Unwanted Links to Internet appear unexpectedly

Whenever I view one of my previous posts at virtual doctor for example this one
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho....-All-Programs
I see it contains some words colored with blue text.
The blue text items are hyperlinks to things on the internet which I did not include in my original post.
What's going on?

In my first sentence of the post, the item Windows 7 is in blue and hovering over it with the mouse reveals that it is a link to www.amazon.com...............Why? I did not post a link to Amazon.

What browser are you using? Version # and addons if any.

Maybe of interest:
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...k&daysprune=60

Internet Explorer 10

As a test, I disabled all add-ons and the problem is still there.

I hate this, it is distracting, intrusive, pushy and arrogant.

Whatever is causing this has no right to alter my posted public content.

Quote:

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Internet Explorer 10

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If you look at the other thread, it's only IE or browsers that don't have adblocking (like Adblock Plus) installed.

Boy oh boy,
The more I think about this, the more angry I get.
How did viglink get my password to Virtual Doctor?

They must have gotten my password to Virtual Doctor
Otherwise they would not have been able to change my posting at Virtual Doctor.

This is an outrage! Passwords are designed to protect and to keep private what is yours and what is mine.
I don't like people or software finding out my password and then using it for something I don't want or intend.

Next, I am not a walking advertisement, as a matter of fact, I hate all forms of marketing, I hate marketing people, I hate marketing ideas and I hate marketing strategies. Marketing people, ideas and strategies insult my intelligence. And millions and millions of other people feel the same way I do.

When I post a question or response in a forum, it is a reflection of me, my intelligence, my personality and my style.

I do not want to be associated with hustlers and hucksters or be considered a sales con artist by others.

Yet this is what people who read my posts will think of me. They will think I have some association with EBAY or Amazon sales organizations or any other company that gets pointed to by a link created by viglink.

I urge Virtual Doctor to remove this software right away.
I won't be using the site anymore if this continues....anyone with me?

You might want to comment on the other thread. This is above the Mods' powers.

From what I gather, it would detect certain text strings and replace them with a link. It doesn't have direct access to your account/password.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brad jones

VigLinks is something new we are trying. We have another intellitext system we use on our other sites that is set up differently. I agree with some of the comments -- these links need to be a bit more obvious, plus the eBay links are.... odd.

I'll discuss this with the appropriate people internally.

Brad!

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You may have missed the point---it's a function of your Browser, not Virtual Dr.

Actually, it's a function of the VirtualDr;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brad jones

VigLinks is something new we are trying. We have another intellitext system we use on our other sites that is set up differently. I agree with some of the comments -- these links need to be a bit more obvious, plus the eBay links are.... odd.

I'll discuss this with the appropriate people internally.

Brad!

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Brad is an "Editor in Chief" aka Bossman aka, one of the two guys I report to.

Anyway, this type of advertising is not new... Tomshardware for example uses both Viglinks and AdChoices..... These type of ads like the others - Pay the Bills.

After re-reading all the posts it looks like I'm the one who missed the point. Sorry for the wrong comment. Wish I understood all I know about this stuff.

I emailed Brad and a few others "upstairs." He read this thread and another one in the moderator forum.

Quote:

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If you see links to ads that are completely off topic from VirtualDr or Technology, please post the link to the post, the link to where the ad goes, and a screen shot of the underlined words so we can see the context on our site. Steve and I can use that to get that advertiser removed from our sites.

As a general note, we are reviewing these intellitext links internally.

Brad!

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steve R Jones

I emailed Brad and a few others "upstairs." He read this thread and another one in the moderator forum.

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Glad to see there is concern for keeping our experience here "technology " oriented and not sold out for the $$$

:)

I don't like anyone or any thing editing my posts at virtual doctor with my username and password.
A public discussion forum site like virtual doctor is not the place for this type of thing. People visit this site for information on the forums.

Modifying my text to include HTML code and links that I did not post is stupid. It will only tend to confuse the reader and it could discourage the reader from clicking on a link which the poster did intend the reader to see.

I demand that virtual doctor put my posts back the way they were, and get rid of the links I did not post. If they have trouble doing this, they can ask viglink for my password which they stole.

The fact that other sites may use this is irrelevant to me....
I understand that the people who host virtual doctor were not the only ones sold on this (crap) ware, and that it can generate money for virtual doctor, and I don't care! Find another method!

Sorry Robert - but you are not in a position to demand anything;)

It is what it is... The OWNERS of this site and all sites are free to do with them as they see fit.

No ones user name and password were handed out to anyone... As you mentioned, the text is automatically changed behind the scene.

Excellent answer. I still think Post # 5 may be the clue--I use Firefox 21.0 with Adblock and have never had this happen. Maybe Robert should try that or search for a Tech site that doesn't do it.

Robert M--
IE has a popup blocker. IE Tools|Popup blocker. Turn it on.
I do not know if this will fix the problem, but it is worth a try.

Random thoughts/comments:


In general, a site that derives its revenue from ads doesn't like members telling folks to turn off ads.... ;)


As a comment about intellitext links in general -- they are almost always done via javascript after a page initially renders. As such, the original content on a page is not touched on the server or within a sites database system.


Food for thought: Just as someone could demand that intellitext not be applied to their posts, a site can demand that an ad blocker not be applied to their site's pages. As soon as everyone turns off the ad blockers, we'll turn off the intellitext. Better yet, we'll go first. We'll turn off intellitext. :D

The viglinks should be off now. :)

Thanks Brad.

Thanks, Brad.