Hated pop-ups savaged by silicon readers

Never have we at silicon.com been so glad we took the move to ditch pop-up adverts more than 12 months ago.

After running a story entitled "Pop-ups 'commercial suicide' for firms" we were inundated with reader comments attacking the intrusive browser ads that are still making the surfing experience frustrating and disjointed for many users.

The message is simple. "I will never buy from any company that advertised by pop-ups," wrote one anonymous reader and that opinion was one held by a lot of other readers.

Nigel Perry wrote: "Pop-ups are remarkably irritating because they obscure what I want to see and thereby waste my time, so I just avoid websites that have them."

One anonymous reader singled out Vodafone for criticism - though the mobile giant is of course far from being the only company guilty of such marketing tactics - but expressed annoyance at the fact that pop-up blockers can't always distinguish between ads and site functionality.

"I have now switched on my anti-pop-up software but lost some of the site-related banners. Come on Vodafone I can't be the only one being wound up by you. There are friendlier ways to advertise," wrote the reader.

Another reader, Gabrielle Shegog, said of pop-ups: "I hate them. Especially when you're merrily filling in some online form and the focus gets shifted by some pop-up for a dating agency."

However, she admitted they can still work - a fact which is no less annoying. "The only pop'ups I ever click on are for Amazon and they should definitely be banned, if only to save my credit card balance," she said.

Brian Challis is not convinced, however. He claims most users close the pop-up window before they've even seen what is being advertised - marketers take note.

"Pop-ups are the most annoying of all adverts and users click them off before they are 'digestable'," he said.

Have your say on this burning issue, read the story and post a reader comment.