posted on September 26, 2001 08:59:59 AM new
I've noticed for the last few months that eBay pages often become delayed in loading due to a link to this site "ads.web.aol.com."
I use netscape and you can see on the bottom of the screen that the page is waiting for data from the above url - and it won't load until it gets it! [Don't know about IE]
Anyone else notice this? I think it's a pain and could hurt sales too?
posted on September 26, 2001 09:24:14 AM new
YES! It drives me nuts, and I use Explorer. It even hangs on a cable connection but not as bad as my dial-up. It's a BAD BAD thing.
posted on September 26, 2001 09:34:14 AM new
Hi KatyD:
Well, so it's not just me! I have a cable connection and it is hanging up terrible today on the search pages. I don't suppose it would do any good to write eBay?
posted on September 26, 2001 09:42:42 AM new
Some ads don't use the proper tagging, intentionally or unintentionally forcing the browser to wait until the first part of the ad image is retrieved to determine its size, and since the size of each item on the page makes a difference, it could then hold up rendering of everything below it. To be fair, this can happen with any image, ad or not, that does not have 'height' and 'width' tags; but it is of course more annoying to get hung up waiting for an ad.
I've noticed plenty of slowdowns from various aol.com sites (auction item pictures, ads, whatever) over the years. I long ago added ads.web.aol.com to my HOSTS file (a line such as:
127.0.0.1 [several space characters] ads.web.aol.com
), so all attempts at contact to it would be ignored. (Not as elegant a solution as an ad-blocker, but effective. )
One sort-of-related note on AOL auction item (not ad) images. AOL is often too slow for the browser's taste, causing timeouts, which is one cause of images manifesting as the broken image icon (Netscape) or X icon (IE). One thing NS offers that IE does not (to the best of my knowledge) is "View image" (right-click menu). The browser will then wait, for much longer, to try to get the image, because that is the only thing you're trying to view. If there is nothing for it to wait for (e.g. the image is not there), it will give you a more explicit error. Either way, you'll usually know better why the image could not be retrieved. It may not always (or ever) be worth the bother, but that's up to you!
----
What's being done in the name of direct marketing nowadays is crazy.
The above are all just my opinions, except where I cite facts as such.
Oh, I am not dc9a320 anywhere except AW. Any others are not me.
Is eBay is changing from a world bazaar into a bizarre world?
[ edited by dc9a320 on Sep 26, 2001 09:45 AM ]
posted on September 26, 2001 09:46:47 AM new
Hi Morgantown! LTNS! I think those ads were part of the "partnership" deal that ebay consummated with AOL a while back. I wouldn't be surprised if that aol advertising banner is responsible for much of the slow sales and bids. Trying to load the categories is maddening, like slogging through quicksand. And then you have to be very judicious in selecting auctions to click on because it takes sooooo long to get back to the category page. Most of the time I'm on a dial-up, but I can't load ebay on it. Just to slooooow. I do suspect alot of other potential bidders are giving up too.
posted on September 26, 2001 09:50:02 AM newAnyone else notice this?
Yes! My browswer {Netscape 4.7) lingers on that 'ads.web.aol.com' more than I want. On searches another 'functionality issue' I have is sometimes I get just the advertisement banner and a blank page.
posted on September 26, 2001 10:26:59 AM new
* * * I noticed a couple of months ago eBay's "search" results pages all hanging for a few seconds contacting ads.web.aol.com, so they can flash those useless-as-you-know-what banners in front of you. When you're sorting through many pp of your item of interest, it adds up! It's like eBay feels our time is worth NOTHING.
I complained to eBay back then, but of course got no satisfaction.
It's one of the reasons I haven't listed anything in months, and have dropped off buying, too.
posted on September 26, 2001 10:52:47 AM new
KatyD
A little trick...So you can quickly get back to a page that loads slowly, right-click on the link and choose "open in a new window." To get back to the previous window, just close the opened window.
posted on September 26, 2001 12:19:04 PM new
Thanks for the advice, Mark. But it's a no go. I've been trying to get into the ebay categories for the last 1/2 hour. The page won't load, just hanging up on the aol link. This is via cable. Tried my dial-up, and can get in but it takes almost 2 minutes to load. NOT worth the effort. So, sellers, take you low bid and sales complaints to ebay. I know I'm not the only one who is giving up. They HAVE to get rid of that aol link!
posted on September 26, 2001 12:47:01 PM new
I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but if you're having problems with those ads on e-bay, all you have to do to fix it is turn off java and javascript in your browser.
For Netscape, click on EDIT, then PREFERENCES, then ADVANCED, and make sure that java and javascript are not checked on.
If you're going to list, you might want to turn java back on, but if you're browsing or researching, turning java off will help a lot.
Robin
Edited to add: I will be posting the hint to turn java and javascript off in all of my auctions from now on. It does work, and many people don't have a clue as to how to do it.
Maybe if everyone would do this, it'll help?
[ edited by monkeysuit on Sep 26, 2001 12:52 PM ]
posted on September 26, 2001 01:10:31 PM new
Please add me to the list complaining about the sloooness of Ebay. I was trying to do a search, and finally just gave up! It would take great patience to slosh through the way it is now! (More than I have) - I am on cable also.
Turning off Java and javascript - "scripting" - works great with Macs, too. No AW pop-up, no pop-ups anywhere, no sneaky off-site links, but I still can't get the $$%%#@$$@@!!## Musak to stop in those Powerseller ads, though, I've got to admit, I did enjoy the Peanuts theme.
Just remember they're off if you run across a site that's not functioning right....
Edited to remove a smiley that occurred when I combined a quotation mark and a close parenthesis!
[ edited by icyu on Sep 26, 2001 10:41 PM ]
I think those ads were part of the "partnership" deal that ebay consummated with AOL a while back. I wouldn't be surprised if that aol advertising banner is responsible for much of the slow sales and bids. Trying to load the categories is maddening, like slogging through quicksand. And then you have to be very judicious in selecting auctions to click on because it takes sooooo long to get back to the category page. Most of the time I'm on a dial-up, but I can't load ebay on it. Just to slooooow. I do suspect alot of other potential bidders are giving up too.
