Likely be waiting a spell, so far they haven't responded to anything about anything since March. Apparently they will only deal with the site owner now as she has to forward these screenshots to Advally, not that it has helped at all.
Report Problems with Ads Here!
- Thread starter Advally
- Start date
It's a privately owned website.
Opinions might vary, but I believe it's being run as well as can be expected with limited resources (i.e., people)
I think the attitudes are fine given the amount of issues and the limited time and resources at their disposal.
I assume you're referring to Advally.
You are correct. That's supposedly what this thread is for, reporting problems as members directly to Advally, they started this thread and until March were responsive in it. My understanding is that the founder is no longer there. Their reputation elsewhere has taken a serious hit since.
Yes, I know. You do recognize, however, that the only reason to come here is the information that is shared that comes from a large variety of members, not only those in admin or ownership roles. That is what I mean by crowdsourced. The information and interaction. That takes all of us. And still further to that first point you make, if you are asking for money, that is what I would be interested in and might motivate me more to contribute. A lack of transparency or response, and folks that scold others if they ask questions, or indeed try to report issues in a thread that asks for that, does not.
Second point, perhaps. As said, I have enjoyed this place very much in the past and hope to in the future. I am willing to be open minded and consider things as they develop.
Third point: Glad you have had that experience! Mostly, I have had the same. I do think there are a few folks that want to act as gatekeepers to this hobby or know-it-alls, but I think you find that anywhere. OTOH, folks might get annoyed if folks like me point things out. So again, intending to be on best behavior, and let people be people for the most part, and hope to enjoy being here more again, AND hopeful that I will end up supporting it. Time will tell.
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Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
This extra blank space between every few threads is wearing out my scrolling equipment. Be nice to see the ad blocked empty space go away.
Then there is the gray band at the bottom of the page. At times I haven’t scrolled enough and the bar isn’t there and the link function of a thread title does not work. I have to scroll a bit more, get the band to show up and then I can click the thread link
Just not as much fun as it was before all the space was taken over by ads or blocked ads.
Then there is the gray band at the bottom of the page. At times I haven’t scrolled enough and the bar isn’t there and the link function of a thread title does not work. I have to scroll a bit more, get the band to show up and then I can click the thread link
Just not as much fun as it was before all the space was taken over by ads or blocked ads.
We have been quiet in this thread since March. That's not okay and I'm sorry. This is the thread we asked you to report problems in, and then we stopped answering in it.
I've gone back and read the last few weeks. There are three different things being reported here, and they are not the same problem.
1. An ad opens and you can't get back. @M70AB2 described it again today - you land on a blank page reading about:srcdoc and the back button is dead. This one is real and we can see it from our side: in the last seven days we logged 781 of these, coming from 175 different people. That is not a few odd browsers. That is a campaign.
What I do not have yet is which ad network is doing it. Our reports tell us it happened. They don't tell us who. That is the whole reason it isn't fixed, and I'd rather say that plainly than tell you we're "working on it" for another six months.
2. "Click the ad to continue." @ACHiPo raised this on the 1st, and we have a screenshot of it from the 29th. We checked our own units first - it is not our interstitial. It's coming in through the same door as #1.
3. The blank gaps, and the grey bar at the bottom. @Blue Shadow - the bar that eats a thread-title click until you scroll a bit more is ours, not a rogue advertiser. That one is our layout, and that one we can fix.
What would actually help. When one of these throws you out, the most useful thing you can post is the address it sent you to - even a partial one off the address bar - plus roughly what time it happened. Keep the screenshots coming, they do help. But the destination address is what lets us name the network and cut it off. Without it we're looking for a fingerprint in the dark.
One other thing, since it came up: I'm still here.
I'll be posting in this thread every week from now on, good news or not. The silence was the worst part of this, and the silence was ours.
I've gone back and read the last few weeks. There are three different things being reported here, and they are not the same problem.
1. An ad opens and you can't get back. @M70AB2 described it again today - you land on a blank page reading about:srcdoc and the back button is dead. This one is real and we can see it from our side: in the last seven days we logged 781 of these, coming from 175 different people. That is not a few odd browsers. That is a campaign.
What I do not have yet is which ad network is doing it. Our reports tell us it happened. They don't tell us who. That is the whole reason it isn't fixed, and I'd rather say that plainly than tell you we're "working on it" for another six months.
2. "Click the ad to continue." @ACHiPo raised this on the 1st, and we have a screenshot of it from the 29th. We checked our own units first - it is not our interstitial. It's coming in through the same door as #1.
3. The blank gaps, and the grey bar at the bottom. @Blue Shadow - the bar that eats a thread-title click until you scroll a bit more is ours, not a rogue advertiser. That one is our layout, and that one we can fix.
What would actually help. When one of these throws you out, the most useful thing you can post is the address it sent you to - even a partial one off the address bar - plus roughly what time it happened. Keep the screenshots coming, they do help. But the destination address is what lets us name the network and cut it off. Without it we're looking for a fingerprint in the dark.
One other thing, since it came up: I'm still here.
I'll be posting in this thread every week from now on, good news or not. The silence was the worst part of this, and the silence was ours.
I got a misdirect attempt at 1100am, PDT. On the GENERAL AUDIO DISCUSSION section, "The Ultimate speaker you want" thread. A Bobbyshred.com misdirect.
Sorry, this is the best image I could get (off my phone). The PRT-SCN function also stopped working after I got this misdirect. I had to reboot the computer, and the threat was gone by then.
Sorry, this is the best image I could get (off my phone). The PRT-SCN function also stopped working after I got this misdirect. I had to reboot the computer, and the threat was gone by then.
Thank you very much for your reply, owning your silence, giving us a solid and more transparent update, and committing to continuing regularly. It is appreciated. I have had several of those as described in your item 1, on my phone, but did not realize what is going on. Next time, I will do as you suggest.
Weekly update, as promised. Two things and a thank you.
1. The ad that opens and kills your back button. Last week I told you we logged 781 of these in seven days, from 175 different people. This week that same counter reads 13, from 4 people.
I am not going to tell you it is fixed, because I do not know that it is. The drop happened around 31 August, and I do not know what caused it. The obvious suspect was a change to our own ad code, but that shipped three days later, and it went to another forum the same afternoon where nothing changed at all. So it is not that. We are still looking.
So please keep reporting it. Right now every single report is worth more than it was last week, because each one is evidence about whether this thing is actually gone.
2. Thank you to @Mr Boochie. On Monday he posted the first destination anyone has given us - a misdirect to bobbyshred.com, 11am Pacific, with screenshots. That is exactly what I asked for last week and it is the first one we have had in this thread. It is with the people chasing the ad network now. If you get one, that is the thing to grab: where it sent you, and roughly when.
3. The layout problems - the blank gaps and the grey bar at the bottom that swallows a thread-title click. Those are ours, they are still open, and I have nothing new to report on them this week. I would rather say that than pad this out.
Next update Friday 18 September.
1. The ad that opens and kills your back button. Last week I told you we logged 781 of these in seven days, from 175 different people. This week that same counter reads 13, from 4 people.
I am not going to tell you it is fixed, because I do not know that it is. The drop happened around 31 August, and I do not know what caused it. The obvious suspect was a change to our own ad code, but that shipped three days later, and it went to another forum the same afternoon where nothing changed at all. So it is not that. We are still looking.
So please keep reporting it. Right now every single report is worth more than it was last week, because each one is evidence about whether this thing is actually gone.
2. Thank you to @Mr Boochie. On Monday he posted the first destination anyone has given us - a misdirect to bobbyshred.com, 11am Pacific, with screenshots. That is exactly what I asked for last week and it is the first one we have had in this thread. It is with the people chasing the ad network now. If you get one, that is the thing to grab: where it sent you, and roughly when.
3. The layout problems - the blank gaps and the grey bar at the bottom that swallows a thread-title click. Those are ours, they are still open, and I have nothing new to report on them this week. I would rather say that than pad this out.
Next update Friday 18 September.
TimF
Super Member
I just encountered the about:srcdoc thing just a moment ago. Could not do anything but shut exit out and go back to AudioKarma and begin all over again. This happens quite often for me, not enabling me to use the back button. What a pain. Not a real world problem of course! FWIW
Weekly update, as promised. Three things.
1. The ad that opens and kills your back button. Last week this counter read 13 reports from 4 people. This week it reads 8 from 6. I am not calling it fixed, because we still cannot name what is behind it, and TimF reported one on 11 September. Please keep reporting it. If you can, include the address the ad sent you to and roughly what time, because that is the one field that would name the network.
2. BSome, you said on 14 September that the full-page ads and the "click on ad to continue" gate have got worse, much worse. I am not going to argue with that. It is a different thing from the counter above: that counter measures the redirect that steals your back button, and the full-page gate is a separate mechanism. It is also exactly what JP raised, so it gets its own answer below.
3. JP, you asked a question on 11 August and again on 19 August and nobody from us answered it. That is on us, and I am answering it now.
You said the full-screen gate comes from this site's own ad configuration rather than an ad escaping its frame. On the substance you are right. That gate is drawn by Google's own messaging layer, and the ad network behind it is ours, not AudioKarma's. So it is our responsibility either way, and "a rogue advertiser did it" is not the answer.
Where I have to be straight with you: we have not confirmed which Google product is drawing it. The evidence points at Offerwall rather than the interstitial you named - the blurred page with the blue "View ad to continue" pill is Offerwall's own interface, and our interstitial slot has no setting that could draw it.
The reason we have not confirmed it is not a good one. That switch lives in a part of Google Ad Manager that none of our own tooling can read, so it needs a person to open the console and look, and nobody has. I am going to get that done and tell you what it says either way.
I am not going to tell you it is fixed before I can see the switch.
Thanks to everyone still reporting these. It is the only reason we know anything.
Next update Friday 25 September.
1. The ad that opens and kills your back button. Last week this counter read 13 reports from 4 people. This week it reads 8 from 6. I am not calling it fixed, because we still cannot name what is behind it, and TimF reported one on 11 September. Please keep reporting it. If you can, include the address the ad sent you to and roughly what time, because that is the one field that would name the network.
2. BSome, you said on 14 September that the full-page ads and the "click on ad to continue" gate have got worse, much worse. I am not going to argue with that. It is a different thing from the counter above: that counter measures the redirect that steals your back button, and the full-page gate is a separate mechanism. It is also exactly what JP raised, so it gets its own answer below.
3. JP, you asked a question on 11 August and again on 19 August and nobody from us answered it. That is on us, and I am answering it now.
You said the full-screen gate comes from this site's own ad configuration rather than an ad escaping its frame. On the substance you are right. That gate is drawn by Google's own messaging layer, and the ad network behind it is ours, not AudioKarma's. So it is our responsibility either way, and "a rogue advertiser did it" is not the answer.
Where I have to be straight with you: we have not confirmed which Google product is drawing it. The evidence points at Offerwall rather than the interstitial you named - the blurred page with the blue "View ad to continue" pill is Offerwall's own interface, and our interstitial slot has no setting that could draw it.
The reason we have not confirmed it is not a good one. That switch lives in a part of Google Ad Manager that none of our own tooling can read, so it needs a person to open the console and look, and nobody has. I am going to get that done and tell you what it says either way.
I am not going to tell you it is fixed before I can see the switch.
Thanks to everyone still reporting these. It is the only reason we know anything.
Next update Friday 25 September.
Following up on my own post from earlier tonight, because I said I would tell you either way and I now have an answer.
It is not Offerwall. I got into the Google Ad Manager console tonight and looked at the setting I told you I could not see. Offerwall has never been switched on for the ad network that serves this site. There is nothing there to turn off.
So the guess in my earlier post was wrong, and I would rather say that tonight than let it stand for a week.
What has not changed is the part JP was right about: the gate is drawn by our own ad configuration, not by an advertiser breaking out of its frame. I still cannot tell you which piece of it.
One honest limit. I could read the summary screen but not the detailed list behind it, so call this ninety percent rather than certain. Someone with fuller console access can settle it in one click, and I have asked for that.
Next thing I am checking is a different Google product on the same screen, ad blocking recovery, which has seven active settings on our network and draws a similar full-page gate. I am not saying that is the cause. It is the next thing to rule in or out, and I will tell you which.
Two posts in one night is not my habit. Correcting a wrong answer quickly seemed better than the alternative.
It is not Offerwall. I got into the Google Ad Manager console tonight and looked at the setting I told you I could not see. Offerwall has never been switched on for the ad network that serves this site. There is nothing there to turn off.
So the guess in my earlier post was wrong, and I would rather say that tonight than let it stand for a week.
What has not changed is the part JP was right about: the gate is drawn by our own ad configuration, not by an advertiser breaking out of its frame. I still cannot tell you which piece of it.
One honest limit. I could read the summary screen but not the detailed list behind it, so call this ninety percent rather than certain. Someone with fuller console access can settle it in one click, and I have asked for that.
Next thing I am checking is a different Google product on the same screen, ad blocking recovery, which has seven active settings on our network and draws a similar full-page gate. I am not saying that is the cause. It is the next thing to rule in or out, and I will tell you which.
Two posts in one night is not my habit. Correcting a wrong answer quickly seemed better than the alternative.
Third post tonight, and this one is the answer.
The "click the ad to continue" gate was ours, and I have switched it off. It was a Google interstitial ad slot in this site's own ad configuration. I disabled it tonight and then confirmed the code that builds it is no longer in the file your browsers load.
JP, you had this right on 11 August. You named the exact element and the exact chain it came down. On 4 September I told this thread we had checked our own units and it was not our interstitial. That was wrong, and it cost five weeks. Sorry.
What you should notice from now on: no blurred page, no "View ad to continue", no full-screen panel to close. If you get one after tonight, please post it, because then I have missed something.
Two things the good news does not cover, and I would rather name them than let them ride:
1. The redirect that kills your back button is still open. It is a different fault from the gate, and switching the gate off does nothing to it. Please keep reporting those, and keep including the address it sent you to and roughly when. Two of you have given me one so far.
2. The blank gaps and the grey bar at the bottom are ours. Blue Shadow, your description of having to scroll before a thread title will click is now written up as a job for our web team, quoted, with a link to this thread. Bill Ferris and markuus3889, your gap reports are in it too.
Next update Friday 25 September.
The "click the ad to continue" gate was ours, and I have switched it off. It was a Google interstitial ad slot in this site's own ad configuration. I disabled it tonight and then confirmed the code that builds it is no longer in the file your browsers load.
JP, you had this right on 11 August. You named the exact element and the exact chain it came down. On 4 September I told this thread we had checked our own units and it was not our interstitial. That was wrong, and it cost five weeks. Sorry.
What you should notice from now on: no blurred page, no "View ad to continue", no full-screen panel to close. If you get one after tonight, please post it, because then I have missed something.
Two things the good news does not cover, and I would rather name them than let them ride:
1. The redirect that kills your back button is still open. It is a different fault from the gate, and switching the gate off does nothing to it. Please keep reporting those, and keep including the address it sent you to and roughly when. Two of you have given me one so far.
2. The blank gaps and the grey bar at the bottom are ours. Blue Shadow, your description of having to scroll before a thread title will click is now written up as a job for our web team, quoted, with a link to this thread. Bill Ferris and markuus3889, your gap reports are in it too.
Next update Friday 25 September.
Weekly update, as promised. Two things.
1. The ad that opens and kills your back button. Last week this counter read 8 reports from 6 people. This week it reads 40 from 23. That is worse, and I am not going to dress it up. We still cannot name the ad network behind it, because none of this week's reports carry the ad's details.
If it happens to you, please post two things here: the address the ad sent you to, and roughly what time it happened. That is the one detail that would let us switch the right network off.
2. The "click the ad to continue" gate. It has been off since 18 September, and nobody has reported it in this thread since. If you do see one, tell us here and I will look the same day.
Next update Friday 2 October.
1. The ad that opens and kills your back button. Last week this counter read 8 reports from 6 people. This week it reads 40 from 23. That is worse, and I am not going to dress it up. We still cannot name the ad network behind it, because none of this week's reports carry the ad's details.
If it happens to you, please post two things here: the address the ad sent you to, and roughly what time it happened. That is the one detail that would let us switch the right network off.
2. The "click the ad to continue" gate. It has been off since 18 September, and nobody has reported it in this thread since. If you do see one, tell us here and I will look the same day.
Next update Friday 2 October.
Thanks for the weekly updates!
