Adf.ly advertisement (Was: Impossible to download anything)

[Calfuray]

I keep getting an adf.ly or an urlf.ly redirect everytime I try to download anything from GCW resulting in the inability to download anything. I have checked my computer with multiple anti-adware programs and they all come up clean. This is the only site I have these redirects for downloads.

[Joe Forster/STA]

Confirmed; I can't download anything either. (Using carefully configured latest Opera.) One of the advertizers went crazy; Empire, please, ban them!

[Viscon]

too bad i have the same issue.
actually i can d\l ONE file but then no more.
to get more i have to close the browser, clean cookies and sometimes wait an hour or two, then i can grab just ONE file more...

[FungusN0]

I haven't had any problem, but I use firefox and noscript. I was able to download several files earlier today.

Also hi STA

[Jared]

Actually Adf.ly is just a link shortener that pays people per link visit. GCW just seems to want to get an extra buck or two for forcing people onto their advertisements. To get passed them you must wait 5 seconds and click the Skip Ad button at the top right of the page.

[Joe Forster/STA]

Yes, apparently the - honestly, quite annoying - advertisement is gonna stay for a while. Generating enough money for maintaining the site is not a trivial task.

[rkaye]

had the same problem (not being able to download anything) a few days ago (using firefox with noscript). the 'skip ad' button shows up, but clicking on it did/does nothing -- it stays stuck on that screen.

eventually was able to download using internet explorer.

everyone has to pay bills, maybe gcw can offer 'premium user' thingie? gcw is my goto site, so i'd chip in a few $/year to keep them afloat...

[Joe Forster/STA]

I think that until a significant amount of paying "premium" users are gathered, maintenance related to them (expanding database, creating registration pages, getting a PayPal account or whatever, bookkeeping, automated toggling of "premium" flags, whatever) would mean too much work so changing a free site into a (partially) paid site would have an initial overhead that the administrator may probably not be willing to do.

Apart from that, GCW was always meant to be free, in the way that users don't have to pay directly for the downloads - that leaves the other method: advertizing - and I know that Empire is not going to change this.

Third, what would "premium" users get for their money? There's nothing on GCW that you cannot download for free. Most people prefer free stuff so I don't think that enough visitors would volunteer to pay for using the site, which gets us back to my first paragraph. If you're thinking of something like a "charity shop", it may work in the real world, where people are used to having to pay for stuff, it doesn't really work in the digital world, where people usually can find a free solution for all of their needs, whether or not that solution is legal.