Tuesday, March 26, 2013

That's it. Some of you bellyachers have finally got on my last nerve.

Received this comment -- one of many recently -- about the Examiner columns of David Codrea and Kurt Hoffman that I post links to:
Once again I slipped up and clicked on the link before I realized that it was another EXAMINER web site. Codrea needs to get a PAYING JOB so we won't be hammered by ADVERTISING every time there is something to read. I don't mind the Subway sandwich ad but the video & audio and popups just get in the way. When a pop-up covers up what I am trying to read I just LOSE IT.
Oh, you POOR babies. As it happens David Codrea HAS a paying job, and it pays damn badly too. He is an Examiner columnist -- and not because he likes the Examiner system. I can say from all the trouble he and others have had with those anal sphincters who run it that I have picked up second-hand over the years that they screw their columnists and make it all but impossible to put out a good product over the objections of their internal censors. David could be making a good income in the private sector doing any number of jobs, so why does he (and others) put up with the bullshit and poor pay? He does it because that's the ONLY way to get the stories out. And what stories he has broken and sustained over the years when no one else would pick them up! Fast and Furious, of course, but what about the Reese's? Ask the Reeses if they think their story was worth a pop-up or two. I could go on and on.
And you poor babies, knowing that sharing an Examiner link is the only way to support such quality work, WON'T EVEN GO THERE BECAUSE YOU MIGHT ENCOUNTER A POP-UP. Oh, woe is you.
GET THIS STRAIGHT. I know about all the problems of the Examiner system for both the writers and the readers and if I put up a link it is because I believe it is important. You want to know why our side has been consistently pushed back in this fight? Because some of us are experts at finding excuses to do nothing. even down to the painless task of sharing a link to support important advocates like Codrea and Hofmann.
"OMG! It's a POP-UP!"

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Adblock is a free plugin for IE, Chrome, Firefox and most every other browser out there. Learn to use the interwebz n00bs.

Josh

Anonymous said...

speaking of pop-ups, the possible source of the claim that 90% of merkans support gun control may be the pop-ups occuring on utube, asking if the GOP should fight obama on gun control. Click "yes" - nothing happens, an attempt to close the annoyance is actually a "no" click, thus "supportive" of gun control

Mike H said...

What we get from David Kurt etal is bloody well worth it!

Anonymous said...

What is this, the 90s? Who doesn't know how to handle popups in this day and age? I haven't seen a single popup in close to a decade at this point.

Jesus Christ people, any modern browser has anti-popup capabilities, and you should be running an elaborate cocktail of privacy software if you're coming to a site like this.

Just some beginner stuff to get you started:

Adblock Plus (make sure to also get the Element Hiding Helper in addition to the main plugin.

Ghostery

Noscript

The Old Coach said...

FCS! Run Firefox and enable the popup blocking function1 I had to think for a moment to remember what a popup was. . . .

KingOfDebauchery said...

lol

I use Adblock Plus on my Firefox browser which helps with most pop-ups on most sites. That being said, if I try to read anything on Examiner on my iPhone, my god, there's this Candyland (or something) ad right in the MIDDLE of the screen. The best part? It WON'T go away. Gah!!!

But yes, I deal with it because it IS good stuff. Hell, I even created a damned Facebook account so that I could share and comment. :)

Anonymous said...

Simple Guide to Happy Internet Browsing.

Install a couple of Plug-ins or extensions depending on your browser.

I use Safari (Apple), but you will find these on Firefox which you should be using anyway.

1) AdBlock (blocks adds on all websites).

2) Click to Plug in, only activates flash and HTML when you want it active.

3) Block pop up windows.

These three will block 90% of the advertising junk, and simplify your viewing experience.


MamaLiberty said...

There are pop up and ad blocker programs available for every operating system, far as I know. If people don't like to have pop-ups (I sure don't) or see the ads, well, there's an easy cure for that. Install the blockers and learn how to use them.

It just takes personal responsibility to obtain and use the right tools, rather than expecting others to take care of the problem.

Anonymous said...

Hey Mike, can't Codrea do something about those damn pop-ups?

Couldn't resist.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I also hate going to sites where audio starts playing automatically. You don't need to be such a jerk about it.

jdege said...

I installed a flash-blocker plug-in specifically because of Examiner's use of auto-start video ads.

rdf67 said...

Thanks Mike for making the good fight. Whiners are all around us.

A SImple Man said...

"ZOMG .gov shoots back at me!" will that be the excuse they use when it really does get "inconvenient" out here."

Anonymous said...

Off topic perhaps but my (least) fav are the ones that re-enable your muted speakers. Makes "stealth" browsing at work that much more exciting.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Defeated by "pop-ups"? This guy can't figure out how to get around or control pop-ups? Or just deal with them?

This guy is totally fuct when the shooting starts.

Anonymous said...

On a serious note-

We need to ensure that people on our side understand how to protect themselves on the web.

If you can't stop minor annoyances like pop-ups,then I'm pretty sure you don't know how to protect yourself with tor and VPN's.

You guys need to learn this stuff,its part of opsec.

Google (did I say "google?",you should be using ixquick,startpage,or duck duck go) both the tor project and hotspot shield.

Both are free.

Learn to use them.

Those should get you started.

And for the love of all thats righteous please take some of the other commentators that are trying to help seriously.

Again-

This is about opsec.

If you can't "defend" yourself from being annoyed on the web,how are you going to defend yourself from criminals and criminal government?

Anonymous said...

Popups? Popups? Oh, yeah. I remember them. Haven't seen one in a LLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNGGG frapping time. First I use a real browser - Chrome - instead of IE. Second I put AdBlock on so long ago that I don't even remember when.

Anybody who is so stupid that they have to put up with popups should not be owning guns - and, yes, I know what David says about that. I also agree with his maxim.

shovelDriver said...

Ads? Pop-ups? Flash audio and video? On Examiner?

When? Where?

I'm using the much-maligned Internet Explorer, with no add-ins, and I haven't had issues with pop-ups or ads for . . . well, hell, I can't recall, it's been so long.

For that matter, I don't have any trouble with them on any site! I don't have issues with playing media I want to see, either.

Take a read of MVPS (http://winhelp2002.mvps.org/hosts.htm) and extrapolate for your situation.

Dakota said...

DITTO

Anonymous said...

I make it a point to click on David's page every day.