Inas
Member
As I mentioned in another thread, the stickr program is meaningless because it does not provide any useful 2-way dialogue. People are also abusing the stickr program by writing garbage on it (profanity, insults, etc.) so it definitely detracts from (and demeans) the worth/reputation of the GOTD site.
If you use Firefox then install the add-on extension Adblock Plus then add http://stickr.com as a filter (under Adblock Pluses options). You will then not have to deal with it, unless you use IE (or another browser. Or you could block it using your Windows Hosts file (C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc), by adding a line to it using Notepad:
0.0.0.0 stickr.com
in which case it will block it when using any browser.
Hope you use Firefox - it's easier to explain...
Regards - Damian
P.S. Hi HappyPerson!
Packett
Member
Inas ... just make a copy of the HOST file before you make alterations. If things don't work out, delete the altered file and replace with the HOST file copy.
residue ... Thank you! Your suggestions are greatly appreciated. I Tried the HOST file solution but, I now have no button to take me to the download page ... Not sure what correlation there is. I do use Firefox so ...I'll try the Adblock solution ... Hopefully that will cure this disease.
The creators of Stickr apparently are not forward thinkers ... Creating an application like Stickr with no way of opting out is absolutely ludicrous.
Packett
Member
Update ... I have successfully eliminated this garbage. My missing button was an error I made ... and ultimately corrected.
Expanding on the suggestion from rezidue >>> For those not so savvy with the puter I hope the following is helpful ...
Here’s how to effectively block Stickr from your browser. Doesn't matter what browser that you use.
1.Go to your HOSTS file which is located at:
For XP, Vista and Windows 7 C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
For Windows 2k C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC
For Windows 98 and ME C:\WINDOWS
2. Open HOSTS file with Notepad. (Be sure to make a copy of the file before you edit in case you make an error.)
The default Windows HOSTS file looks something like this:
______________________
# Copyright © 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a "#" symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
#
127.0.0.1 localhost
_____________________________
3. Directly under the line that says 127.0.0.1 Localhost, you will want to type:
127.0.0.1 stickr.com
4. Close Notepad and answer "Yes" when prompted.
5. Reboot your computer and go to the GAOTD Site. You will find that you’re free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty … Stickr is Gone!
Again ... Thank you rezidue for lighting my path!
watcher13
Member
Thanks, folks, for those useful solutions! I went the Adblock Plus route and the Sticker Panel is gone. Glad you posted about the hosts file, Damian, a perfectly legitimate Windows way to customize browsing that, I must admit, I've never played with. This is a perfect example of a productive way to use it. May re-enable stickr, it hasn't been the problem for me that is has been for others and I'm curious to continue to monitor it. One of the reasons for that is that I haven't been there on any day, yet, that there was profanity. If I was in Inas' shoes, I too would want it gone, gone, gone! I would say that I'd wonder if GOTD really thought that it was actually a page enhancement, but I pretty much had guessed from the start that it was an object lesson in revenue streams. Meaning that I did foresee at least some of the problems and was sure that GOTD only did this for the money. Not that there's any implied criticism in that, I'll keep my opinion to myself. I say it only because I feel the evidence clearly points that way.
Besides the thanks, I posted out of curiosity because it hasn't been as big a problem for me. I'm curious if you're having problems that I'm not. Possibly because of different settings that I'm unaware of. On IE7, Stickr isn't really bothering me because it doesn't scroll down the page, thus couldn't be easier to avoid. It's a little nuisance on FF because it does. Once I mouse over the Stickr and they popup, if I either close them individually or hit Hide All on Stickr's menu they go away and stay away. Of course, it does make voting a little bit of a problem, in case you accidentally mouse over to far. Now, I admit, that Stickr's behavior can be easily seen as an extreme annoyance. For me, it's only been a minor aggravation. I'm just curious if you folks are seeing other behavior's from it that I'm not seeing that are increasing your level of frustration, or is it you just feel it falls under the "useless appendage" category.
Inas
Member
Hey there Watcher (Paul), for me it's mostly a useless program (no benefit) as folks cannot engage in 2-way real-time dialogue, and I wonder if there's any added value in it (other than money) for the GOTD crew. Anyway, enough said (for now) - LOL.
BUZZ - you are one lucky duck that you have not seen it till now - LOL.
Inas
Packett
Member
Watcher - This is far more than just a "useless appendage". Most of us have gone to great lengths over the years to rid ourselves of pop-ups when we browse. For some mindless, greedy (censored)to create an application that circumvents pop-up blockers without providing a way to disable it, to me is just infuriating. Stickr.com is little less than a spammer. And for GAOTD to go along with this despite all the protest just dropped their credibility about 90% in my eyes. I wonder if they've lost sight of the fact that without us downloaders GAOTD would not exist. I for one have one foot out the door over this Stickr issue.
Thanks Packett, HappyPerson - hi Watcher13.
Actually someone else mentioned Adblock Plus in another post.
I used the Hosts file solution back in the Win95/98 days then forgot about it when programmes like Spybot Search and destroy started helping. Just googled block ads and found out how to do it again.
Packett, if you haven't tried the Adblock Plus extension it gets rid of practically everything - Google ads, etc. Web pages look clean again and load so much faster!
Cool of you to put it in detail so that others can find it on their operating systems.
Regards - Damian
P.S. and yes, Buzz is very fortunate not to have seen it!
GMMan, Hexadecimal Blacksmith
Blocked
Dang. Everyone beat me to it. I have one more solution, though.
Try Privoxy. Install privoxy, and map all your browsers' proxy to 127.0.0.1:8118. Then go to config.privoxy.org, click "View & change the current configuration", click Edit beside ./user.action, and click Add under the block section. Enter http://stickr.com/load into the box and click OK. Also enter http://stickr.com/load/button/ .
Nice and simple for blocking stickr in IE, without the dangers of screwing up your hosts file.
Packett
Member
Damian - I do use Adblock,(it's the only extension I use). I made an error when I set the filter originally. That's all corrected now. However, I was not aware of the HOST file solution until I read your comment about it. After doing some research on HOST I opted for that solution because it applies to any browser. I run applications that need to access the Web via a browser but, are only compatible with IE. I think this might make using IE at least remotely bearable. So, for me this is a better solution considering that the HOST file can block so much more than Stickr.
Now that I have this knowledge I'll be blocking anyone who even looks at me the wrong way.
I think from now on I'll refer to my HOST file as Jax Sh#t List :)
-Jack
P.S. Buzz should play the lottery .. He appears to have luck on his side :)
I've re-opened this topic in case anyone comes up with anymore solutions on removing the Stickr. Please keep this topic for removal discussion and for general discussion on the feature see the link I added in the first post as well as here.
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/6703
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