Star-Bulletin on the Web

[LikaNui]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Mel, I agree with you 101%. It was very annoying to have those huge ads pop up on the S-B's main page, but now they're popping up on individual story links and blocking those too!
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Thanks for the links to send complaints. Count me in.

[buzz1941]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Supposedly, these pop-ups are supposed to happen only the first time your computer accesses the page. Go back later, and it won't happen. But will again when the ad changes. I found that scrolling downward gets rid of the ad.

You are complaining to the right people.

[Kimo]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Two of the offending ads are for political candidates Mon Lee and Akuna - running for the Board of Ed. E-mail them directly, too:

Janis Akuna - janis@janisakuna.com

Carol Mon Lee - carol@carolmonlee.com

[TuNnL]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Supposedly, these pop-ups are supposed to happen only the first time your computer accesses the page. Go back later, and it won't happen. But will again when the ad changes. I found that scrolling downward gets rid of the ad.

Hmmm...that doesn’t seem to work. In fact, I used to click the “close ad” button on these ads, but now those buttons don't work either. Clicking on them simply takes you to the advertising company’s website. I would advise anyone wishing to actually read a Star-Bulletin article on their website, click on the “Print page” button. At least the printable version hasn't been covered by a unmovable popup...yet.

[pzarquon]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Echoing the frustration here. Whenever I write online about local news, I prefer to link the Star-Bulletin over the Advertiser. When the Advertiser implemented its demographic survey interstitial, that was clearly a good choice.

But now these gigantic ads are prompting me to link more to the competition (increasingly, local TV stations sites, which are getting better as local newspaper websites get worse).

It's not just that they're obnoxious pop-up ads. These exist on lots of other sites, and some are more obnoxious design wise (i.e. 'die cut' shapes or even moving). But it's that the Star-Bulletin is serving ads that are both ugly and nonfunctional.

A good majority of these page-obscuring ads look like someone did them in MS Paint in Windows 95. But the fact that some of them don't close when you click "close" -- and go ahead and send you to the advertiser's site -- is downright unacceptable. I'd like to think it's accidental, but I'm leaning towards malicious now that new ads with the fake close links have appeared.

I'm sure it helps the Star-Bulletin sell these things, since obviously advertisers get clickthroughs. But they're not earned and are unfair to the advertiser (unless there's a "fake close box" premium rate in the contract), and they annoy readers even more than just being ugly and huge.

[helen]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

But the fact that some of them don't close when you click "close" -- and go ahead and send you to the advertiser's site -- is downright unacceptable. I'd like to think it's accidental, but I'm leaning towards malicious now that new ads with the fake close links have appeared.

I need to verify this on Monday but it might be even more bizzare (as in some one not covering all the bases) than malicious. From my system at work I get the same result as you do, I click on the close ad button and it generates another window contain the ad's web site. However when I do this at home (which only I tried just now) the ad does disappear as it should.

The difference:
home: Windows XP Home (SP 3), Internet Explorer V7
work: Mac OS X, Sarfari (don't remember the version)

[TuNnL]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

at work I get the same result as you do, I click on the close ad button and it generates another window contain the ad's web site. However when I do this at home (which only I tried just now) the ad does disappear as it should.

The difference:
home: Windows XP Home (SP 3), Internet Explorer V7
work: Mac OS X, Sarfari (don't remember the version)

And to throw yet another wrinkle into the fold, I am using the latest version of Firefox (3.0.4) on Windows XP Home (SP 3) and I get the undesirable result.

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

I'll just add my voice here: I find any ad which covers the desired content unacceptable. Ads without close buttons that function just adds insult. It certainly discourages my use of the site.

[dick]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

At least it's free.

The biggest mistake newspapers and news agencies made early on was letting people have unlimited access to all the content at no charge. Now everyone expects to get everything for free, all the time.

[Nords]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

The biggest mistake newspapers and news agencies made early on was letting people have unlimited access to all the content at no charge. Now everyone expects to get everything for free, all the time.

I'll pay for content that has value. (Sorry, WSJ.) But there's no way that any particular newspaper can expect to charge for their content when all the other newspapers want to deliver it to your browser for free.

The problem is that paid subscriptions gave great feedback to the editorial/business staff. Now when the only revenue comes from advertising, that's who controls the revenue. It's effectively turning both the Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin into Midweek, Pennysaver, and Ka Nupepa...

[LikaNui]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Another item of annoyance is that formerly each online story was all on one page; one click on the link to a given story, and the whole thing was there. But now most of the stories are on two, three, or more pages, even though many times the last page has nothing on it.
WTF?

[helen]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

For the Star Bulletin there is an option to view an article via a paginated or full view. Honestly I can't think of the logic as to why someone would like to view an article across serveral pages.

[tutusue]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Mac OS 10.4.11
Firefox 3.0.4
The ad window closed as it should. I dislike those things, too, but understand the need for 'em!

[mel]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

Star-Bulletin.com pop ups are a continuing problem. Read that continuing problem advertising and marketing guys at StarBulletin.com. I hate the ads with the fake close buttons. What a freakin' insult.

Folks, most of us LIKE the StarBulletin.com website because of the content that is there... the NEWS, FEATURES, BUSINESS, SPORTS and OPINION content... the standard display and banner ads are okay too. IT IS THE POP UPS using Flash and/or Java (any?) that are irksome and severely lessens the value of this local news resource.

However I have for now found a way around some of this crap using my standard computer browsers... and those of you on cell phones and other mobile devices should know about this version:


http://www.starbulletin.com/mobile/


It's the plain text version of StarBulletin.com... It has most of the links to the headlines of the day. Most of the pages from there link to similar pages, none with those frustratingly annoying pop-up ads. And now I have it bookmarked because I just hate the flash pop ups.

Those who are linking to specific stories from blogs and other resources are advised to link to the plain text versions if you want to spare your readers from the dreadful popups.

And just for the record, advertisers who have fallen prey to the marketing idiots pop up pitch:

Central Pacific Bank
Ke Ola Pokai Bay

I suggest that these businesses be avoided by anyone who hates StarBulletin.com pop-ups. And if you have your money in CPB... well tell somebody there you hate their ad campaign at the online StarBulletin.com website.

[tutusue]

Re: Honolulu Star-Bulletin Website Update

I bank at CPB, Mel, and while I appreciate your abhorrence of the pop-up ads and your resultant opinion of them, my frustration level is much less than yours. I don't feel the need to discuss CPB's pop-ups with them. I haven't experienced the fake close buttons but agree that they'd be maddening. As long as the close buttons are working properly I find it much simpler to just click those ads away than to send my blood pressure soaring. There are just too many much larger problems to worry about in the world, our nation, our state and our individual households right now. For me, pop-up ads don't make my list! JMHO...

(donning my asbestos suit! )