Why all the scam ads?

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Why is WP filled with so many links to some of the nastiest scams going? For example the "Parenting Aspergers" one that has been shown to be a fake front for a known internet scammer.
It is unethical for site such as WP to have this ad, where concerned parents might follow the link and get taken in by the scam. I doubt if the others ads are any better.

The one that says "I'm Popular, You're Not" is truly appalling to have here, and there are others too numerous to mention that really spoil the site (and the sight).

Sure, the site needs money, but how low does it need to stoop? Doesn't it totally defeat the object if the cost of providing 'support' is to dilute that support with propaganda and profiteering deception?

you know how in your email, you'll get context ads alongside (or i do)? and that popular ad is all over the place....

i assume these ads aren't chosen by wrongplanet but are a context stream, you accept the stream but don't choose each drop of water.

i'm guessing, but that's my guess.

your guess is as good as mine. I don't block the ads so I can experience WP like new members do and the other day I looked at those ads and thought "if this was a post, I would edit it and PM them about " *behavior intended to provoke or belittle other members, and *anything that causes conflict with another member" rule.

Merle

Yes, exactly.

eg. I am not fat, but I have been finding the constant ads for losing weight, with revolting wodges of belly fat and inflating bodies and so on rather ugly, disgusting, offputting, visually very unattractive, and also "worrying" because I know how sensitive I have been, still am, to body image pressures, and should think many others on here are too, who are younger and more vulnerable. I think that ads like these make WP into a rather hostile and unpleasant and anxiety-inducing place to be.

The ads seem to pick up on one set of classic aspie and autie insecurities after another. As ManErg says the ones about being unpopular, others which use the word loser, others which talk about wasting your life being depressed, others about women from Thailand or the middle east, etc. This is serious environmental hostility.

The ads are "aimed" at us. They almost look as if Alex had "sold" us, this "market", to ad companies by telling them what most bothers us, worries us, etc. I don't believe that he did; I know that the ads are picking up on keywords in threads etc, but in fact that is what is so horrible, almost frightening, about them; they are a hideous mirror of the population here. ( like the mirror in "The Snow Queen" which made the short shorter, and the fat fatter, etc ).

I think Alex needs to look at this, unless he/anyone thinks that this kind of "reflection" is likely to be salutory/good for us.

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Adverts? What adverts? Does WP have adverts?

Why don't people take responsibility for this themselves? An increasing number of people simply use an Internet browser that blocks all the rubbish: (Firefox + AdBlocker Plus). I'd hate to go back to IE and all that crap on the screen... with slower web page access too while it downloads all the advert images to the screen. Why do people still insist on using Microsoft Internet Explorer then complain all the time about all the crap it lets through?

Its like complaining about a pair of shoes that hurt. Instead of moaning put a different pair on!

I use Firefox, but I m computer-clunky and don't know how to put in Ad-blocker Plus ( and am wary of/anxious about downloading stuff too ).

What if you can't "afford"/can't "find" another pair? Give up wearing shoes? Leave WP? Or get ingrowing toenails and corns and blisters and walk with increasing difficulty because want to carry on wearing shoes/using WP, and don't know how to get another pair/AdBlocker Plus whatever.
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Your comparison isn't valid. Firefox is free. Ad-Blocker plus is free. The only difficulty people may have is knowing how to find and install it, but it isn't difficult.

If you already have Firefox just click Tools > Add-ons > Get Add ons > Browse all add ons

Wait a few moments and you get a web page full of lots of different add-ons to chose from.

Click the Privacy and Security category and top of the list is Adblock Plus. Just click the "Add to Firefox" button and Firefox will automatically install it for you. Job done

I did it! It worked! There aren't any horrible ads anymore! Thank you very much!

You are welcome. Glad to be of service.

and with everyone on ad blocker plus, what revenue stream that WP was getting is now dammed up.

making us dependent even more on donations that don't come.

~sigh~

Quite a valid response. However, considering some of the nasty adverts that apparently appear on this site it does seem rather like a health campaign about lung-cancer awareness being paid for by cigarette commercials.

Do people really need to be subjected to adverts telling them they are unpopular because of xyz or that Aspergers is a disease and there are cures to be bought etc etc?

How does the advertising revenue actually work? Does WP get paid for each advert that appears on a persons screen or only for those adverts that people actually click on? Or a mixture of the two?

If the advertising revenue is a large portion of WP's revenue then maybe Alex needs to look into how the adverts can be streamlined so they do not include those that are contra the message of WP. I don't know how much control he has with Google over this. However, the more people are bombarded with inappropriate or annoying adverts then more people will chose to block them completely.

I have no idea. I mostly patrol for spam and occassionally edit a too wide pic or attempt to circumvent the language censor or try to get some troll to see the error of their ways.
(Some mods even got a WP tee shirt. . . but not me )

... A mischievous idea is forming.

1. Can someone confirm that WP gets revenue by people actually clicking on advert links? If so, how much per click?

2. We could have a WP members clicking campaign on the inappropriate adverts. I don't mean actually buying anything from those advertisers, merely clicking to bring up their adverts (perhaps in another browser window so they don't interfere with browsing on WP). And then close those browser advert tabs after they have loaded.

3. The advertisers would have to pay Google click fees of which WP gets a percentage.

4. If the advertisers were stung sufficiently they would remove their adverts due to the fact they were costing more to advertise than the revenue they were getting from sales.

Result:
WP wins income. Dodgy advertisers lose money and stop harassing us with their inappropriate adverts.

Win, win!

(Actually I think this sort of thing is sometimes done between business competitors... they click each others adverts to run up their competitors advertising costs. It is called click fraud. I don't know if it is actually illegal or just unscrupulous? Anyone know?)

TallyMan, I like the way you think

Thanks for the advice on ad blocking, TallyMan. However, I may go with plan B and click on them.

I do know that good business often exists *exactly* in that grey area between 'illegal' and 'unscrupulous'.

I know all these ads are scams, laughable in most cases. It's just occasionally I get concerned of people less worldly-wise than me getting exploited when they're at a low ebb.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's advert clicking I go.....

Well, I just clicked the toothbrush and fat belly ads, and I hope somebody else got something more out of that than did I!

Edit: Oops, I should have let them know I only have 10 teeth any more and that I am already nearly back to my high-school weight!

Hope some better ones come up next time ...