a few things I hate. Popups and unders, flashing ads or ads trying to sell me porn or any product that sells it in a sexual way. I find all these things distracting, the rest are fine and I too occasionally click ads from respected sites. Once again, an upshot to being a fairly high traffic site is we can pick and choose many ads, so we tend to remove the lame flashing "hit the monkey to win" or "your the 10 millionth visitor you won" crap, though they still sneak in occasionally :)So, please do visit again, it was just bad timing and we left it in place too long :)Tim Tibbettshttp://www.majorgeeks.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Actually I visit often. I take the RSS feed which is very good way to stay on top of your site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachy Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 Actually I visit often. I take the RSS feed which is very good way to stay on top of your site.There's an RSS feed? Hey, cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 They have 3. Find them here:http://www.majorgeeks.com/xmlhelp.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave PCPitstop Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I'm with Major Attitude on this. I would love to eliminate all third-party banner advertising on our site and only have links to products that we thought were best of breed. But the numbers don't work out. How does a site operate on just donations? We get about 200,000 visitors a month and if we're lucky maybe 50 of them pitch in with $5 to $15 each. We host a bandwidth test, and the cost of the bandwidth for that alone (nearly 2 TERABYTES a month) is $2,800 a month. Just like Tim, we've had people try to bypass our pages and just use the server directly. That takes away the meager benefit and leaves us with only costs. Last year a bozo from some school in Australia started running a script that did a bandwidth test every five minutes. By the time I caught it we had a $400 overage on bandwidth costs. There's no way to recover that money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 I totally understand about the cost factors involved to you Dave and Major Attitude on this. As a matter of fact, I do not block banner advertisements on webpages for this reason, although I could very easily.My 'beef' is with popups, popunders, pop sideways ... oops, sorry I don't think we have any pop sideways yet till we get to 3D LOL! These I do block on all sites for very good reasons.Although I do unblock them as Peachy mentioned earlier for sites like both of yours even though it goes against the grain and I still cringe hoping I made the right decision.The main reason I do allow them on your sites is that I don't believe you or Major Attitude would not allow any of the dangerous types of popups on your sites.But you and Major Attitude are the good guys. I went to a site recently on a Google quest and it tried to install Gator through a popup, no questions about whether I wanted it, just tried to do it. It was not allowed to execute here, but I ran SpyBot S&D and Ad-aware to be sure. All clean.This is just one tiny example. Some of the popup ads look very much like real system messages and confuse many consumers. I have talked to some of my Internet newbie clients and they didn't know what they could and could not click on, it was so confusing to them.This is only one example of things consumers have to deal with on a daily basis and due to unethical (IMHO) advertising practices, we have had to fight back by blocking them to protect ourselves from browser hijacks etc. (except on sites we allow to bypass the block and we are very careful about this).This is not the consumer's fault. Have you ever accidentally gone to some sites in India or other places around the web where so many popups come up you can't close them fast enough?Last year, one in particular that I clicked on trying to get information for a research project, claimed to be a search engine. This site took down my computer. I had to reboot, forcefully and run a scandisk of course.It caused so many browser popup windows to open so fast (over 30 of them!) that I was not able to hit Alt F4 fast enough before the computer crashed under the weight of ever quickly dwindling system resources.) NOTE: this happened while I was doing research at the time, and I already had about 6-8 windows open already with results in them. This was the last straw.There are always two sides to every story. And valid reasons and concerns on both sides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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