Can someone, anyone, show me a posting at MLS where the text posted has been turned into a hyperlink for an advertiser?
There are now 35 trackers on MLS spying on users. It dropped back to only 4 at one stage. They must be fiddling and testing things at the moment. Perhaps they are testing the tolerance of the users.
I’m not sure why all are not seeing the same ads. Perhaps some are logged in and others not. some have ad blockers and some not etc. Maybe they are only doing it to some user names to ‘evaluate’ things.
The hyperlinks in the user’s text is put there by VigLink.
Andrew
Tony they are on the page below.
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aft/129868/Default.aspx
If you can’t see them here is a sample part of Dr Rivet’s post there containing some of the hyperlinks below:
EDIT – oh look… how kind of them… I type in Amazon on my reply and the software scanned my post and “generously” added a web link [courtesy of VigLink] for AMAZON.
Andrew
Tony,
I wonder if it is possible for forum software to hyperlink automatically every time a sponsor was mentioned, e.g. Bachmann, USA Trains, or even non-train relaated sponsors of which there would be many.
Also perhaps just hovering over the word would activate a sponsor’s banner. Would a hperlink also fool all these adblockers?
Garratt Steam said:
Tony they are on the page below.
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aft/129868/Default.aspx
If you can’t see them here is a sample part of Dr Rivet’s post there containing some of the hyperlinks below:
EDIT – oh look… how kind of them… I type in Amazon on my reply and the software scanned my post and “generously” added a web link [courtesy of VigLink] for AMAZON.
Andrew
Andrew,
I just did an experiment and there is definately a hyperlink added. As you said Viglink. Not good. I think I’m done over there.
Also got a new banner at the bottom of the page saying “I have a new private message”. Wow!
Gary, the number of trackers keep changing. The most at one stage was 41 which later reduced back to 5. That is a ridiculous amount of profiling. Like most spamming halfwits they have to turn every trashy gimmick on at once because more is better apparently.
This VS company are just a saturation ad spam outfit and the forum users are seen as chattel whether paying members or not.
Andrew
Thanks for the warning Andrew. I would not have believed it if it hadn’t happened to me. MLS “old-timers” will be leaving in droves now. It didn’t take long for “corporate” to get involved, did it?
Thanks Andrew.
I can see the wording where links have been added at MLS.
Seems to me that this is going to be limited to big business advertisers, but given the sneaky way of doing it, the future is going to be very interesting, to say the least.
Perhaps people power may hold sway and get the practice stopped. Somehow I doubt it.
I still do not see any ads displayed. Just the links.
Gary Armitstead said:
Andrew,
I just posted over there regarding the advertising banners. I don’t show anything running besides MLS. I haven’t used an Ad block program in years. But some longtime members over there ARE seeing these banners. What goes?
Give it time. You’ve apparently not posted enough.
They need to compile a little “history” to determine what ads to target you with.
Ralph
Its funny and I guess its my programs but I don’t get anything and if I do I don’t even notice it. If you have the blockers etc… I don’t see what the big deal is.
Hey guys, remember “Change is good” 
At least that’s what I hear/read quite often
Gary Armitstead said:
Garratt Steam said:
Tony they are on the page below.
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aft/129868/Default.aspx
If you can’t see them here is a sample part of Dr Rivet’s post there containing some of the hyperlinks below:
EDIT – oh look… how kind of them… I type in Amazon on my reply and the software scanned my post and “generously” added a web link [courtesy of VigLink] for AMAZON.
Andrew
Andrew,
I just did an experiment and there is definately a hyperlink added. As you said Viglink. Not good. I think I’m done over there.
Also got a new banner at the bottom of the page saying “I have a new private message”. Wow!
I just checked my most recent modeling post there, yep, my reference to Ebay has been converted to a link. Dont know If I’m comfortable with my posts being subverted for an advert, I know when I’m reading an article I do not like those hyperlinked words stuck in the middle of a story. Luckily knowing that, from here on out I will avoid using full names and instead use alternates Evilbay for Ebay, Fascistbook for Facebook, or just stick an asterix in a word, Ama*zon for example, just to clog up the plumbing.
Or you could just do as a bunch of us have done; stop posting there!
Jon that doesnt help me, all my pics are hosted there.
Letting my membership lapse would destroy all my current and past posts and building logs including those here. I’m not prepared to cut and run just because of a few silly adverts, but I’m in a wait and see pattern. If its no worse than it is now, I’ll stay, but if it gets weird or I find my threads being messed with or I start getting tons of spam then I’ll have to reassess my position.
Vic Smith said:
Jon that doesnt help me, all my pics are hosted there.
Letting my membership lapse would destroy all my current and past posts and building logs including those here. I’m not prepared to cut and run just because of a few silly adverts, but I’m in a wait and see pattern. If its no worse than it is now, I’ll stay, but if it gets weird or I find my threads being messed with or I start getting tons of spam then I’ll have to reassess my position.
now might be a good time to start hosting your current/future pics here at LSC as a just in case move while you wait and see…
That is a shame Jon, if that is what is happening - I do notice far less folks signed in over there. As with any Forum good friendships are forged over time. I post infrequently on MLS.
If you have an issue with links being made on MLS, such as Ebay, Amazon or any other worldwide organisation it would seem simplest not to not mention them. After all every Forum is different and has its rules and procedures. Tailor your clothes to suit your cloth! The reverse side of the coin is that if I were to mention one of the American large scale dealers on MLS (if that is how is is now working|) then a link to them, as far as I am concerned, would not be a bad thing. Often when modeling a good suppliers name is mentioned as a source of items or stock or in a reply when another member raises a question.
Two factors not mentioned so far ( I believe) are browsers and ISP’s. Browser settings need to be considered and corrected, if need be, to avoid tracking information and web history being gathered and who knows what information your ISP has about you. I recently re-activated an ISP e-mail address having closed it down a year ago. So far I have not sent any mail from that address but I did start to get SPAM mail on that address. It is now blocked to unknown senders.
I do not see any adverts, of any type, on any the fora I use (not all railroad orientated) but. like a few posters here, use Ad Blocker. The only exception, I find, is Kalmbach where there are unstoppable pop ups. That probably explains why it is the least used place.
Vic Smith said:
Jon that doesnt help me, all my pics are hosted there.
Letting my membership lapse would destroy all my current and past posts and building logs including those here. I’m not prepared to cut and run just because of a few silly adverts, but I’m in a wait and see pattern. If its no worse than it is now, I’ll stay, but if it gets weird or I find my threads being messed with or I start getting tons of spam then I’ll have to reassess my position.
Vic, that is a big problem. I used to have all of my pictures posted there as well. Though I do have a freight shed over here, I also host my pictures on my own website; that way I’m in charge.
When I moved my pictures from MLS, I edited my old posts here and changed the picture links. At that time, I was able to do a search here using part of the directory structure that was unique in order to find posts that had my old pictures in them. I’m not sure if that is doable today, since the search function has changed a bit.
Of course I never could change them on MLS, since I wasn’t allowed to edit my own posts (yeah, I really didn’t own them, I guess!) But, the old posts disappeared after a software change anyway.
Jon how does that help my older threads? These logs are spread across 4 forums
I cannot edit them anymore to change the links, not withstanding that would be a massive job to do. All the pic links are from MLS, moving the pics wouldn’t solve that problem and all my threads and I do mean ALL my threads prior, would lose their images and become useless if I let it go dark there. I have already lost several logs due to past “upgrades” in years past and if I do have to bail there I am very much inclined to just say “stuff it” and may not bother anymore with extensive logs or building threads. At a certain point, its just not worth it.
Vic Smith said:
…
At a certain point, its just not worth it.
Vic,
That’s the point where you need to decide if it’s worth your while or you write the build logs here and post a rudimentary blurb on MLS announcing that you are presently building “xyz” with a link to your blog on LSC.
If and for how long the concept would fly shouldn’t take long to find out, eh!
PS on those older threads, if you get annoyed enough by the retro inserting of links to “whatever” you need to make more decisions i.e. add one more post to the threads protesting the practice.
Of course only “bitter” people resort to those measures. 
