How aren't Bitcointalk ads blocked by ad blockers like ABP ?

[Jiuks]

How is that possible ?

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[actmyname]

Because the forum needs money from the majority of people who can't do basic programming to avoid those ads.




You can inspect it, and see what's up. (Because I won't tell you.) I keep my AdBlocker off on BCT, though. The ads are fairly non-intrusive and are only fillers between posts, so what's the big problem?

[Jiuks]

Because the forum needs money from the majority of people who can't do basic programming to avoid those ads.




You can inspect it, and see what's up. (Because I won't tell you.) I keep my AdBlocker off on BCT, though. The ads are fairly non-intrusive and are only fillers between posts, so what's the big problem?

I have an ad blocker activated even on bitcointalk but I still see those ads. I'm not angry at all ! My question is: how do they do that ? How can they bypass adblockers ?

[Lauda]

My question is: how do they do that ? How can they bypass adblockers ?

A lot of sites are bypassing the standard AD blocker (ad block plus), or they're are able to detect them and tend ask you to turn it off in order to continue exploring the website. It's a kind of a 'constant battle'. I do remember reading about an "AD-Block blocker" and a "anti AD-Block killer".
Apparently, there are a few services that offer 'solutions' to detect AD-Block, block or mitigate it. However, experienced users are able to use advanced blockers and modify their filtration lists. You can find more information here.

[Jiuks]

Yes, these type of asks are often used now.

But here I'm more asking about how BCT ads are not detected or considered as ads by ad blockers

[Lauda]

But here I'm more asking about how BCT ads are not detected or considered as ads by ad blockers

AFAIK theymos is the only one who can specifically answer that. However, I don't see why they should.

[poptok1]

But here I'm more asking about how BCT ads are not detected or considered as ads by ad blockers

AFAIK theymos is the only one who can specifically answer that. However, I don't see why they should.

Isn't it a case of those adds not being actual ads at all? They are chunk of code.
They consist mostly of BBcode and HTMLcode, no pictures, no flash or Java...
that's why blockers threat them as a part of the webpage, that's why no blockade.
I would allow them anyway, as a form of appreciation. Best adds IMO, light weight and sometimes really complicated and creative. I have made few of those and I must say that this should be web-standard.  

[greyhawk]

The code of the ad is disguised to look like a post. Ad blockers aren't yet smart enough to tell the difference between a post and an ad on bitcointalk, so the ad blocker can't block the ads without blocking posts too.

[DarkStar_]

The code of the ad is disguised to look like a post. Ad blockers aren't yet smart enough to tell the difference between a post and an ad on bitcointalk, so the ad blocker can't block the ads without blocking posts too.

Wrong. Posts look like this, with a <div class = "post">


Ads look like this, which uses a <div class> of random stuff[1], which is probably how it gets bypassed. If it keeps changing, a program will have a hard time reconizing it.


[1] Page refresh shows something else: https://i.imgur.com/L9jdF00.png

[NyeFe]

Ads are blocked by ad blocker - but not with its default settings/configurations. After reading this post, i actually blocked all the ads on the forum.

I want tell you how i did it, because its a good source of revenue, but Theymos uses random dynamic id per/ad, which is added to an element, within a group of table rows... so when you block this ad, only a single instance of this ad should be blocked, and every other ads should be visible. if you try anything else, you'll end up blocking every post. Very smart.

Another thing with blocking ads, is that the forum ends up being more boring, less energetic. I personally use the ads as a source of crypto news for new services, so I'm going to disable ad-block for bitcointalk anyways.

[theymos]

ABP's matching capability is limited. The forum's ads are structured so that it is impossible, within the limits of ABP, to block ads in general without blocking posts. Additionally, a carefully-designed ad will itself be impossible to block without blocking posts, but most advertisers don't bother to make ads in this way, so their specific ads can be blocked.

I've long wondered why the major Web advertisers like Google haven't pursued this sort of thing. In my research of how to accomplish this I even figured out a way to generically defeat ABP on most browsers using some JavaScript, assuming the ad is all inline (though this technique isn't what the forum does). I guess inline ads are difficult, though you'd think that it'd be possible with at least the most major websites.

I'd appreciate it if people not try to block ads. They are by far the forum's largest source of income, and they should not be at all annoying, since there's only one ad per page and I reject ads that are too flashy. I also recently adjusted the ads so that they should in no case be taller than ~50px, even on small screens. Plus, the ads are uniquely targeted to Bitcoiners, so you might find something interesting in the ads -- I've learned of several interesting services through forum ads.

[Jiuks]

Theymos, how do you manage to have statistics on your ads ?

[MyBTT]

It seems like the ad divs are encrypted, from DarkStar_'s post. I'm on mobile currently... (Screw you Google I want to use Dev tools)

Theymos, how do you manage to have statistics on your ads ?

Simple PHP logging every time either the server receives a GET request of the ad? Some sort of logging.