I got a message earlier today that the site could not be reached, so I closed the web page and came back a few hours later. When I clicked on my saved link, it took me to the blog page instead of the forums. There was a big block across the top of the page that said "LOG IN" in red letters, so I clicked on it. It turned out that I had been snookered by an ad for something called "Inbox Helper." Fortunately, I went no further and closed the ad.
Perhaps some will think I am too gullible, or careless, or both, but I think the placement and design of the ad is deceptive and misleading. The text that says it is an ad is quite small. Yes, I could have and arguably should have noticed it, but I thought I was being forced to log into the site because of having closed the web page and come back hours later. I do not appreciate companies who use tricky ads like that which, by their design and placement, practically guarantee a person will click on it (especially if the user has not previously seen that ad).
I do not think TMC should allow ads that are positioned in such a way that they appear to be part of the "official" portion of the web page and require user action.
Perhaps some will think I am too gullible, or careless, or both, but I think the placement and design of the ad is deceptive and misleading. The text that says it is an ad is quite small. Yes, I could have and arguably should have noticed it, but I thought I was being forced to log into the site because of having closed the web page and come back hours later. I do not appreciate companies who use tricky ads like that which, by their design and placement, practically guarantee a person will click on it (especially if the user has not previously seen that ad).
I do not think TMC should allow ads that are positioned in such a way that they appear to be part of the "official" portion of the web page and require user action.
