Pop-Up asking for Upgrade

[mkm]

Forum URL: sportscoasttocoast.proboards.com/

Over the past day, two of my staff reported that she has been receiving a pop-up when she logs into the forum. The pop-up asks for them to do one of these:

-Disable Ads
-Upgrade to Proboards+

To get past it, you can click a line underneath saying "I will do this next time"

I just received the same thing while going to the subject line of this forum.

I understand these are urges to advance the forum. I also understand it involves payment. These two moderators do not have my permission to make this decision. The only one would be myself, and I'm not making that decision at this time, so it currently does not apply. Is there a way to avoid anyone logging in from getting this message?

[Michael]

Hi,

This message is only presented if you are using an ad-blocker. Advertisements are how we are able to provide you with a free forum. Please do not use an ad-blocker.

PB+ is personal (unlimited for the user who purchased it) ad-free across all of ProBoards and is not tied to the forum.

There is no way to prevent this message as long as you are using an ad-blocker.

[mkm]

Apr 24, 2020 14:08:42 GMT -8 Michael said:

Hi,

This message is only presented if you are using an ad-blocker. Advertisements are how we are able to provide you with a free forum. Please do not use an ad-blocker.

PB+ is personal (unlimited for the user who purchased it) ad-free across all of ProBoards and is not tied to the forum.

There is no way to prevent this message as long as you are using an ad-blocker.

I understand that. Just be aware that this person working on my staff is now 14 years old and you are requesting a person of that age to give you money. Seems unethical.

[Kitty Katt]

Jun 2, 2021 21:58:40 GMT -8 mkm said:

Apr 24, 2020 14:08:42 GMT -8 Michael said:

Hi,

This message is only presented if you are using an ad-blocker. Advertisements are how we are able to provide you with a free forum. Please do not use an ad-blocker.

PB+ is personal (unlimited for the user who purchased it) ad-free across all of ProBoards and is not tied to the forum.

There is no way to prevent this message as long as you are using an ad-blocker.

I understand that. Just be aware that this person working on my staff is now 14 years old and you are requesting a person of that age to give you money. Seems unethical.

Actually, ProBoards is not requesting that they give them money. They are requesting that they disable their ad-blocker. Using an ad-blocker is against the Terms of Service, to which everyone who registers a ProBoards account agrees to. If they wish to continue to use an ad-blocker, then they should, at least, whitelist ProBoards domains:

1. *.proboards.com
2. *.freeforums.net
3. *.boards.net

ProBoards+ is an option one can use to stop seeing ads legitimately.

[sirrobert]

here's an idea for proboards prove you need ads by getting rid of proboards+ otherwise those popups say you just want money

[Scott]

Jun 16, 2021 10:04:31 GMT -8 sirrobert said:

here's an idea for proboards prove you need ads by getting rid of proboards+ otherwise those popups say you just want money

You know the ideal solution is for everyone to honor the agreement they made to not use an ad-blocker. Then the popups won't appear. Pretty simple.

[Kitty Katt]

Jun 16, 2021 10:04:31 GMT -8 sirrobert said:

here's an idea for proboards prove you need ads by getting rid of proboards+ otherwise those popups say you just want money

Just to note: Getting rid of ProBoards+ will not get rid of the ads. What that would do is get rid of an option for people to legitimately get rid of ads for their global account (the one the ProBoards+ was purchased on, if you have more than one global account). Your suggestion, therefore, is not helpful but potentially harmful.

Also, to note, there is nothing stating that you are required to click on an ad. Their presence is what helps keep ProBoards free, whether you click on it or not. Using an ad-blocker denies them those funds. So, in essence, and from one perspective (not necessarily the only perspective), one could say that you were stealing money from ProBoards by using an ad-blocker. I use an ad-blocker as well, but I have the three ProBoards' domains whitelisted.

[mkm]

Jun 3, 2021 4:47:03 GMT -8 Kitty Katt said:

Jun 2, 2021 21:58:40 GMT -8 mkm said:

I understand that. Just be aware that this person working on my staff is now 14 years old and you are requesting a person of that age to give you money. Seems unethical.

Actually, ProBoards is not requesting that they give them money. They are requesting that they disable their ad-blocker. Using an ad-blocker is against the Terms of Service, to which everyone who registers a ProBoards account agrees to. If they wish to continue to use an ad-blocker, then they should, at least, whitelist ProBoards domains:

1. *.proboards.com
2. *.freeforums.net
3. *.boards.net

ProBoards+ is an option one can use to stop seeing ads legitimately.

Please point out how that the use of an ad blocker for a 14-year-old is against the terms of service. I have reviewed the terms of service and there is no such applicable clause. That claim is not correct. 

Of course ProBoards+ is another way of asking for money. You seem to be forgetting that we are talking about a girl of 14. There are ads which may be inappropriate for a person of that age to view. I'm not saying that she will see such content through proboards, but I cannot anticipate a guarantee from the responses here that she will not. That is precisely why an ad blocker is in place. 

As to the "theory" that turning off the ad blocker does not mean she is being asked to pay money, that is completely false since the sole purpose of advertising is to ask for money. Claims which deny that are incorrect.

Finally, as I alluded to earlier, I have reviewed the terms of service and, as an attorney, I can assure you that your points of view hold no legal merit whatsoever.

Thank you,
MKM

[mkm]

Jun 16, 2021 10:21:03 GMT -8 Scott said:

Jun 16, 2021 10:04:31 GMT -8 sirrobert said:

here's an idea for proboards prove you need ads by getting rid of proboards+ otherwise those popups say you just want money

You know the ideal solution is for everyone to honor the agreement they made to not use an ad-blocker. Then the popups won't appear. Pretty simple.

Scott,

I have been informed that two of this 14-year-old's sisters have tested this out on the same browser with the same ad-blocker on the same laptop. Neither of her sisters have received the pop-up. It's not a policy issue (which I debunked in my previous response), but proboards itself, who is literally asking for donations with their popup or to subject a young teen to ads asking her for money. There really is no getting past that whatsoever.

Thank you,
MKM

[Michael]

Jun 17, 2021 18:56:10 GMT -8 mkm said:

Jun 3, 2021 4:47:03 GMT -8 Kitty Katt said:

Actually, ProBoards is not requesting that they give them money. They are requesting that they disable their ad-blocker. Using an ad-blocker is against the Terms of Service, to which everyone who registers a ProBoards account agrees to. If they wish to continue to use an ad-blocker, then they should, at least, whitelist ProBoards domains:

1. *.proboards.com
2. *.freeforums.net
3. *.boards.net

ProBoards+ is an option one can use to stop seeing ads legitimately.

Please point out how that the use of an ad blocker for a 14-year-old is against the terms of service. I have reviewed the terms of service and there is no such applicable clause. That claim is not correct. 

Of course ProBoards+ is another way of asking for money. You seem to be forgetting that we are talking about a girl of 14. There are ads which may be inappropriate for a person of that age to view. I'm not saying that she will see such content through proboards, but I cannot anticipate a guarantee from the responses here that she will not. That is precisely why an ad blocker is in place. 

As to the "theory" that turning off the ad blocker does not mean she is being asked to pay money, that is completely false since the sole purpose of advertising is to ask for money. Claims which deny that are incorrect.

Finally, as I alluded to earlier, I have reviewed the terms of service and, as an attorney, I can assure you that your points of view hold no legal merit whatsoever.

Thank you,
MKM

Hi,

This is incorrect. Please review the Terms Of Service again.  

Advertisements are how we are able to provide you a free forum. If anyone who uses ProBoards would like to remove ads, they can either do so for themselves only across all forums (PB+) or by purchasing ad-free for a specific forum. Otherwise, we ask that ProBoards members whitelist ProBoards domains. 

If you use an ad-blocker you will continue to receive the pop-up message asking you to disable your ad-blocker.

[mkm]

Jun 17, 2021 19:11:06 GMT -8 Michael said:

Jun 17, 2021 18:56:10 GMT -8 mkm said:

Please point out how that the use of an ad blocker for a 14-year-old is against the terms of service. I have reviewed the terms of service and there is no such applicable clause. That claim is not correct. 

Of course ProBoards+ is another way of asking for money. You seem to be forgetting that we are talking about a girl of 14. There are ads which may be inappropriate for a person of that age to view. I'm not saying that she will see such content through proboards, but I cannot anticipate a guarantee from the responses here that she will not. That is precisely why an ad blocker is in place. 

As to the "theory" that turning off the ad blocker does not mean she is being asked to pay money, that is completely false since the sole purpose of advertising is to ask for money. Claims which deny that are incorrect.

Finally, as I alluded to earlier, I have reviewed the terms of service and, as an attorney, I can assure you that your points of view hold no legal merit whatsoever.

Thank you,
MKM

Hi,

This is incorrect. Please review the Terms Of Service again.  

Advertisements are how we are able to provide you a free forum. If anyone who uses ProBoards would like to remove ads, they can either do so for themselves only across all forums (PB+) or by purchasing ad-free for a specific forum. Otherwise, we ask that ProBoards members whitelist ProBoards domains. 

If you use an ad-blocker you will continue to receive the pop-up message asking you to disable your ad-blocker.

Hello,

Clearly, I have an understanding of how advertising works. I outlined the issue correctly and you give me an erroneous message that I've not reviewed the terms of service? Nothing in there applies. As I mentioned, I am an attorney. I literally deal with contracts every day. Professionally, I can tell that this is not an accurate response. 

Disable the ad-blocker so that we can ask a 14-year-old for money via ads, or pay proboards for "+" so that we can ask a 14-year-old for money. There is absolutely no getting around that whatsoever. As I mentioned earlier, this is unethical. A credible and reputable company would understand this request and try to take corrective action rather than automatically revert to a defensive stance.

I am the founder and CEO of my forum. If you must ask anyone for money, only ask it of me; not my 14-year-old staff member.

Thank You,
MKM

[Kami]

Jun 17, 2021 19:19:52 GMT -8 mkm said:

Jun 17, 2021 19:11:06 GMT -8 Michael said:

Hi,

This is incorrect. Please review the Terms Of Service again.  

Advertisements are how we are able to provide you a free forum. If anyone who uses ProBoards would like to remove ads, they can either do so for themselves only across all forums (PB+) or by purchasing ad-free for a specific forum. Otherwise, we ask that ProBoards members whitelist ProBoards domains.

If you use an ad-blocker you will continue to receive the pop-up message asking you to disable your ad-blocker.

Hello,

Clearly, I have an understanding of how advertising works. I outlined the issue correctly and you give me an erroneous message that I've not reviewed the terms of service? Nothing in there applies. As I mentioned, I am an attorney. I literally deal with contracts every day. Professionally, I can tell that this is not an accurate response.

Disable the ad-blocker so that we can ask a 14-year-old for money via ads, or pay proboards for "+" so that we can ask a 14-year-old for money. There is absolutely no getting around that whatsoever. As I mentioned earlier, this is unethical. A credible and reputable company would understand this request and try to take corrective action rather than automatically revert to a defensive stance.

I am the founder and CEO of my forum. If you must ask anyone for money, only ask it of me; not my 14-year-old staff member.

Thank You,
MKM

Disclaimer: Not a PB staff member, just a long-time user. I just wanted to point out that this is in fact in the ProBoards Terms of Service; for clarity, I am not saying this to be argumentative, or call into question your professional experience, but rather to be informative. Section 19, subsection (d),  Prohibited Uses (emphasis mine). I point this out only to show that this is neither unethical or misrepresented, as these terms are 100% explicitly outlined in the TOS as stated by Michael. You can also check the Internet Archive and see this has been in Section 19, Subsection D since at least 2010 and is not a recent edit as a result of this conversation.

19. PROHIBITED USES

ProBoards imposes certain restrictions on Your use of the Website and the Services. You represent and warrant that you will not: (a) "stalk" or otherwise harass any person, or contact any person who has requested not to be contacted; (b) provide false, misleading or inaccurate information to ProBoards or any other member; (c) impersonate, or otherwise misrepresent affiliation, connection or association with, any person or entity; (d) while, using the Website and Services, use "ad blocking" software or similar built-in web browser options designed to hide, block or prevent the proper display of online advertising; 

I also want to say that the ads a user views is often (but not always) reflective of their browsing history. With that said, PB doesn't want to serve any PG-13 inappropriate content either (as part of their TOS) and this includes advertisements. If you or another member sees an ad that is not PG13 appropriate, please don't hesitate to report the ad by clicking on the "Report Ad" link at the bottom of your forum.

I say this as gently as possible, and in as non-confrontational tone as possible: if the kid, or their guardian(s), are uncomfortable with PB being supported with ads and being required to disable adblocker and are also uncomfortable with paying to use an ad-free service, then ProBoards is likely not the right platform for their needs. I would also say if you are also uncomfortable with having this option while having children as members and staff members on your forum, PB might not be the right platform for your needs, either. At the end of the day, PB is supported by either ads, or paid options to remove the ads (and other supplemental features). That's its entire business model, and if that's not acceptable to a user, then that user's desires simply don't line up with the service PB intends to provide.

[mkm]

Jun 17, 2021 20:19:01 GMT -8 Kami said:

Jun 17, 2021 19:19:52 GMT -8 mkm said:

Hello,

Clearly, I have an understanding of how advertising works. I outlined the issue correctly and you give me an erroneous message that I've not reviewed the terms of service? Nothing in there applies. As I mentioned, I am an attorney. I literally deal with contracts every day. Professionally, I can tell that this is not an accurate response.

Disable the ad-blocker so that we can ask a 14-year-old for money via ads, or pay proboards for "+" so that we can ask a 14-year-old for money. There is absolutely no getting around that whatsoever. As I mentioned earlier, this is unethical. A credible and reputable company would understand this request and try to take corrective action rather than automatically revert to a defensive stance.

I am the founder and CEO of my forum. If you must ask anyone for money, only ask it of me; not my 14-year-old staff member.

Thank You,
MKM

Disclaimer: Not a PB staff member, just a long-time user. I just wanted to point out that this is in fact in the ProBoards Terms of Service; for clarity, I am not saying this to be argumentative, or call into question your professional experience, but rather to be informative. Section 19, subsection (d),  Prohibited Uses (emphasis mine). I point this out only to show that this is neither unethical or misrepresented, as these terms are 100% explicitly outlined in the TOS as stated by Michael. You can also check the Internet Archive and see this has been in Section 19, Subsection D since at least 2010 and is not a recent edit as a result of this conversation.

19. PROHIBITED USES

ProBoards imposes certain restrictions on Your use of the Website and the Services. You represent and warrant that you will not: (a) "stalk" or otherwise harass any person, or contact any person who has requested not to be contacted; (b) provide false, misleading or inaccurate information to ProBoards or any other member; (c) impersonate, or otherwise misrepresent affiliation, connection or association with, any person or entity; (d) while, using the Website and Services, use "ad blocking" software or similar built-in web browser options designed to hide, block or prevent the proper display of online advertising; 

I also want to say that the ads a user views is often (but not always) reflective of their browsing history. With that said, PB doesn't want to serve any PG-13 inappropriate content either (as part of their TOS) and this includes advertisements. If you or another member sees an ad that is not PG13 appropriate, please don't hesitate to report the ad by clicking on the "Report Ad" link at the bottom of your forum.

I say this as gently as possible, and in as non-confrontational tone as possible: if the kid, or their guardian(s), are uncomfortable with PB being supported with ads and being required to disable adblocker and are also uncomfortable with paying to use an ad-free service, then ProBoards is likely not the right platform for their needs. I would also say if you are also uncomfortable with having this option while having children as members and staff members on your forum, PB might not be the right platform for your needs, either. At the end of the day, PB is supported by either ads, or paid options to remove the ads (and other supplemental features). That's its entire business model, and if that's not acceptable to a user, then that user's desires simply don't line up with the service PB intends to provide.

I sincerely do not think you understand the nature of my concern. your excerpt is one of the sections I previously reviewed. I understand you wish to be defensive toward proboards. Please note, however, that my forum is nearly eight years old. Simply switching to another forum when we have quite a following to our base is not an option at this point. Not to be insulting, but that is a ridiculous recommendation. It's not just the ads, it's the annoyance of her seeing this popup every other time she opens a page. 

Please, do not lecture me on advertising. I am fully aware of that dynamic. My point, which you and others who have responded, is that either way, you are asking a 14-year-old girl to give proboards money (yes, I understand it is through advertising, but proboards still receives money from it).


Your first paragraph is misstated since not one word applies to this topic. like you, who claims to non-combative, am simply trying to convey the obsurdity of requesting a 14-year-old to give them money. That's it. That's the whole enchilada. The fact that people want to be defensive and unethical (yes, no question that it is), is a reflection of their own comments rather than mine.

Thank you,
MKM

[Kami]

Jun 17, 2021 22:20:27 GMT -8 mkm said:

Jun 17, 2021 20:19:01 GMT -8 Kami said:

Disclaimer: Not a PB staff member, just a long-time user. I just wanted to point out that this is in fact in the ProBoards Terms of Service; for clarity, I am not saying this to be argumentative, or call into question your professional experience, but rather to be informative. Section 19, subsection (d),  Prohibited Uses (emphasis mine). I point this out only to show that this is neither unethical or misrepresented, as these terms are 100% explicitly outlined in the TOS as stated by Michael. You can also check the Internet Archive and see this has been in Section 19, Subsection D since at least 2010 and is not a recent edit as a result of this conversation.

19. PROHIBITED USES

ProBoards imposes certain restrictions on Your use of the Website and the Services. You represent and warrant that you will not: (a) "stalk" or otherwise harass any person, or contact any person who has requested not to be contacted; (b) provide false, misleading or inaccurate information to ProBoards or any other member; (c) impersonate, or otherwise misrepresent affiliation, connection or association with, any person or entity; (d) while, using the Website and Services, use "ad blocking" software or similar built-in web browser options designed to hide, block or prevent the proper display of online advertising; 

I also want to say that the ads a user views is often (but not always) reflective of their browsing history. With that said, PB doesn't want to serve any PG-13 inappropriate content either (as part of their TOS) and this includes advertisements. If you or another member sees an ad that is not PG13 appropriate, please don't hesitate to report the ad by clicking on the "Report Ad" link at the bottom of your forum.

I say this as gently as possible, and in as non-confrontational tone as possible: if the kid, or their guardian(s), are uncomfortable with PB being supported with ads and being required to disable adblocker and are also uncomfortable with paying to use an ad-free service, then ProBoards is likely not the right platform for their needs. I would also say if you are also uncomfortable with having this option while having children as members and staff members on your forum, PB might not be the right platform for your needs, either. At the end of the day, PB is supported by either ads, or paid options to remove the ads (and other supplemental features). That's its entire business model, and if that's not acceptable to a user, then that user's desires simply don't line up with the service PB intends to provide.

I sincerely do not think you understand the nature of my concern. your excerpt is one of the sections I previously reviewed. I understand you wish to be defensive toward proboards. Please note, however, that my forum is nearly eight years old. Simply switching to another forum when we have quite a following to our base is not an option at this point. Not to be insulting, but that is a ridiculous recommendation. It's not just the ads, it's the annoyance of her seeing this popup every other time she opens a page.

Please, do not lecture me on advertising. I am fully aware of that dynamic. My point, which you and others who have responded, is that either way, you are asking a 14-year-old girl to give proboards money (yes, I understand it is through advertising, but proboards still receives money from it).


Your first paragraph is misstated since not one word applies to this topic. like you, who claims to non-combative, am simply trying to convey the obsurdity of requesting a 14-year-old to give them money. That's it. That's the whole enchilada. The fact that people want to be defensive and unethical (yes, no question that it is), is a reflection of their own comments rather than mine.

Thank you,
MKM

With the greatest amount of respect, I really do not mean to be combative. My point about 'ethics' was simply that ProBoards isn't being misleading about their intents of disallowing adblocker, as it is [contrary to an earlier assertion] outlined in the TOS that such usage isn't allowed.

Whether or not it is ethical to include an option to purchase PB+ to an account that states its age under a certain threshold is something that is way above my paygrade (of zero dollars) to even begin to entertain. I am not a child, and I have no children of my own, so I have no worthwhile opinion on this front.

My forum is twice the age of yours, so I definitely understand that my statement was rather vexing, and I do apologise. However, it doesn't look like PB is willing to change their stance on the matter, so I wanted to offer the perspective I did in light of that. It was not intended as a dismissal of your concerns, just as an alternate point of view.

So TLDR: my only purpose was to a) offer an alternate perspective on the service provided + the needs of the users, and to b) point out that PB does 100% specify that using an adblocker is against the Terms of Service since it is my understanding from the below quote that it was difficult to find the specific clause outlining this to be the case.

Please point out how that the use of an ad blocker for a 14-year-old is against the terms of service. I have reviewed the terms of service and there is no such applicable clause. That claim is not correct.

[mkm]

Jun 17, 2021 22:24:50 GMT -8 Kami said:

Jun 17, 2021 22:20:27 GMT -8 mkm said:

I sincerely do not think you understand the nature of my concern. your excerpt is one of the sections I previously reviewed. I understand you wish to be defensive toward proboards. Please note, however, that my forum is nearly eight years old. Simply switching to another forum when we have quite a following to our base is not an option at this point. Not to be insulting, but that is a ridiculous recommendation. It's not just the ads, it's the annoyance of her seeing this popup every other time she opens a page.

Please, do not lecture me on advertising. I am fully aware of that dynamic. My point, which you and others who have responded, is that either way, you are asking a 14-year-old girl to give proboards money (yes, I understand it is through advertising, but proboards still receives money from it).


Your first paragraph is misstated since not one word applies to this topic. like you, who claims to non-combative, am simply trying to convey the obsurdity of requesting a 14-year-old to give them money. That's it. That's the whole enchilada. The fact that people want to be defensive and unethical (yes, no question that it is), is a reflection of their own comments rather than mine.

Thank you,
MKM

With the greatest amount of respect, I really do not mean to be combative. My point about 'ethics' was simply that ProBoards isn't being misleading about their intents of disallowing adblocker, as it is [contrary to an earlier assertion] outlined in the TOS that such usage isn't allowed.

Whether or not it is ethical to include an option to purchase PB+ to an account that states its age under a certain threshold is something that is way above my paygrade (of zero dollars) to even begin to entertain. I am not a child, and I have no children of my own, so I have no worthwhile opinion on this front.

I am not saying this in PB's defence per se, but rather that the admins have made it clear that they are unwilling to change their policy, so the decision is up to you and your members whether or not it's in y'all's best interest to continue with a service that has stated multiple times in their responses that they do have no intention of altering their policies.

Again, you really did not understand what I said in the least. Yes, I do want this to be cordial. I'd like you to outline when I said giving an option to include PB+ was to what I was referring. But, let's speak for a minute on proboards app which I purchased seven years ago for and has not worked since 2016. Now it's Tapatalk which is unreliable and difficult to navigate. I've never spoken to a single person who thinks Tapatalk is good.

However, I digress. You clearly are defensive in favor of PB's "policy." No, it's not illegal at all. No question. My point has always been the same. They want a 14-year-old girl to pay money. That's what PB+ is about and that's what the advertising is about. There is absolutely no question about that whatsoever.

Trust me, I have no delusions about PB changing their policies because of this thread nor any concerns about it. All but one response to my point has been defensive. That is clear. What is also clear is that PB is asking children for money. There might not be anything more unethical than that.

Thank you,
MKM