I hate pop-ups on the computer and I detest spam even more. I think it should be illegal. It is a nuisance, an invasion of privacy and sometimes even goes so far as to be categorized as harassment, but this takes the cake.
Can there be no refuge from these vermin?
"SYDNEY (Reuters) - Compulsive Australian gamblers seeking help from Gamblers Anonymous are being hit with online casino pop-up advertisements when they visit the Web site of the self-help group..."
This is like going to an AA meeting and there's someone who greets you at the door and offers you a cocktail. You say no and take a few more steps and there's another jerk offering you a beer. The whole business of pop-up advertisements and spam is so depraved as it is.
Dave Chapelle did a very funny skit recently called "If The Internet Was A Real Place..." It was hysterical, but it was also insightful. If the things that occur on the internet occurred in our tangible day-to-day reality, we would be deeply disturbed by how quickly we were watching things go down the toilet. I really believe that there needs to be legislation in place protecting people from pop-up ads and spam email. Unfortunately, it's a whole issue of regulating the internet and the idea that once you open that door, you never know what will get in. The rationale for why we can't stop this kind of nuisance is that once you start regulating one thing, then you can start regulating everything. But I don't think that's true in this case. I think you should be able to set down property rights on the internet (my own dad was a pioneer in this department) and I think you should be able to protect yourself from harassment and privacy infringement. Spam and pop-ups constitute both. And in this particular instance, it's just cruel.
Posted by Maria at April 14, 2004 01:06 PM | TrackBackI am having a problem here lately with alot of pop ups..my husband yelled at me and said, "shit what did you download?" He's gonna run ad-aware tonight and check for spyware and shit...it's getting pretty annoying.
Posted by: sandy at April 14, 2004 04:36 PMOn the advice of my friend Karen I installed the Google toolbar which has virtually eliminated all pop ups. She'd recommended it a while back but I dragged my heels for a couple of weeks thinking it wouldn't make any differnce.
Since installing it the difference is night and day. There are NO pop ups now. None. Just pull up the Google home page, then "about google", then on the next page you'll see the option to install the "Toolbar".
Posted by: Richard at April 14, 2004 05:16 PMDownload firefox. I haven't received a popup since I did, and it's by far the best browser out there.
Posted by: Geoffrey at April 14, 2004 08:27 PM.. oh yeah. Or that one.
Posted by: Richard at April 14, 2004 09:13 PMHa! Thanks guys. Appreciate the help. I will pass the info on to the Australians.
Posted by: Maria at April 14, 2004 09:38 PM