dcortez

I have no doubt that raising this issue will invite a broader range of 'comments' than intended, but I think it's timely and worthwhile to discuss.

Lately, there has been a lot of chat regarding circumventing SP2's mechanisms for blocking 'popups' et al. And, there is a diversity of opinion when it comes to popups, exit traffic, consoles, etc.

I would like to see a balanced discussion about:

"Using popups on a system that the user has clearly set up or indicated that they do not want popups (visa vi popup blocker)."

When popup blockers came out, I believe, in many ways this was a good thing because the user now has a choice.

I used to stay clear of presenting my web visitors with any unexpected consoles/popups.

But with popup blockers being available (and without cost), linking to sponsors with a 'reasonable' (land mine #1) number of popups was less of an issue since visitors could choose whether they wanted them or not.

HOWEVER, if a visitor uses tools or an operating system in a way which indicates they do NOT want popups, can't popups which circumvent these intentions be considered 'viruses'? What makes them different from SPAM or other software which takes over your system in a way you do not want it to?

I believe popups on a system which is configured with the intention of preventing popups (technically successful or not) are viruses by definition.

What do you think?

-Dino