I think so, Binky. At least, I've seen several discussions in places like the NYTimes on the topic of how ad blockers could ruin the net. I generally don't bother with one for that reason, but if the ads persist in being annoying like that, I may be forced to.

Oh dear. How can I live with the guilt?

I have a pop-up blocker or three (how do you use the internet without?), but usually I can just ignore banners. But if the banners make annoying as fuck noises? That seems counter productive to having the ads tolerated. I deliberately sought out a blocker. Sorry, forumer. Well, not really.

Thanks for the adblock link, inversed. Much, much better.

I'm managing - so far.

Heee. I may have to learn.

Perhaps to make up for the scary ads with the disembodied voice, I got one today that asked "Is Tom Cruise Insane? Vote Now!" in one of the Community threads. And in the ad there is Tom, floating in the heavens, looking like a televangelist.

I have never been more thankful for AdBlock.

The la-*test*-('") 'You have won a million dollars' ads goes squeak, squeak, squeak. First I thought it was my smoke alarm, then that I'd somehow set my phone alarm, then that my ansaphone had broken. Stupid Snarkfest.

That one bloody drives me crazy. I usually listen to some tunes when I check out SF at lunch, and since I have my headphones plugged directly into my computer, that damned beeping keeps going off over the music. Grrr!

Okay, so the "FREE IQ -*test*-('")!" ad is a scam even by ordinary internet IQ -*test*-('") standards of scaminess. I admit, I'm a sucker for these things, but this one consists entirely of questions stolen from other internet IQ -*test*-('")s, and when you're done it asks you to sign up for free offers "while we're calculating your results." You must sign up for at least one. Then, when you've signed up, it offers you "bonus" offers, and again you must choose one. After three levels of these shenanigans, even I got bored waiting to see if they'd ever spit out a score, so I gave up. I guess the idea is that once you've proven you're a sucker, they're just going to keep asking you to sign up for things until you work it out and go away.

(Needless to say, I used all fake info for everything, but damn their algorithms have gotten good. It actually detected when I forgot my fake phone number and entered a different one, and it informed me that 324 Chesterton Ave. is NOT a real street in Springfield, MA.)

The girl in the Get Your Online Degree ad looks like Jamie Lynn Spears.

What's with the half-naked girl ads all over the place? I noticed it in the "Publishing Scandals" thread first and I thought it was due to this quote:

But now it's everywhere! Which makes it extra hard to be on Snarkfest at work. I miss the text ads.

Yet another good reason for Firefox and Adblock, it would seem.

Oh, that's funny. I was just reading this thread to see if anyone else was getting gratuitous boob shots (and Jessica Simpson), and the ad in this thread is "You're about to see the Alps from a whole new point of view." The ads are just full of mountains today!

Okay, this is just the final straw. The silly ads, the beeping ads, even the disembodied voices were one thing. But this? This is crossing a line.

There is an ad appearing at the top of this window that is calling Paris Hilton an actress. I mean, good god, people - where is the sence of decency?