Annoying but mostly harmless?

[Dimandja]

US senators are at work trying to outlaw harmful software such as various "spyware" and other critters. They have also declared that pop-up ads are "good" and should be allowed to meander their way into your browser.

What do you think?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4594350/

 

[carrr]

require companies to obtain permission before installing a piece of software

Everyone reads EULA's, after all.

provide an easy way for the consumer to remove the software

Define "easy."

business groups would need to define unacceptable behavior

I have to laugh.


"'Tis an ill wind that blows no minds." - Malaclypse the Younger

 

[dilettante]

I'd ban spam, popups, and flash ads even when enbedded in pages myself.

 

[bigfoot]

Death to the Pop-up's and SPAM.

 

[Grenage]

With Spam I agree, but pop-ups are dependent on the site you are visiting are they not? The Person running the site has every right to place adverts (embedded flash or not) in their pages.

You simply avoid the site in question, the choice is yours.

 

[Stevehewitt]

With something like the Internet, its constantly evolving. There shouldn't be a need for governments to interveen. If users we're educated on how to prevent spam, block popups (google toolbar for example) and run ad-aware once a week or so then it doesn't matter!

With new(ish) technnologies such as SPF preventing spoofing, the internet can overcum these bloody annoying ads using the community that created it.


Steve.

 

[dilettante]

That was basically my point Grenage, if they want my business they'll stop using flash ads and popups. For that matter I don't feel too motivated to buy from a spammer either.

But in all cases I consider these highly annoying and intrusive ways to advertise, the only variable being the degree of annoyance they cause. Some people may dream of an ad-free utopia, but that's pretty unlikely. There was a time when cable-only TV channels were ad-free, but it didn't last very long. I imagine the premium channels have ads now, but I wouldn't know that from personal experience.

If I had a choice I'd ban PDF files from the web too. This is a separate but related issue. Generally these aren't ads at all - but like unnecessary flash and popups, PDF files and Java applets degrade the web experience. Running into these is like suddenly turning onto a water-saturated dirt road. "Gear down, here comes a PDF."

The result is a web site with a decidedly unprofessional feel. Certainly one I avoid in the future.

 

[DrJavaJoe]

Running into these is like suddenly turning onto a water-saturated dirt road. "Gear down, here comes a PDF."




and you frantically reach for the back button, but it's too late.


"Two strings walk into a bar. The first string says to the bartender: 'Bartender, I'll have a beer. u.5n$x5t?*&4ru!2[sACC~ErJ'. The second string says: 'Pardon my friend, he isn't NULL terminated'."

 

[Grenage]

I am in total agreement with you dilettante, especially with regards to PDF and it's over-use.

Some simple htm pages or text documents would suffice most of the time.

A lot of people like them though, and majority rules.

 

[Dimandja]

Grenage: "A lot of people like them though, and majority rules."

Really? I thought people were mostly intimidated by PDF - liking it is questionable.

PDF is so unwieldy that I cringe everytime I load it. While surfing the Internet, I go out of my way to avoid them. They are too convoluted and static to quickly extract any useful information from them, short of reading the whole thing.

I agree, PDF is overused.

Dimandja

 

[lionelhill]

.. and they're horrible to read! I always have to print them if I need to read them, which is a waste of paper. Many publishing journals offer you a choice of "online text" suitable for screen, or pdf to print to paper. Seems much more sensible.

But it's stupid java things that take ages to appear and don't do anything useful that really get me angry!

(Mr Angry of...)

 

[MasterRacker]

I think the reason PDF's are out there is because web pages don't necessarily print well and not everyone has Word or Word Viewer.

Certin things are still important to print since they can disappear at any time on the Web.


Jeff
The future is already here - it's just not widely distributed yet...