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LSP972
03-11-2016, 01:13 PM
Okay, the incessant pop-ups don't bother me; I just scroll down a bit and they disappear from my view.

But this Cabela's ad that includes sound means I gotta turn MY sound off. Most annoying.

I understand the site needs revenue, and have never complained before, even though some of pop-ups can be a PITA.

But this is going too far, I fear.

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voodoo_man
03-11-2016, 01:25 PM
You got some malware...

LSP972
03-11-2016, 01:25 PM
I can assure that there ABSOLUTELY NO pop-ups or ads with sound on PF. It sounds like you have some malware installed on your computer.

Okay, thanks. So… they lied when they told me this expensive-ass Apple iMac was immune to malware/viruses? Guess that's my penance for being computer-illiterate…:(

Sorry for the rant.

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taadski
03-11-2016, 01:48 PM
That's what you get for insinuating j-frames can't be readily implemented as precision long range instruments of death! This sort of backlash is completely to be expected after such an assault upon the PF timmie brain trust!




:p

LSP972
03-11-2016, 01:53 PM
That's what you get for insinuating j-frames can't be readily implemented as precision long range instruments of death! This sort of backlash is completely to be expected after such an assault upon the PF timmie brain trust!




:p

Yes; yes! I get it now; I marked myself for de-assimilation!

And I didn't mean to insinuate it; I thought I flat-out WROTE it…;)

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LSP972
03-11-2016, 01:54 PM
Hopefully the info at the following link will help:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203987

Thanks, Tom; I'll give that a shot.

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JackRock
03-11-2016, 02:55 PM
Okay, thanks. So… they lied when they told me this expensive-ass Apple iMac was immune to malware/viruses? Guess that's my penance for being computer-illiterate…

That's the line we got at work (I'm in networking and security) on the same day we found a virus on one of the few Macs we have in the company. It shut down the "we don't need antivirus" argument real fast.


And a little bit of history: the very first piece of malware was specifically designed on, and for, Apple computers! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creeper_(program)

Peally
03-11-2016, 03:00 PM
Oh Christ. He posted here, now we're all infected. For all I know now everyone here is malware. It's gonna hit the fan soon unless we stay calm and start testing each other.

This is The Thing all over again.









But yes check for malware and invest in adblock addons if you haven't already ;)

JV_
03-11-2016, 03:15 PM
If you're going to use adblock software on PF, do the half-decent thing and become a supporting member.

voodoo_man
03-12-2016, 11:48 AM
...if you aren't a supporting member of this forum, you are really doing yourself and other members a disservice...

Tamara
03-12-2016, 10:37 PM
Oh Christ. He posted here, now we're all infected. For all I know now everyone here is malware. It's gonna hit the fan soon unless we stay calm and start testing each other.

I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission.

olstyn
03-13-2016, 12:05 AM
...if you aren't a supporting member of this forum, you are really doing yourself and other members a disservice...

How so?

voodoo_man
03-13-2016, 06:11 AM
How so?

Find another forum that has the same amount of original content, then find another forum that does give aways constantly, then find another forum that does free to members training classes.

Then you have a mod staff that actually give a damn about the content and members, keeping most of the riffraff out or quite.

As many here, we go on different forums and see different aspects of the internet, I've been on forums since there were no forums and I had to dial into a BBS with my 14.4, and out of all the forums out there, this is the forum I call home.

olstyn
03-13-2016, 01:45 PM
voodoo_man, that's a great list of stuff that I also appreciate about this place, but it doesn't explain how not making a direct financial contribution is doing anyone a disservice. Those of us who aren't supporting members still get served ads, for which the forum gets paid. It's not like we're financial leeches.

hufnagel
03-13-2016, 01:52 PM
boy my ad blocking protocol here must be working wonders. I've never seen a single ad on this site! :D

Drang
03-13-2016, 03:28 PM
I backed my ad blockers off after Tom mentioned in another thread that PF makes no money if we see no ads. Now I see the banner ads at the top of the page, which can be amusing, since I get to play "Why am I seeing an ad for {ATM} Fred Meyer Money Services?" Or a Cadillac dealer in Alabama.

Drang
03-13-2016, 03:42 PM
It's more fun my way. ;)

Also: Not goin' to Louisiana to buy a Hyundai...

olstyn
03-13-2016, 06:13 PM
The vast majority of the ads served on PF are interest-based, meaning that Google is showing you ads that it thinks would be of interest to you based upon stuff like your recent Google searches and browsing history.

There must be a random element involved, too, because just this morning, I got an ad about "waxing services" which was a picture of a woman's posterior in a bikini partially covered in sand, as though she had just stood up after sitting on the beach. I can assure you I have not recently, or to the best of my recollection, ever, searched for waxing services. It did give me a laugh, though. :)

LittleLebowski
03-13-2016, 06:49 PM
voodoo_man, that's a great list of stuff that I also appreciate about this place, but it doesn't explain how not making a direct financial contribution is doing anyone a disservice. Those of us who aren't supporting members still get served ads, for which the forum gets paid. It's not like we're financial leeches.

Being served ads doesn't mean the forum gets paid. Depends on what you click on and buy through that ad you see in front of you.

voodoo_man
03-13-2016, 06:52 PM
voodoo_man, that's a great list of stuff that I also appreciate about this place, but it doesn't explain how not making a direct financial contribution is doing anyone a disservice. Those of us who aren't supporting members still get served ads, for which the forum gets paid. It's not like we're financial leeches.

It's pretty obvious that if you want to continue having this resource available to you, a small donation is worth it.

JR1572
03-13-2016, 07:09 PM
I pay because I learn stuff here. There are some people here that I will never value their opinion, but there are others that are legit and I wish they would post more.

I use tapatalk and I don't see any silly ads.

JR1572

JR1572
03-13-2016, 07:12 PM
FWIW, Tapatalk does serve ads, but gives users the ability to opt out by paying a fee. We're supposed to get a portion of those fees and ad revenue. It works out, on average, to a whopping $15 per month.

Don't spend it all in one place.

JR1572

olstyn
03-13-2016, 09:10 PM
It's pretty obvious that if you want to continue having this resource available to you, a small donation is worth it.

Whether it's worth it or not wasn't the question. You still haven't made it clear why not donating is doing anyone a disservice.

olstyn
03-13-2016, 09:13 PM
Perhaps it's random that Slavex gets served ads about midget dominatrices and that JDM gets ads in Spansih about potting soil, but then again, maybe it's not. I'm thinking that you (and Slavex and JDM) might want to avoid posting screenshots that include the other tabs you have open in your browser. :)

Some of my browsing history might be considered to be weird by some people, but none of it would, as far as I can reason out, lead to an ad about waxing services.

JDM
03-13-2016, 09:36 PM
Perhaps it's random that Slavex gets served ads about midget dominatrices and that JDM gets ads in Spansih about potting soil, but then again, maybe it's not. I'm thinking that you (and Slavex and JDM) might want to avoid posting screenshots that include the other tabs you have open in your browser. :)

Tierra para macetas que era excelente.

JAD
03-13-2016, 10:39 PM
Whether it's worth it or not wasn't the question. You still haven't made it clear why not donating is doing anyone a disservice.

Because unless you click through ads like crazy, you're not paying for what you're using (by both reading and posting). Even if you do click through a lot of ads -- say one a week, so ~50 a year -- you're probably not contributing a tenth as much as a site supporter. You're freeloading. It's not the same as stealing -- it's a vulgarity, not a sin -- but you're still certainly doing yourself and others no favors.

voodoo_man
03-14-2016, 04:21 AM
Because unless you click through ads like crazy, you're not paying for what you're using (by both reading and posting). Even if you do click through a lot of ads -- say one a week, so ~50 a year -- you're probably not contributing a tenth as much as a site supporter. You're freeloading. It's not the same as stealing -- it's a vulgarity, not a sin -- but you're still certainly doing yourself and others no favors.

Nothing is free in this world, and paying once a year for what amounts to be pocket change a month for information is pretty much as big of a deal as anyone gets these days.

olstyn
03-14-2016, 07:00 AM
I'm not posting this for any other reason than to present data.

As long as you're presenting data, what's the cost of the bandwidth consumed by the average user on a monthly basis?

LittleLebowski
03-14-2016, 08:10 AM
As long as you're presenting data, what's the cost of the bandwidth consumed by the average user on a monthly basis?

The real cost of the forum is personal time spent by the mods and admins. Anyone can start a forum, the problems are defining the type of people you want to attract, keeping them around, and trying to make it worth your personal time. Folks have to want to donate their time that they won't get back and it's hard to put a price on that. I've spent hours on a Sunday morning blocking spammers, Tom Jones spends way too much time behind the scenes making this a community that can sustain his copious personal investment.

Often, there's problems with censorship and integrity on the part of the forum staffs as well but from the beginning, PF has had clearly defined Rules of Conduct for Staff and forum members.

Anyway, bandwidth isn't an issue. Time is the resource those who help run this place are short on and I'm not complaining but rather just laying it out since some are very interested in how PF operates.

Peally
03-14-2016, 09:38 AM
Seems I've stepped on some toes, apologies. At work AdBlock is pretty much not going away ever but for the sake of good feels I'll add an exception at home ;)

Where the hell do you even buy a "membership" here?

JV_
03-14-2016, 09:51 AM
Where the hell do you even buy a "membership" here?

https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?57-Instructions-for-becoming-a-site-supporter

That Guy
03-14-2016, 12:33 PM
Perhaps it's random that Slavex gets served ads about midget dominatrices and that JDM gets ads in Spansih about potting soil, but then again, maybe it's not.

Eh. Back during our parliament election, I saw ad's for the local green (more like red...) party. And I assure you all, the possibility that I would be interested in voting for that bunch of anti-gun nutjobs is exactly zero. The fuzzy logic of the algorithm that selects the ad's seems a bit too fuzzy at times. :)

LSP972
03-14-2016, 06:42 PM
Well, goodness; looks like I stirred up a few things. Not my intention.

The good news is that the audio "enhancement" has gone away, without me doing anything. It was just that Cabela's ad, too. I have actually clicked on a few of the ads, and bought two items that I can recall. But normally I just ignore them, so no need to sign up for ad blockers or whatever. I'd probably screw it up, anyway… 'puter skills, I have none.

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LSP972
03-14-2016, 06:43 PM
I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission.

That made me laugh… but I saw what you did.;)

Hopefully no one got "infected"?

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olstyn
03-14-2016, 07:01 PM
I suspect, but I sincerely hope that I'm wrong, that the reason you are asking this question is to make a point such as, "Sure, Non-Site Supporter registered users only generate $0.10 per month in revenue, but their bandwidth only costs $0.02 per month, so in reality you are making $0.08 per user per month." Which would be laughable if it were true -- it's not. There are a lot of people that have made a "profit" on PF. I'm not one of them. :cool:

You're half right, and I realized after the edit window had closed that I should have said "hosting costs" or something similar rather than "bandwidth." I wouldn't be bothered in the least if the average user was profitable for you, and in fact, I'd like it if we were. That said, I was interested in the revenue per user vs the cost per user not to make that sort of point, but rather to find out whether JAD was accurate when he called me and others like me "freeloaders." (I realize that that's a subtle difference.) It seems that the answer is both yes and no. It sounds like we're not freeloaders in terms of the hard costs of keeping the place running (good), but we are freeloaders in terms of the giveaways and such that the forum does (not great, but not necessarily awful either, IMO).

GJM
03-14-2016, 10:46 PM
Well, goodness; looks like I stirred up a few things. Not my intention.

The good news is that the audio "enhancement" has gone away, without me doing anything. It was just that Cabela's ad, too. I have actually clicked on a few of the ads, and bought two items that I can recall. But normally I just ignore them, so no need to sign up for ad blockers or whatever. I'd probably screw it up, anyway… 'puter skills, I have none.

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972, don't start worrying until the custom ads on your banner are for CB radios and hearing aids.

FNFAN
03-14-2016, 11:32 PM
I'm not (completely) an idiot and I understand the economics of advertising supported web content. If I choose to operate a business in a "foolish" manner, I guess it sucks to be me and that's not anyone's fault but my own. I don't think that's what's happening here, but others might disagree.
6535

BehindBlueI's
03-14-2016, 11:39 PM
My ad is for PayPal after reading this thread.

LSP972
03-15-2016, 05:42 AM
972, don't start worrying until the custom ads on your banner are for CB radios and hearing aids.

Yeah; I'm surprised that isn't happening yet.:D But, as noted, the set-up damn sure targets one's prior areas of interest; I'm getting several pop-ups here regarding radio control model aircraft… which is my other "hobby".

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LSP552
03-15-2016, 04:20 PM
Yeah; I'm surprised that isn't happening yet.:D But, as noted, the set-up damn sure targets one's prior areas of interest; I'm getting several pop-ups here regarding radio control model aircraft… which is my other "hobby".

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Yep, I get fishing baits and hookers.......I mean hooks.

And why the heck would you say that you can't shoot J-frames accurately at distance? Have not you and I hit 50 round ammo boxes from the 50 during the first range session with new 642s? Granted that was when we could still see and shoot, buts that's not an indictment on the gun.

HCM
03-15-2016, 05:52 PM
OK, this is just getting creepy. Picking up a quick dinner at panda express. I check PF on my phone while I'm waiting for fresh chicken teriyaki and boom! There's a banner ad for Panda Express.

luckyman
03-15-2016, 06:06 PM
OK, this is just getting creepy. Picking up a quick dinner at panda express. I check PF on my phone while I'm waiting for fresh chicken teriyaki and boom! There's a banner ad for Panda Express.

Location-based advertising at its finest and simultaneously most useless?

LSP552
03-15-2016, 07:05 PM
OK, this is just getting creepy. Picking up a quick dinner at panda express. I check PF on my phone while I'm waiting for fresh chicken teriyaki and boom! There's a banner ad for Panda Express.

It's called geo-fencing. My current organization, LA Highway Safety Commission, uses it to push traffic safety messages to folks operating their phones in certain locations. A good example is designated driver safety messages if you are at an LSU football game.

LSP972
03-15-2016, 07:26 PM
And why the heck would you say that you can't shoot J-frames accurately at distance? Have not you and I hit 50 round ammo boxes from the 50 during the first range session with new 642s? Granted that was when we could still see and shoot, buts that's not an indictment on the gun.

Actually, it was closer to 60 yards; we were up on the top steps of the range tower, using the door frame for a barricade/support. Different times…


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