Seriously what is wrong with AC, iMore and Windows Central sites?

[i.am.sofa.king.addicted]

I apologize if this comes off harsh, but...

How does it make sense to ask end users to risk their machines to drivebys and whatever else may be lurking because the site's ad vendor is inept at figuring out that nobody wants JS overlays and hidden iFrames?

 

[Aquila]

I apologize if this comes off harsh, but...

How does it make sense to ask end users to risk their machines to drivebys and whatever else may be lurking because the site's ad vendor is inept at figuring out that nobody wants JS overlays and hidden iFrames?

Ideally testers take the risks, bit since it seems most users aren't having show stopping lag that kills world-class computers, the people who do the testing and dev work need to know what users that are having a bad experience are seeing. My assumption, and I could be wrong, is that this stuff runs pretty smoothly for those responsible for testing functionality.

 

[Inundated]

I use the AC Android app nearly all the time, and also use Tapatalk for the forums.

So, I hit the laptop and came here, with no ad blocking, to see just how bad it is. It really isn't bad, at least for me.

I am running a very modest laptop with 2 GB, Windows 10 and Chrome. I don't have the screamer the OP has. There are certainly ads, and a lot of loading in the background...though I don't see auto-start video (and I hate that if the audio is on!).

But the site is, overall, no slower for me than other similar sites. It doesn't lock up my computer. And my Internet connection is embarrassingly slow (low-end DSL).

 

[anon(9072051)]

I'm kind of nonplussed that people are having problems with the adjunk in Windows 10.

I was having a godawful time with the AC site using Firefox on an old XP machine. Now, after 5 days of installation and updates (yep, 3 days just to download/install Win 7 updates and the new OS), I'm having no problems with AC using Firefox on a Windows 10 PC. (Er, make that an old PC that is just barely able to run Win 10.) I also stopped using No Script in Firefox and, for now, I'm using only AdGuard Adblocker as a FF extension. I never had a problem with the AC site using Chrome even on XP. Still, I'm curious to hear what's causing these problems.

 

[cdd543]

I agree and have the same issues on mobile and computer. It's a bad experience.

 

[Aquila]

I agree and have the same issues on mobile and computer. It's a bad experience.

Sorry to hear that, please report any misbehaving ads via the link above and help us work on fixing it.

 

[Clocks]

As someone who has worked in digital advertising for nearly a decade, I eventually installed adblock but leave all ads enabled except for sites that go overboard, like ac.

And it's not the user's job to fix it. I will spend zero seconds providing specific feedback. Any tech with eyes and common sense can see when it crosses the line.

Yes it's a death spiral. Tough. It's your business. Fix it. (or don't, again it's your business not mine).

Also give those of us with a conscience a way to subscribe to the site and "legally" block ads.

 

[Aquila]

As someone who has worked in digital advertising for nearly a decade, I eventually installed adblock but leave all ads enabled except for sites that go overboard, like ac.

And it's not the user's job to fix it. I will spend zero seconds providing specific feedback. Any tech with eyes and common sense can see when it crosses the line.

Yes it's a death spiral. Tough. It's your business. Fix it. (or don't, again it's your business not mine).

Also give those of us with a conscience a way to subscribe to the site and "legally" block ads.

I'd agree 100% if you, and others, were complaining to the techs. But they're not, they're complaining to the forums team, which has zero control or influence on the AD vendors. So that makes this thread pointless, which sucks, because we want the site experience to be good but can't fix it for you without having any information about what is wrong being provided to those empowered to actually fix things.

 

[James Falconer]

@Clocks - really appreciate your feedback here. Trust me, this has been an ongoing (nagging) issue for some time, and we do all we can to resolve as many issues as possible. Bad ads and other issues (slow load) are reported to our tech team AND the ad team. I take this very seriously and report all I can.

So - keep reporting them. We hear you. I hear you... and always appreciate the feedback.

And on the subscribe option - yes. This is something I'd love to see but can't make any promises on that just yet

 

[mongo999]

Do you know why companies like Amazon have thrived despite the difficult economy? Or why companies like Sears seem to be always on the edge of failure?

Amazon listens to their customers and makes adjustments to keep them coming back.

Sears sees the customer as the problem . They make it difficult to do business with them.

I am seeing a lot of blaming the customer in this thread. The problem is a company which sees 'fill out the form better' as something to be said to any customer.

Why isn't there better ongoing QA being done? It would not take long to figure out that the company who is filling your inventory with a lot of multimedia ads ought to be doing better QA on the ads they accept.

Please don't expect your customer base to do work for you that you should be doing yourself.

[I'm using the words you and yours in a general sense to refer to the company and its employees.]

 

[Aquila]

Do you know why companies like Amazon have thrived despite the difficult economy? Or why companies like Sears seem to be always on the edge of failure?

Amazon listens to their customers and makes adjustments to keep them coming back.

Sears sees the customer as the problem . They make it difficult to do business with them.

I am seeing a lot of blaming the customer in this thread. The problem is a company which sees 'fill out the form better' as something to be said to any customer.

Why isn't there better ongoing QA being done? It would not take long to figure out that the company who is filling your inventory with a lot of multimedia ads ought to be doing better QA on the ads they accept.

Please don't expect your customer base to do work for you that you should be doing yourself.

[I'm using the words you and yours in a general sense to refer to the company and its employees.]

It's a good point and one that is definitely taken to heart. Obviously there's a level of difference between the volunteers of this site and those that are actually paid to make it function well, but that's not your problem. We do what we can to push the information to those that can take action - and a lot of times they ask for details that we can't necessarily give them - but I'd agree fully that it isn't your job to fix the problem for us - however we'd honestly just appreciate any help we can get because we want the experience to be as great as it can be and we're human, we get frustrated when hearing that it isn't very good for some users.

I don't know the details of what the QA team does when looking for performance issues and/or bad ads, or how many people that team is - but I'd agree fully that ultimately it's their responsibility and not yours. I'm looking at the form as the fastest way to get them specific details so they can kill problems with fire without delay, but it's not the end all, just another tool and it is completely optional, as all feedback forms are.

My tone earlier in this thread probably sucked and it shouldn't have - from a volunteer perspective we're somewhat caught in the middle - but that's also not your problem and I shouldn't try to make it your problem. Ultimately, we want the site to be a great experience and so while I will continue to encourage members to report misbehaving ads so that they can be nuked and the vendors held accountable for letting them through... if a member chooses not to use that form, it doesn't negate their problem that the performance sucks on their device and I should have done a better job of separating them from the cycle and not let their frustration merge with ours. Same team, we all want the same thing - if we can do it together awesome, if we can't then the responsibility falls on us, not on the customers/members.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[mongo999]

It's a good point and one that is definitely taken to heart. Obviously there's a level of difference between the volunteers of this site and those that are actually paid to make it function well, but that's not your problem. We do what we can to push the information to those that can take action - and a lot of times they ask for details that we can't necessarily give them - but I'd agree fully that it isn't your job to fix the problem for us - however we'd honestly just appreciate any help we can get because we want the experience to be as great as it can be and we're human, we get frustrated when hearing that it isn't very good for some users.

I don't know the details of what the QA team does when looking for performance issues and/or bad ads, or how many people that team is - but I'd agree fully that ultimately it's their responsibility and not yours. I'm looking at the form as the fastest way to get them specific details so they can kill problems with fire without delay, but it's not the end all, just another tool and it is completely optional, as all feedback forms are.

My tone earlier in this thread probably sucked and it shouldn't have - from a volunteer perspective we're somewhat caught in the middle - but that's also not your problem and I shouldn't try to make it your problem. Ultimately, we want the site to be a great experience and so while I will continue to encourage members to report misbehaving ads so that they can be nuked and the vendors held accountable for letting them through... if a member chooses not to use that form, it doesn't negate their problem that the performance sucks on their device and I should have done a better job of separating them from the cycle and not let their frustration merge with ours. Same team, we all want the same thing - if we can do it together awesome, if we can't then the responsibility falls on us, not on the customers/members.

Thanks for your feedback!

I was unaware that these sites are run by volunteers, mostly. It's a complement to you all that they look as if a professional publishing company owned and operated them.

Despite the problems, everything else is well done. I sincerely hope that you will put the resources into finding and solving the problems.

FWIW, it's very fast on Tapatalk.

 

[Aquila]

I was unaware that these sites are run by volunteers, mostly. It's a complement to you all that they look as if a professional publishing company owned and operated them.

Despite the problems, everything else is well done. I sincerely hope that you will put the resources into finding and solving the problems.

FWIW, it's very fast on Tapatalk.

The site is run by ... whoever runs the site, that's a company called Mobile Nations and their staff. The volunteers are the moderators and ambassadors that are in these threads (and others throughout the forums) trying to make sure everyone is getting questions answered, issues addressed, etc. James Falconer, who replied in this thread earlier, is the Community Manager, and among the 2 zillion things he does, he helps us get threads like this forwarded to the tech teams for follow up.

 

[Inundated]

I did that online volunteer job for a huge company for 10-plus years. The moderators and others here don't get nearly enough credit for what they do.

 

[mayconvert]

The speed of your hardware doesn't matter with these sites, I also have very fast equipment with very fast internet, and have tried multiple browsers. As soon as I enabled adblock in chrome the sites started acting as fast or faster than other sites I visit.

This problem is purely ad related. Without adblock the sites are unusable, with adblock they work fast with no problem. Which choice would a reasonable person make? And how many folks don't say anything but just leave? And how much income is that over-advertising costing these sites?

I tried what J Dubbs said and installed adblock. I have never had to use this addon in the past, that is, until I started using Mobile Nations sites.
adblock fixed the issue. with no ads loading FOREVER, (and never ever stop loading), this site runs pretty decent.
So. I guess the ads that helps pay for your site are now no longer loading At All on my machine.
I have no idea if the people paying you for ads can tell that this user (me) can't see any of them and you don't get paid, but not my problem.
I shouldn't have ever had to install adblock to use the site to begin with.
I guess the 10 video ads on each page isn't such a good thing after all. Good day.