Popups for unregistered AFF users?

[haydensydney]

Hi Admin

Quick question: When unregistered users click on a link that takes them to AFF, do they receive pop-ups? I posted a link to my AFF trip report and one fairly cranky reader had the following to note:

I have no problem with reading trip reports on places other than flyertalk but since i was met with an immediate coughpy pop up the minute i clicked your link there is no chance I will read your report.

I can't imagine why anyone would want to link someone to a coughpy ... website that intrudes their computer so I will just assume that you didn't know. I'd still like to read your TR so it would be nice if you could just copy and paste it within this forum.

and they then mentioned:

I use a browser that has allowed me to not see a single pop up in the last 2 years, not only did I get the popup but my noscrpit app set off alarms as soon as I went on the site. There are plenty of trip reports that people link to their blogs that don't end up killing my browser...

If users from FT and other boards receive popups when linking to my AFF TR's, it may indeed distract them and therefore it may not be in my interest to redirect them to this board in future (e.g. I may just put up my TR's on FT, and post a link to that site for my fellow AFFers)

Hayden

 

[samh004]

Do you think the pop-up your friend was referring to was the frequent flyer newsletter signup blurb that isn't so much a pop-up, but instead slides down the window from the top? I see that every visit I make when not logged in, and would assume that would be what's deemed intrusive in this case.

 

[admin]

I don't know what he/she means by a "pop-up" ad.

We don't have any ads which open new browsers automatically (if thats what he means by "pop-up").

Generally, the only ads on AFF are regular banner and text link advertisements. If the user clicks on the ad, a message will be displayed. This is standard practice.

Hi Admin

Quick question: When unregistered users click on a link that takes them to AFF, do they receive pop-ups? I posted a link to my AFF trip report and one fairly cranky reader had the following to note:



and they then mentioned:



If users from FT and other boards receive popups when linking to my AFF TR's, it may indeed distract them and therefore it may not be in my interest to redirect them to this board in future (e.g. I may just put up my TR's on FT, and post a link to that site for my fellow AFFers)

Hayden

 

[haydensydney]

Thanks Admin,

I'm not sure what the user was talking about then - and it's not certain that the pop-up was caused by AFF (could've been another website in the users background).

Not wanting to rock the boat, but on the topic of the new googleads splattered throughout the site it could give the impression to new users that the website is spammy (even though it's not) or even give it a unprofessional/amateur user experience. Yes, I see that these googleads are a revenue source for your website, but I think it's efficacy of having an overbearing number of these ads may be limited because a) who clicks on the ads anyway and b) it could be driving new users away because of it's spammy appearance.

Having the googlead's inserted in between the forum lists also could impact the new user experience, and could even impact the numbers of new users joining for what I assume would be little gain.

 

[serfty]

I believe it's as samh004 has described.

If you open a window on AFF without being logged on, exactly 10 seconds after the screen has finished renderinf a Box rolls down from the top of the screen to the middle. This is titled "FREE FREQUENT FLYER NEWSLETTER"t asking one to subscribe to the newsletter.

This is not a pop-up.

 

[haydensydney]

Sure - but would it set off noscript alarms on the users machine?

 

[serfty]

Sure - but would it set off noscript alarms on the users machine?

It may be possible a script is being run to roll this down the screen.

 

[haydensydney]

Wow the compliments re: AFF are flowing in! I think from here on in, I will post my report on FT and post the link here. Sorry Admin, but looks like AFF is getting a bad rap from the international FT audience....

FYI, the popup that others referred to may be the in-page popup that prompts the visitor to sign up for the free newsletter.

It only appeared once in my browsing session, but it does somewhat take away from the experience.

and

Could you paste your report here? Would love to read it and am having trouble with your link.

and

I'm also a member of AFF but find the website a bit dodgy depending on the browser.

 

[RB]

Interesting that I don't come across any problems when I follow the Flyer Talk link using Windows 7 Firefox. Keep in mind we encounter people with different attitudes over there and everywhere on the web. Not everyone has been negative (small sample anyway) & you have been a little selective in your quoting of adampenrith. BTW enjoyed the report

 

[haydensydney]

Sure... I just want as many people to enjoy AFF as possible, and if we can improve the user experience by listening to feedback from other users - then i'm all for it.

Just thought that i'd bring those comments to admin's attention...

Cheers

 

[Bundy Bear]

I actually find the newsletter slide comes up to fast. I might look at AFF from a non logged in machine and the message banner turns up way to quick; even before I have a chance to log in.

Any chance we could allow it to slide down the page about a minute after we reach the page.

 

[samh004]

I actually find the newsletter slide comes up to fast. I might look at AFF from a non logged in machine and the message banner turns up way to quick; even before I have a chance to log in.

Any chance we could allow it to slide down the page about a minute after we reach the page.

Or just add it as an element on the page somewhere, rather than something that appears and you can click to get rid of.

 

[ric_melb]

My curiosity got the better of me so I had to find your thread on FT.
They are a picky lot there. It would seem the only issue one respondent had was the scroll down screen to sign up for the newsletter.
Hardly major inconvenience. Another had old software.
Then the third thought the MO suite was ordinary.
Given that the MO is right in the centre of one of the most expensive cities on Earth I thought the suite was spacious and looked great.
I for one very much enjoyed your report and loved the photos.
Thanks for the report.