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Disruptive 2021 Ads on Mobile Device - Please Post SCREEN SHOTS

Old Jan 22, 2019, 10:24 am
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There are separate threads for mobile devices as well as for disruptive advertisements and for browser redirects / hijacks, as well as other technical issues. Thank you for keeping the thread on topic and assisting Tech to identify, troubleshoot and deal with bugs in this latest iteration of FlyerTalk for mobile devices.

cblaisd and JDiver, forum Co-Moderators


PLEASE POST SCREENSHOTS of the FULL SCREEN and report your DEVICE TYPE, OPERATING SYSTEM, BROWSER TYPE AND VERSIONS, and COUNTRY where you are browsing from in your post.This thread is strictly for the reporting of disruptive ads, including unwanted popups, page hijscks, malware attempts, etc. related to ad content on your MOBILE devicePlease refrain from discussion or speculation about technical issues if they are not reports as specified here.

We apologize for bad ads; these often come through third party ad servers placing insufficiently vetted ads through our advertisement content providers. We continuously strive to address and solve this widespread issue more proactively and quickly. Thank you for alerting us and for your patience!

Please see this Wired article for further reading on this ongoing publishing industry issue (it's not just FlyerTalk):
We understand disruptive advertisements lessen the enjoyment of your FlyerTalk browsing experience. Please post all disruptive advertisement reports here; your full report (see above) will assist Internet Brands / FlyerTalk in handling these expeditiously. Admin / Tech attempts to respond to all reports speedily, but eliminating problem adverts may require communication with advertisements suppliers or devising technical solutions that may require time. (Internet Brands operates during customary and usual work hours on the U. S. West Coast; holidays, weekends, etc. are observed.)

To see how to include a screen shot in your post, once you have taken the screen shot follow the instructions "Inserting a photo or image from your device into a post:" in the first post in the thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/techn...mage-post.html

NOTE: Internet Brands and FlyerTalk discourage the use of software that modifies your FlyerTalk browsing experience (e.g. ad blocking software). IB / FT declines all responsibility for the use of such software and can not provide support or assistance if such software is used. As well, we remind you IB / FT can only provide FlyerTalk free to members because of the financial support of advertisers; using ad blockers denies IB / FT income that would normally pay for your free community membership and browsing experience..

Posts advocating, suggesting, or recommending use of ad blocking etc. software will be summarily deleted.

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Disruptive 2021 Ads on Mobile Device - Please Post SCREEN SHOTS

Old Jan 27, 2021, 12:10 am
  #1  
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Just started getting an unbearable amount of ads. Is this intentional or an issue somewhere? I really hope the later.


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Old Jan 27, 2021, 11:12 am
  #2  
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Originally Posted by Will100
Just started getting an unbearable amount of ads. Is this intentional or an issue somewhere? I really hope the later.

To be clear, you were logged in and more ads than usual were displayed on the site? And you were automatically redirected without clicking on anything?
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Old Feb 12, 2021, 6:09 am
  #3  
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Omni PR Sponsored Ads In non-Omni Forum

Do we really need this outside of Omni? If that were a user generated post it would have been removed.



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Old Feb 12, 2021, 9:42 am
  #4  
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Originally Posted by TomMM
Do we really need this outside of Omni? If that were a user generated post it would have been removed.
That ad should disappear within an hour or so and we've reached out to the company that generates them.
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Old Feb 12, 2021, 4:52 pm
  #5  
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I'm still regularly seeing different "Sponsored" ones in the same position (third from top) on both AS and DL boards
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Old Feb 13, 2021, 9:27 pm
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I'm getting the "sponsored thread" advertisements in almost every forum for the past week. They are getting more numerous.
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Old Feb 14, 2021, 12:33 pm
  #7  
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Originally Posted by jrl767
I'm still regularly seeing different "Sponsored" ones in the same position (third from top) on both AS and DL boards
Originally Posted by Tanic
I'm getting the "sponsored thread" advertisements in almost every forum for the past week. They are getting more numerous.
Same here. Very annoying
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Old Feb 16, 2021, 7:07 am
  #8  
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Sponsored threads have been active for about a year. Are you still seeing political ads?
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Old Feb 16, 2021, 9:06 am
  #9  
 
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The sponsored threads have spread from a select few fora, to nearly every one. This is new in 2021. They are clearly deceptive to appear to be user threads, but are actually advertisements. The "user" that is identified with the posts is "chatflights".

Last edited by Tanic; Feb 16, 2021 at 9:11 am Reason: added posting user
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Old Feb 16, 2021, 9:33 am
  #10  
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Originally Posted by Tanic
They are clearly deceptive to appear to be user threads, but are actually advertisements..
I completely disagree. The fact that so many people are bringing them to our attention is indicative that they are clearly advertisements. Sponsored Posts are a pretty standard advertising avenue for forum sites.
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Old Feb 16, 2021, 10:17 am
  #11  
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the issue isn't the ad itself, it's that it masquerades as a legitimate thread ... yes I understand the advertisers' business model, but that doesn't mean I have to like the sleazy instantiation
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Old Feb 16, 2021, 11:52 am
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Originally Posted by jrl767
the issue isn't the ad itself, it's that it masquerades as a legitimate thread ... yes I understand the advertisers' business model, but that doesn't mean I have to like the sleazy instantiation
I used to subscribe to newspaper sites that started using ads that deceptively appeared to be news stories. They stopped getting my subscription money.
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Old Feb 18, 2021, 7:02 pm
  #13  
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Originally Posted by IBJoel
I completely disagree. The fact that so many people are bringing them to our attention is indicative that they are clearly advertisements. Sponsored Posts are a pretty standard advertising avenue for forum sites.
I had never seen one before today. I read every thread in the AC forum, and I saw my first today. I clicked it, assuming it was related to AC. "Top Business Class Destinations Right Now For Under ..." was a thread title that:

1. Needed to be reported for being too click-baity, in violation of the forum rules.
2. Might have been potentially interesting, depending on what the "..." meant
3. Actually contained nothing useful, which would have been clear if the title were descriptive

This was very clearly in violation of FT rule number 4 (https://www.flyertalk.com/help/rules.php#threadtitles), and would have been edited if there were a button to report it. And it had nothing to do with AC, which would result in its deletion from the AC forum.

The first thing I did when I saw it was actually send it to an AC forum moderator.

But this sounds like off-topic threads with click-bait titles are allowed now?

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Old Feb 19, 2021, 9:22 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by canadiancow
I had never seen one before today. I read every thread in the AC forum, and I saw my first today. I clicked it, assuming it was related to AC. "Top Business Class Destinations Right Now For Under ..." was a thread title that:

1. Needed to be reported for being too click-baity, in violation of the forum rules.
2. Might have been potentially interesting, depending on what the "..." meant
3. Actually contained nothing useful, which would have been clear if the title were descriptive

This was very clearly in violation of FT rule number 4 (https://www.flyertalk.com/help/rules.php#threadtitles), and would have been edited if there were a button to report it. And it had nothing to do with AC, which would result in its deletion from the AC forum.

The first thing I did when I saw it was actually send it to an AC forum moderator.

But this sounds like off-topic threads with click-bait titles are allowed now?
Now that you've seen one, do you think you could glance at a thread index and notice the ones that are ads?
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Old Feb 19, 2021, 12:02 pm
  #15  
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Originally Posted by IBJoel
Now that you've seen one, do you think you could glance at a thread index and notice the ones that are ads?
the blue "Sponsored" (circled in screenshot above) is a pretty good clue :/

checking random airline boards a few minutes ago, I saw that same ad in **ALL** of them; also a "Top Credit Card Redemptions" ad on the AmEx and Chase boards


again, I understand the advertising business model, but this implementation really detracts from the value of the site as a whole
canadiancow likes this.
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