# Humerous Ads To My Left



## Koploper (Apr 3, 2011)

OK, I understand that Chad has to make money to keep the site running, but seriously, have you noticed the ads at the left side of the page? Mine here in the Netherlands are hilarious!!! First of all, most of them are in Dutch - which I can't read, and many of them are for things like party dresses, downhill skiing vacations, make-up, women's shoes, and outlet shopping malls. I mean, like a g-scale model train guy would ever want any of this stuff. Anyway, just thougth it was funny and wondered if anyone else thought the same.

Johannes


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Mine here in the Netherlands are hilarious!!! First of all, most of them are in Dutch - which I can't read, and many of them are for things like party dresses, downhill skiing vacations, make-up, women's shoes, and outlet shopping malls 
I don't think Shad chooses the ads, and I suspect you share your computer with your significant (female) other. In the last year, the ad companies have become much more adept at tracking which website you visited and then offering you ads based on where you last shopped online. If you are in the Netherlands then they expect you to read Dutch! 

I noticed this kind of thing started after I placed an order for my wife and daughter at Victoria's Secret. I now get ads for ladies underwear and dresses on many different sites. Not complaining, mind you . . .


----------



## armorsmith (Jun 1, 2008)

A simple means to help confuse the advertisers is to delete all cookies every time you shut down your browser. Mine is set to allow cookies only during the current session. This allows the web sites that require cookies to set them, but there is no cookie for other sites to read the next time you get online.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

What ads? hahahaha! 

1st class, Firefox, ABP - no ads at all 

Greg


----------



## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

As boring as this site has become, it can use all the humor it can get even if it is ads in Dutch.


What we need is a good old squabble over which type track is better or which type power is the best.


Maybe we could get a narrow gauge versus the standard gauge fight going?


I'll start with (I think Standard gauge is the best)


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I agree, narrow gage stuff is too old.. and they don't like anything modern to control their locos... 

(whoopeee here we go!!) 

Greg


----------



## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Maybe it is time for us narrow gaugers to go back to springs and rubber bands.

Chuck


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Wait until the live steam guys weigh in! 

(this is all in fun, I hope people joining in realize this!) 

Greg


----------



## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

I agree Greg, I was going to post that, but fearing tongue lashings, and beatings I din't!! ABP no ads no more forever!! LOL


----------



## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

You standard gauge guys with them " toolboxes on wheels " locos. Yawn, give me narrow rails, tiny funky rolling stock anyday.


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Gerbils and whips... that is all ya needs fer power.


----------



## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Yea, Greg those live steam guys are just a bunch of hot heads


----------



## Don Howard (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm a first class member and don't see the left hand ads. 
It's only one of the many reasons I chose to pay to become a first class member. 

I can logout to see the ads if I want to, but here in Vermont, they always seem to be US based ebay ads. 

So, how do I trick mylargescale software to think I am in the EU, or elsewhere? 
Specifically, the NL for the hilarious ads that started this thread, or BE, or DE, or CH.....? 
or JP? 
I'd love to see those countries' ads.


----------



## kormsen (Oct 27, 2009)

ifn yer aint using batterypower - yer aint see'n the light! 
me aint starting this, semper wrote "power"!


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

the NL for the hilarious ads that started this thread
Don, 
You only get 'humorous' ads if your wife has been surfing for dresses or skiiing vacations recently. 

But if you go online to some Netherlands dress shops and buy a cute little number for your next open house, I'm sure the ads will start . .


----------



## derPeter (Dec 26, 2010)

Hallo MLS,
this AdChoices come from GOOOOOGGGLLEEE
greetings from Peter


----------



## JackM (Jul 29, 2008)

I'm a First class member and I make use of the eBay strip on the left with some frequency. After two years of building up to my 500 foot point, I need to "populate" the layout with buildings, cars, people, more buildings, businesses, more buildings, yard accessories, little stuff I'd never think of, more accessories, more stuff I never thought of, etc., etc. I need a LOT OF STUFF and can't build it all myself. So I don't even log in unless I absolutely must get my two cents in on some topic. Otherwise, I check the ads, log in and do whatever, log out and check the ads again. 

I don't care to spend hours shopping online, but the ads here are right on topic and very often right up my alley. That's win-win for me. 

JackM


----------



## GN_Rocky (Jan 6, 2008)

Hmmmm, I'm going to stay out of this flame war








You guys can fight it out. But I was going to say that ( and it has been mentioned before ) by becoming a first class member, the ads go away







Unless you like the ads, I'd upgrade to First class, it's a mere price to pay for the knowledge you'll find here AND you get web space to boot to post pictures.

My 2 cents worth that's ON TOPIC. 

I'm going back to build my mountain now








You boys play nice now









Rocky


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

but the ads here are right on topic and very often right up my alley 
I guess your significant other isn't shopping with your computer. 

But seriously, don't you find it a bit creepy for advertisers to be tracking your every move and recording everything you look at or buy?


----------



## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Pete Thornton on 16 Jan 2012 09:53 AM 
but the ads here are right on topic and very often right up my alley
I guess your significant other isn't shopping with your computer. 

But seriously, don't you find it a bit creepy for advertisers to be tracking your every move and recording everything you look at or buy? 

"Creepy"? I think it is worse than that.

If I had all this internet stuff to do over, my name, other personal information (age, gender, marital status, etc.) and my location would be completely fake or "empty" on the web.

I foil them as much as I can by clearing Cookies and the browser cache as often as I can (I often shut down my browser and run "CCleaner" to trash all that stuff.

I also go to sites like YouTube and clear any history it may have of what videos I have watched. If you have a G-Mail account, any videos you watch while you are logged in to that account are registered to your YouTube account! And if you do not "deliberately" Log-Out of the e-mail account, you are logged in ALL the time whether you are actively looking at the e-mail site or not! If you check your e-mail, and then just go to another site (like MLS) and watch a video via any link, that is added to your "History" in YouTube and is a place where advertisers can check so they can target advertisements at you.

Some "targeting" can be a good thing, but it seems to me that the majority of the targeting is for things that I don't really like being the target of... I was tricked into starting to view ONE mildly obscene video and until I cleared the "History" of the last 100 or so videos I had watched, instead of adverts for the majority of the subjects I had watched (model trains) I was the target of "Women Seeking Men" and "Adult Entertainment" web sites, complete with images that I do not want to see on my computer.

But I don't find the adverts so "funny"... most of them are distracting in the least, many are annoying and some are downright insulting. I can understand an advertiser wanting to get my attention to look at their display, but when the advert is annoying or insulting, I purpose to myself to NOT patronize that advertiser, EVER... I hope they go out of business! I will deliberately go to a competitor to do my purchasing, even if I have to pay a bit more. (Same goes for many TV adverts!) I will do without rather than buy some products, no matter if it might be a good product or something I might actually want... Insult me and you are done.

I wonder sometimes if the company being advertised actually pay attention to the adverts created by the company they hired to do the advertising for them. Too many protray the "customer" as a complete idiot or some sort of goon or someone you really would not like to be thought of as being like. If your product is used by idiots (or worse), then I will seek a product that fits my perception of myself, and I do not want to perceive myself as an idiot (or worse).

At least here on MLS, as a 1st class member, the adverts that do still show up are at the top and are small and (most of them) are not annoying. I have noticed on the Trains magazine forums they have started putting adverts in sub-windows OVER the list of topics in the forum and I have to click on the sub-window to get it out of the way... but guess what... I have NO IDEA what they are advertising because I am so annoyed by the sub-window interfering with what I want to see that I just click them away without reading any of it. All they have succeeded in doing is irritating me. Does that make them any money? Any return on the investment of creating the advert in the first place?


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Use Firefox. 

Add in ABP (ad blocker plus) so you can control what you see. 

Now, to block tracking cookies, install Ghostery, it not only blocks them on your command, but informs you of what "web bugs" are in the page you are looking at. Of course you can customize it, allow some in, turn it off, etc. It also will block the major tracking cookies. 

Greg


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

I wonder sometimes if the company being advertised actually pay attention to the adverts created by the company they hired to do the advertising for them. Too many protray the "customer" as a complete idiot or some sort of goon or someone you really would not like to be thought of as being like. If your product is used by idiots (or worse), then I will seek a product that fits my perception of myself, and I do not want to perceive myself as an idiot (or worse).

There are a lot of ads with two little links underneath now - 'ad feedback' and 'why did I see this ad', which (I assume) are an attempt by the ad industry to address privacy concerns. I doubt they actually do anything except get you more ads!

to block tracking cookies, install Ghostery, it not only blocks them on your command, but informs you of what "web bugs" are in the page 
Yet another complicated solution (no offense Greg - just sighing at the craziness of it all.) I use Adaware (sometimes.)

If I had all this internet stuff to do over, my name, other personal information (age, gender, marital status, etc.) and my location would be completely fake or "empty" on the web I also agree with Charles (Semper Vaporo.) If I knew then what I know now, you wouldn't see my name anywhere. I am seriously considering abandoning this site membership and re-joining under an obscure name.


----------



## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Ghostery deals with a different issue, web bugs... and it's not complicated. Install it, and watch with glee everything it blocks. 

My name is all over the internet. My birthdate, unique personal information, etc. is not. I have never had any problems. 

But I use tools to protect myself. Adaware is not a cookie blocker... it's a scanner. 

If it's too much trouble for you, then so be it, but it's not hiding your name, it's using tools wisely... most of the stuff comes from your bank, credit card companies, etc., not MLS.... 

Computers are complex machines, and you have to step up a bit to use them... if you let THEM use you, well..... 

Greg


----------



## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Greg Elmassian on 17 Jan 2012 09:19 PM 
Ghostery deals with a different issue, web bugs... and it's not complicated. Install it, and watch with glee everything it blocks. 

My name is all over the internet. My birthdate, unique personal information, etc. is not. I have never had any problems. 

But I use tools to protect myself. Adaware is not a cookie blocker... it's a scanner. 

If it's too much trouble for you, then so be it, but it's not hiding your name, it's using tools wisely... most of the stuff comes from your bank, credit card companies, etc., not MLS.... 

Computers are complex machines, and you have to step up a bit to use them... if you let THEM use you, well..... 

Greg Or can re-format...hahhahaha. No more adds.


----------

