Im not sure how much control the admins have over the ads they have on the site but I was pretty disappointed to see the Yes on 8 ads all over the site this morning. I thought it was pretty tasteless and a little offensive considering the makeup of the Disney fan community.

Needless to say I dont think Ill indulge myself in any more MousePlanet till after the elections...

Quite a disappointment, MousePlanet. :(

Im not sure how much control the admins have over the ads they have on the site but I was pretty disappointed to see the Yes on 8 ads all over the site this morning. I thought it was pretty tasteless and a little offensive considering the makeup of the Disney fan community.

Needless to say I dont think Ill indulge myself in any more MousePlanet till after the elections...

Quite a disappointment, MousePlanet. :(I can pretty much guarantee you that nobody at MousePlanet approved that ad before it ran, (the only person who could have done so happens to be married to me). It's likely being served by one of the ad networks - probably based on the content of one of the Lounge threads - and we don't have advance approval over those. We have certain "family friendly" filters set up - no sex, no alcohol, no gambling, no cigarettes - but I don't believe we have any filter about political ads one way or the other, just as we don't filter religious ads.

AVP

Has MP admin blocked those ads now? They are offensive and most certainly not "family friendly" to my family or many others here.

Without agreeing or disagreeing on its intentions, it is paid advertisement. Seeing that it's a Google ad, seems like the only way it'll go away is if everybody stops talking about it. ;)

With all due respect , it is an important subject. I want to know if it has been blocked. I've never liked that religious ads aren't filtered here and have said so but I have tolerated them . But I will not sit by and let this go by . As I said, it is very personal.

There are ways to block banner ads on any website, not just MousePlanet. What you use depends on what browser you are using to view a website.

As a representative of MousePlanet, all I can say is that we're aware of the issue and are working to resolve it.

Personally, without speaking for anyone else, I'm horrified that these ads are running here.

It looks like the ads were targeted to run today and tomorrow, and are reportedly being served on several Disney-oriented sites in addition to MousePlanet.

The ad is being served by Google, and their tool does not allow us to filter for political ads as a category as some other networks do. We have blocked this ad, however (and those of you who have followed discussions about other blocked ads will remember this), it can take up to 72 hours for the block to take effect.

There is nothing further that MousePlanet can do at this point. I understand that many are offended that this ad is running here (or anywhere, for that matter.) I understand that there are others who would be equally horrified if a "No on 8" ad was running here. If one pops up and is reported to us, we'll block it as well.

AVP

With all due respect , it is an important subject. I want to know if it has been blocked. I've never liked that religious ads aren't filtered here and have said so but I have tolerated them . But I will not sit by and let this go by . As I said, it is very personal.

Yes it is an important subject, and that's why both sides of this are spending so much.


There is nothing further that MousePlanet can do at this point. I understand that many are offended that this ad is running here (or anywhere, for that matter.) I understand that there are others who would be equally horrified if a "No on 8" ad was running here. If one pops up and is reported to us, we'll block it as well.

AVP

Well, you could turn off all ads for the site (just take out the Google code), but that would be lost revenue.

Well, you could turn off all ads for the site (just take out the Google code), but that would be lost revenue.True, we could, but we're not going to. There is a difference between an advertisment and an editorial, and we hope readers can tell the difference.

AVP

I found these ads very disturbing and annoying. There are popping up on almost every web site that I am on today. It's like continuous harrassment. These people have been coming to my door, calling on the phone, and spamming me in my mail box.

ENOUGH!

I am posting now because I notice these ads are currently no longer on MP. I thank you. Very much!

I don't get it - I have never seen a political ad, or any ad for that matter, pop up while I am using Mouseplanet... is that because I am a paid supporter?

I don't get it - I have never seen a political ad, or any ad for that matter, pop up while I am using Mouseplanet... is that because I am a paid supporter?The ads in question were running on MousePlanet, specifically the front page. You wouldn't see them on MousePad if you were a subscriber, but you might if you were reading an article on MousePlanet.

AVP

It looks like the ads were targeted to run today and tomorrow, and are reportedly being served on several Disney-oriented sites ...

/sigh

It looks like the ads were targeted to run today and tomorrow, and are reportedly being served on several Disney-oriented sites in addition to MousePlanet.

The ad is being served by Google, and their tool does not allow us to filter for political ads as a category as some other networks do. We have blocked this ad, however (and those of you who have followed discussions about other blocked ads will remember this), it can take up to 72 hours for the block to take effect.

There is nothing further that MousePlanet can do at this point.
AVP

Thankyou for answering my question and for MP's quick action. Another website has reported that it only takes two hours on their system for such blocks to take effect. Hopefully, it will happen as quickly here. I have no doubt that members will be quick to report any other offensive ads as they pop up.

Another website has reported that it only takes two hours on their system for such blocks to take effect. Hopefully, it will happen as quickly here.That is inconsistent with Google's published policy, but it does appear that they have already managed to block the ads. I have no doubt that members will be quick to report any other offensive ads as they pop up. Nobody has reported any of the McCain or Obama ads, or any other political ads that have appeared on the site in recent weeks, so the outrage seems to be limited only to position statements on this one issue.

AVP

It looks like the ads were targeted to run today and tomorrow, and are reportedly being served on several Disney-oriented sites in addition to MousePlanet.

Including my own personal site. I am shaking, furious, disgusted. They placed their horrible ads on my own personal site.

So just in case anyone had any doubt about what AVP said about whether MousePlanet had any advance notice or any approval of these ads, now you know. We didn't.

And to anyone who visits my site and saw one of those Yes-8 ads, I humbly apologize.

So just in case anyone had any doubt about what AVP said about whether MousePlanet had any advance notice or any approval of these ads, now you know. We didn't. I hadn't expected that anyone would doubt me. Anyone who can read 1" down to my .sig knows how I feel about this issue.

AVP

Including my own personal site. I am shaking, furious, disgusted. They placed their horrible ads on my own personal site.


We had the same experience on another little free site that I am on. We couldn't block the ads there but we just added a bunch of newsfaders of our own saying Vote No on Prop 8. :D

Not sure if you can do something like that or not.

Thank you to MousePlanet for taking care of this offensive ad as quickly as you could.

I don't know if this is still the case, but I know on radio there was a law that all political ads had to be run regardless of the stations position on the subject. I remember years ago that one station had hosts that opposed a particular ad that ran non stop, and they had to tell their listeners about the law, and that they were not promoting the ad that was running.

I don't know if this is still the case, but I know on radio there was a law that all political ads had to be run regardless of the stations position on the subject. I remember years ago that one station had hosts that opposed a particular ad that ran non stop, and they had to tell their listeners about the law, and that they were not promoting the ad that was running.

The law that was in effect when I was studying TV production said that stations had to offer political ads at the same rate to all comers.

If you didn't want the controversy, you could always jack your rates up: "Political ads, $100,000 for 30 seconds." Some stations refused ALL political ads.

But you couldn't offer ads at one rate to your side and a higher rate to the other side.

--t

Same thing on another Disney site today. They also had a skywriter over Disneyland today. Absolutely disgusting. I'm appalled (of course, I already was).

I think the best thing that sites can do now is take a very clear stance against it. Insert No on 8 banners of your own, change to rainbow logos, run articles taking a position against it, whatever it takes to make it clear you're not connected. Sucks that Google has no built-in ability to block them, and they obviously knew they were taking advantage of that by pushing their ads out in too short a space of time to block them. Particularly interesting since Google itself took a stance against Prop 8.

That is inconsistent with Google's published policy, but it does appear that they have already managed to block the ads. Nobody has reported any of the McCain or Obama ads, or any other political ads that have appeared on the site in recent weeks, so the outrage seems to be limited only to position statements on this one issue.

AVP
Personal beliefs and political affiliations aside, these ads are everywhere to the verge where I feel visually assaulted/harassed. No political candidate or ballot issue is pushing its message in my face on the internet, TV, or radio like the "Y on prop 8."

Then there's the fact that their political signs are all over our city's vacant lots and major intersections, with the "No on 8" signs being trashed & torn down. I hate bullies and all the ads and in my face & scare tactics feel like bullying to me.

Believe me, other sites and Google got an eyeful from me too.

Including my own personal site. I am shaking, furious, disgusted. They placed their horrible ads on my own personal site.

So just in case anyone had any doubt about what AVP said about whether MousePlanet had any advance notice or any approval of these ads, now you know. We didn't.

And to anyone who visits my site and saw one of those Yes-8 ads, I humbly apologize.

I got them on my own site too. I wonder how much supporters paid for this blitz advertising.

Same thing on another Disney site today. They also had a skywriter over Disneyland today. Absolutely disgusting. I'm appalled (of course, I already was).

I think the best thing that sites can do now is take a very clear stance against it. Insert No on 8 banners of your own, change to rainbow logos, run articles taking a position against it, whatever it takes to make it clear you're not connected. Sucks that Google has no built-in ability to block them, and they obviously knew they were taking advantage of that by pushing their ads out in too short a space of time to block them. Particularly interesting since Google itself took a stance against Prop 8.

I'm sure Google can block any ad they want to. Although this ad may be offensive to some, it doesn't violate their content policy. And it adds revenue to their bottom line (and I'm guessing it's a significant amount).