I condemn the people at The Oz who have decided to make their own pop-up ads, advertising the fact that you’ve clicked on a new section (in case you weren’t aware).
I also condemn the fact that it chooses to keep reminding you of this fact, even if it’s open in another tab or window from the one you’re currently using.
Perhaps our very own Christopher Pearson can have some words with the IT Department. (Oh my God, it just did it again!)
Condemn away, people…
Yes, incredibly annoying. Maybe subliminally, the pop up that distinguishes “news” (like for instance, Dennis Shanahan’s newspoll “reports”) from “opinion” (like Dennis Shanahan’s extra spin on his spun newspoll) is meant to tell us something…
It’s driving me nuts too.
What in god’s name is it for? Some crude device to measure hits? It’s driving me nuts.
It’s a complete pain in the arse. I don’t usually visit the website and this type of anti user design fully vindicates my lack of visitation. The thing when the page automatically reloads is also a gripe for me. Just let us be, Rupert!
I’ve sent the OZ an e-mail on this hopefully that will help.
While we are condemming, I condemn whatever is causing LP to break my RSS reader for the last week – today it is Error parsing RSS XML: Undefined root element: html. At least it makes a nice change from the hexadecimal errors.
Use Google reader, it just works.
I applaud our esteemed Fearless Leader for getting pissed at Christmas and ringing up Stan Zemanek to let the world know what a brilliant Fearless Leader he is. Mate:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/files/zemanekhowardinterview.wma
Just one of the guys, that’s all, getting pissed, just like a real human. This one read to me like that night watching the footy in his trackydaks and he jumped for joy when Australia scored a goal…….yet his minders were all wearing dress clothes and the cameras were there conveniently shooting the whole thing. Man of the people indeed.
I can only assume it’s part of some stupid editorial policy – because it’s not a popup web page (like an ad), it’s a browser acknowledgement box, that you can’t just ignore or close. You have to acknowledge it to make it go away.
And it only appears to come up when you come in to the site from the outside, or change categories when you’re inside the website – when you open your first opinion article, for example. You don’t get it all of the time, moving between articles in the same section.
Maybe it is a measurement device, but it doesn’t strike me as likely – you can do without being nearly as overt as that, and the professional marketing people are going to want to be a little more subtle than that.
Maybe someone with a little more technical knowledge can offer some insight?
Agreed Tester, apart from this little bit of silliness, much better, even more so if you avoid the crazies, liars and blusterers who write the op-eds and read the other fare.
For example, Gary Hughes crime blog is well written and to the point and he does get involved in the comments….nice.
Here is one of his:
So it’s not just here at LP that the crazies come out to play when domestic violence is discussed, they ply their distorted trade everywhere.
I would condemn the fact that another Christmas has passed and you fascists haven’t put aside your loathsome religion and come across to the side of righteousness and small government.
But the thing is this. Nothing is more dead then last Christmas. But its still one more day until this one totally goes under and is lost for all time.
So I won’t condemn you all.
But just do the right thing and break through from all this error and contempt.
And email me right now to log your New Years resolutions to this effect.
Looks like a programmers debug code – pop-up something to show at what stage the code is being executed – that has strayed into production.
Just tried the site then and it doesn’t show, so presumably the pop-up has been removed.
Interesting.
The Oz made a big thing of being “open for business” while the Fin Review took a break this week. Perhaps they should have said “open for business BETA”…
It’s still happening.
Just clicked on Howard promises robust election year by starting debate on nuclear power blah blah “news” (shouldn’t there be a pop up for “rehashing crap from last year no one took any notice of”?)… and got the dreaded popup. To tell me it was news.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20986105-601,00.html
So Mr Bird – are they paying you yet, or are you still doing it for love?
I’m still waiting for my email, too.
I haven’t got mine either.
Must have been a non-core promise from Bird.
“So Mr Bird – are they paying you yet, or are you still doing it for love?”
Only for love sister.
And if they paid me it would still be only for love but it would allow me to love just that little bit faster, harder and more continuously.
I’ll email you.
Sure I may be late this year.
But you’ll come over someday.
Someday at Christmas you’ll come round.
You’ll run out of reasons not to.
I’m glad others are getting the popup problem. I thought there was something wrong with my computer when I logged on to the Oz this afternoon.
The problem was still there at 11pm tonight. I’ve emailed them and given them the benefit of the doubt that this is a problem not a feature.
If by some quirk of a demented managerial fancy this is intended as a standard operational feature of their website, then I’d suggest that everyone gives them feedback that it is a serious load of cobblers.
cheers,
Derek
oops wrong thread!