Stories from around the web

[Stinky666]

I'm not liking that section. I don't mind the other part, the similar topics, because that is something I did want.
But I don't care for the stories around the web.

I looked in the profile to see if I can enable/disable it, but couldn't see anywhere to do so.

[Stinky666]

Bumpety bump..

[VS Admin]

This feature can be disabled on ad-free forums via the admin panel. The feature overall will drive more traffic and encourage more engagement around the forum. At the Web 2.0 Expo in New York, I watched a presentation that talked about where users spend most of their time on a webpage. A lot of that time is actually spent at the very bottom, with them deciding to go next.

This feature both provides links to relevant content from the board itself as well as stories from our partner, Gravity. We expect that this feature will be very useful to your visitors.

[Stinky666]

Are they supposed to be relevant to me, because if so, all the current stories, and so far all the ones I have seen, are useless to me and of no interest.


Largest Iceberg Break-Up Ever Caught on Video - I don't care. I have no interest.
 Samsung Galaxy S3 to get MultiView, Smart Rotation - I don't care. I have no interest.
Facebook Changes Privacy Controls, Forces Users to be Searchable - I don't care. I have no interest.
Mac Computers Get Malicious Fake-Installer Trojan for First Time - I don't care. I have no interest.


Seeing a pattern yet?


How to Laugh Online in Other Languages - I don't care. I have no interest.
Facebook Shows You Your Year in Review - I don't care. I have no interest.
Filter Frenzy! Why We’re All Instagrammers Now - I don't care. I have no interest.
Atkins Followers: Monitor Your Carb Intake With This New App - I don't care. I have no interest.
The Photo App That Kills Over-Sharing - I don't care. I have no interest.
Announcing a Live Chat With Kiip Founder Brian Wong - I don't care. I have no interest.


Edit:
The related topics.. how do they work exactly? I mean, what makes something be in those top 5 or 6? 

[VS Admin]

The stories will change day to day, and hopefully improve over time to be more relevant to your interests. You can click the "?" at the bottom right for more information on how it works.

[Stinky666]

How does Gravity know what should interest me? Is it purely from topics I read?

[VS Admin]

Again, please click the "?" at the bottom. It explains everything for you

[Stinky666]

I've been browsing online for hours, yet my stories are still the same. The same ones that are of NO INTEREST.
Can we have an option to get rid of these on all forums? Can I buy it? Not for a forum and all its users, but for ME on ALL PB forums..?

[VS Admin]

It may be a ProBoards+ feature.

[Former Member]

I think it will bring more trafic to the boards
As the bots like to view links and guest/members clicking viewing the links
And as it says the more you read the smarter it gets

The more topics from this board will help also as the boards becomes active

Steve

[blueshead]

I hate Trackers.. I don't need to be bombarded with ads that some company thinks I might like and buy. As my board is ad free I hope I can opt out.

In the mean time Ghostery (free tracker blocker) works a treat.. Bye Bye Gravity and 100's of other pests like it!

Also If you are using Firefox.. Go to Options/ Privacy / Tracking and enable "Tell Websites I do not want to be Tracked"

Ghostery

[VS Admin]

Dec 12, 2012 20:18:14 GMT -8 blueshead said:

I hate Trackers.. I don't need to be bombarded with ads that some company thinks I might like and buy. As my board is ad free I hope I can opt out.

In the mean time Ghostery (free tracker blocker) works a treat.. Bye Bye Gravity and 100's of other pests like it!

Also If you are using Firefox.. Go to Options/ Privacy / Tracking and enable "Tell Websites I do not want to be Tracked"

Ghostery

We link directly to the page where you can opt-out. Further, using ad blockers is a violation of the ProBoards Terms of Service.

As I said earlier in this thread, if you are ad-free on your forum, you will have the option to turn this off.

[Stinky666]

Once you release the options for blocking, I will happily pay to block. For now, I am using Ghostery.

[VS Admin]

Dec 12, 2012 20:55:59 GMT -8 Stinky666 said:

Once you release the options for blocking, I will happily pay to block. For now, I am using Ghostery.

www.gravity.com/consumers

Go to the bottom of the page and click to opt-out, then you will only receive non-personalized results.

Blocking the ad from displaying in the first place is a Terms of Service violation. We provide a free service provided that the ads are displayed. By blocking the ad, you are essentially stealing the free service we are providing you.

[Shrike]

Dec 12, 2012 21:01:39 GMT -8 VS Admin said:

Dec 12, 2012 20:55:59 GMT -8 Stinky666 said:

Once you release the options for blocking, I will happily pay to block. For now, I am using Ghostery.

www.gravity.com/consumers

Go to the bottom of the page and click to opt-out, then you will only receive non-personalized results.

Blocking the ad from displaying in the first place is a Terms of Service violation. We provide a free service provided that the ads are displayed. By blocking the ad, you are essentially stealing the free service we are providing you.

Were the two banner ads not providing enough or something? I don't mind the banners, they are discrete and non-intrusive which was one of the things I liked most about ProBoards and why I'm fine with whitelisting PB domains. While I imagine the Gravity box is a good way to get around people using ad-blockers (it wasn't easy to block last time it appeared), I personally would rather have the second banner there the whole time. However, I know some people would prefer the text links. Could there be an option for people to switch back to having the second banner there all of the time instead?