CDR: Re: Ho to KICK OUT Junkbusters users

[Igor Chudov]

Tim May wrote:
> 
> At 11:19 AM -0500 10/28/00, Igor Chudov wrote:
> >I have a website (www.algebra.com) that makes money from banners. I have
> >a suspicion that a small percentage of my users uses Junkbusters proxy
> >in order to avoid seeing my banners.
> >
> >I do not want to serve such users at all and I do not want them to use
> >my bandwidth.
> >
> >Is there any way to detect a user of Junkbusters in a CGI/mod_perl script?
> 
> Your presumably-misspelled subject line, "Ho to KICK OUT Junkbusters 
> users," seems ironically appropriate.
> 
> Though some prefer the spelling "Hoe."
> 
> As for finding ways to see who is avoiding looking at yoiur 
> advertisements, most of the ad filtering is done at the recipient's 
> machine, right? Gonna be hard for you to reach into their machines to 
> see if they're running ad busters in a local script.

This may or may not be true. This all depends on how junkbusters script
works. Perhaps junkbusters filters out all 480x90 images, for instance. In
which case I can place a 480x90 transparent gif at the bottom of my
entrance page, and upon request of such gif I can set something in the
user's cookie that would allow him/her further browsing. A lot of things
are computer detectable.

> As for the ads themselves, who ever looks at them? The doc com ad 
> stream model has been collapsing since its inception...only in the 
> last six months has the message gotten nearer to the dinosaur's brain.

You are correct, for the most part, but your statement does not apply
to all sites.

Maybe it is collapsing for companies who hire dozens of programmers
to create some trivial nonsensical sites, e.g. drkoop.com. I created my
site by myself, with no costs other than my time involved (and I
enjoyed doing it anyway, so the true cost is near zero), and banners
nicely supplement my income. I am not looking for a multimillion IPO,
just looking to make some $$ after all expenses. I have the benefit of a
nice name (www.algebra.com), so I do not need to spend any $$ at all to
attract visitors. 

Practically, my site is making money after all expenses (dsl fees etc).

One of the most popular features, aside from math help, is "Talk to
Splotchy", which is a conversation with an Eliza-like AI program. But
unlike Eliza, Spltchy is more like a chatterbox with a lot more
personality. Some people even have cybersex with Splotchy.

Also, I have a "talk to George W Bush LIVE" section at
bush-2000.algebra.com.  Basically the same thing but politically
educated.

	- Igor.