[Stu from NYC]

The new blue ones are annoying

[Happydaz]

Originally Posted by LuvNH

I've been trying to ween myself of TOTV and I think these continual pop ups might do it.

Good point! I am also trying to end my looking at various forums. They have overdone the ads and I am finding it extremely bothersome to get past the ads. I am trying to read more books (the ones with actual written pages) I started this past week to reduce my internet time. See you later my wife just caught me on my phone again.

[Salty Dog]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Talk of the Villages is a free service offered to you by the people who own it. They pay for the server. They pay for maintenance. They pay for upgrades on the vBulletin code, they pay a subscription fee for the professional version through DragonBytes. They do all the work, they select the moderators, and they are where "the buck stops" should anything go wrong or anything illegal be passed through their property.

Advertisers provide them with a revenue stream from which to pay all of the above.

The only way they can afford to make this website Ad-Free is to CHARGE YOU a monthly fee to use it.

But you have 100% power of your own to not see ads - and that's by using an ad blocker.

I ran a Forum with over 30,000 members and we were add free except for adds paid for and located in a sub-forum. No pop-ups or any other intrusions. We asked for donations and gave additional forum privileges for donors. The forum privileges were also granted to more active members. The maximum donation accepted was $150 a year. Only half a dozen members gave that much. Total numbers of members donating was only a few dozen. Most years we broke even. The owner of the forum didn't really care. His only participation was to pay the bills. I had several administrators and about a dozen moderators. All were non-paid volunteers.

[Maker]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Sponsors pay to advertise. They pay, whether someone looks at their ad or not. They get some revenue return from click-throughs (people who click on the ads to see the website of the advertiser).

So they don't lose anything by my choosing not to look at them. And they won't gain anything from me, if I didn't have an ad blocker since I'd never click on them anyway.

It doesn't work like that.
Every web page served to you contains both the content, plus links to ads. Those links have a unique identifier embedded within it, that specifically tags the web page source that requested that ad. That tag is used to generate the payout to the web page host.
So when ads are blocked, that unique identifier never makes it to the ad server, and web host does not get paid.

[Graspher]

Originally Posted by dougawhite

YES, you can install an Ad Blocker on mobile phones. Go to your mobile App Store and search for your desired AdBlocker app and install it. On my Samsung I chose "ABP for Samsung."

Thank u for that - most appreciated.

[Graspher]

Originally Posted by dougawhite

YES, you can install an Ad Blocker on mobile phones. Go to your mobile App Store and search for your desired AdBlocker app and install it. On my Samsung I chose "ABP for Samsung."

Done and done! I can seeeee clearly now….

Amazing - works like a charm!!!

[ThirdOfFive]

Thankfully my system blocks the pop-ups.

TOTV however seems to have an arrangement with some area businesses where they (I assume for a fee) can put up "posts" that advertise their service or product. Though some of them are a bit annoying (that undertaker character comes to mind) they are instantly recognizable and you can just pass them on by. Ads like that, I don't mind.