onylon

I would like to support flyertalk but there seems to be a long-standing problem with intrusive and malware loaded adds. Can you set up a subscription service so that I can pay for the site and not expose my devices to these malicious ads?

JDiver

Some years ago, there was such an option.

Internet Brands decided to continue without such an option for reasons that AFAIK were not communicated to us, but it has been some time since the issue has been brought up. Perhaps your suggestion can constitute a reminder to reconsider.

At the same time, we have been told a fix is in the works for this problem and
we should expect it soon.

The post referred to above by IBobi states:

If it’s unfixable in the end, perhaps this can constitute a reminder to reconsider under somewhat different circumstances, as I don’t recall the malware and browser hijacks to have been as frequent and as troublesome as they have been recently, and at some point I can’t imagine there would be no effect on site usage and ad-driven revenue. (Moderator hat off.)

84fiero

I used to use the paid option and would do so again* and that was when the ads weren't even so obtrusive and malicious. I'd say it would be worthwhile considering - even if the malicious ads problem is solved some may prefer this option. I would imagine IB has records as to how many people used the paid option in the past which would be a starting point. Combine that with a poll and see how things look.

*Assuming of course that it wasn't some totally outrageous price.

florens

A poll is not going to happen. We've seen what happened to them last year after the changes in November.

jackal

That's the problem. It actually has to be an outrageous price (think more along the lines of $100+/year, not the $25ish/year it used to be) to replace the ad revenue they'd lose. Also, without Randy's contacts and influence in the industry, the prospect of getting travel industry benefits and swag along with any paid subscription here is very low, which would further reduce the value proposition for members. And with a very small uptake rate, it's not really worth the bother for them to put a product together. (Yes, you could argue that some amount--$25 or whatever--is better than the $0 they get when you use an ad blocker, but the beancounters-at-IB's solution to that is to outlaw the use of adblockers rather than accept it and work with it, but whatever. It's their site.)

I do wish they'd switch to a more reputable ad provider that doesn't put through such poorly-screened ads, but with more reputable ad networks comes lower pay-per-click rates, so that probably ain't happening anytime soon, either.

Mary2e

Tivocommunity was getting the exact same bad ads... in particular the fake Amazon ad. They were able to get them to stop. That ad is nasty. It takes over safari and I can't back out of it.

JDiver

That genuinely sucks. IBobi has told us IB Tech has said this would be fixed early this year. IMO, it can’t be soon enough.

Mary2e

I hope they can get in touch with Tivocommunity to get the solution. It stopped fairly quickly after it started.

IBobi

What I have heard is that there are murmurs of exploration of a 3rd party solution to the bad ads. That's about it. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up.

At this time, the only thing I have heard that *works* is the mobile Chrome solution I have posted here.

fransknorge

So from "We will have a solution soon around new year" it went "I have heard there are murmurs of exploring" a solution ? Well people know what to do then.

dmurphynj

Thank you for posting this! I also read TiVoCommunity every day and was seeing the popups there too.. it's been making me wonder if I'm doing something wrong. Between TCF and FT, I visit several times a day; so was concerned there was something more insidious happening.

Nope - just garbage ad services. Glad TCF fixed it - now I need FT to do the same. I really will stop visiting altogether if this doesn't clear up soon; it's not worth destroying the rest of my web experience for. Deleting all my website data is a huge pain in the neck to clear this stuff up.