Miscellaneous Hacks - Nag Users Using Ad Block - Popup Alert For Adblock Users

First let me state that while I had used this for a while I have since turned it off. Personally I'd rather have the traffic then potentially lose someone who won't or can't figure out how to turn off Ad Block. That said, if you're interested, keep reading...

I've tested this on 3.8 but I'm very confident it will indeed work on 4.x as well, this is just javascript and doesn't tend to be affected by VB versions.

I've also tested this on Firefox with Ad Block Plus and Chrome with it's Ad Block and both showed the alert. I've been told it also works with Safari ad-block but can't confirm since I can get ad-block for Safari to install...

Download the .txt file for a backup of these instructions.

This is a couple of fairly simple template edits. One thing you need to do before hand though is download the "jquery" library. jquery is set of advanced javascript functions freely available and distributed. It is use in many websites all over for advanced functionality.

Download the latest copy HERE.
Scroll down to "Current Release" (1.4.4 as of this writing)
I suggest you download the "minified" version (smaller file size)
Download it and then upload it to your forums /clientscript directory.

Now go to your Admin CP -> Style Manager
Go to "All Style Options"

In the headinclude template scroll to the very bottom and add the following lines:

<script src="/forums/clientscript/jquery-1.4.4.min.js" language="javascript" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
function WebCheck() 
 {
   if ($('.forumAd').height() == 0)
     alert("OMG YOU HAVE ADBLOCK INSTALLED. TURN IT OFF, TURN IT OFF NOW!!!");
 }
$(WebCheck);
</script>

You must CUSTOMIZE the text in red.

First set the path to the jquery file you uploaded, usually /forums/clientscript/ or simply /clientscript/ followed by the file name of the library you downloaded. The exact version may differ.

Second customize your ALERT message. This text will appear in a standard javascript alert box with an [OK] button for the user to press to dismiss the box. THIS IS ANNOYING. Plus it will pop up again every time someone goes to a new page, so this is VERY ANNOYING.

One more step... now you need to find an ad that is displayed on every page of your forum for every member... Personally for me it was the footer ad.

You need to enclose this ad in a new <div> element.

For me this was in my footer template.

<div class="forumAd" style=" text-align:center;margin:1px">
$ad_location[ad_footer_start]
</div>

It's very important you find an ad on every page for all members... if an ad doesn't appear due to the page it's on or due to the member/usergroup viewing it then the special <div> will have zero dimension and the alert will show for them.

If you have pages or members ads are disabled for you should use the same <IF> conditionals around the headinclude code above to make sure this script doesn't run in those instances. The script at top is what matters here, the <div> can remain whether the top code is present or not, it won't hurt anything.

Please Mark as Installed if you use this.


There are some interesting things you can do by surrounding the <script> code in template conditions. For instance you can have the message show only when actually viewing a thread instead of on every single page by enclosing it in the following condition:

<if condition="THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread'">
-Original code here-
</if>

VB3 Users can find more Template Conditionals HERE.
And VB4 User can look HERE.

[BirdOPrey5]

Reserved.

[jayhawk785]

Do you have a sample forum where this is working? I visited your site, but it didn't display any messages in chrome or firefox?

--installed this on my test site... question:

> any way to use ajax overlay instead of the popup, i'm wondering if this popup can be blocked as well as ads, leaving the user clueless to whats happened. ajax overlay might also look a little nicer, and allow for more customized messages.

[BirdOPrey5]

I don't have a demo because as I explained I found this too annoying to continue using, personally. I have it on my test board and I know it still works though. My live site doesn't have it installed so that's why you didn't get a message.

However... I think maybe I can work on a demo page to show it off without putting it into onto my other pages so I'll work on that and let you know if I get it up.

As for an Ajax overlay I'm sure anything is possible but honestly I have no interest in going down that road at this point since I don't use it myself. This is marked as "re-usable code" so if someone else wants to develop it further they are welcome.

[jayhawk785]

Thanks for the response. I was just thinking of a large corner diagonal banner in the upper right hand corner with an explanation for why it's there.. or just something that floats rather than pop up.

I installed this, so I know it works, just curious on other ways to be slightly less intrusive while still getting the point across

[BirdOPrey5]

I suppose with javascript there's a way to turn an existing <div> from invisible to visible and if that <div> has a message about ad blocking it would show instead of a popup... I really don't have time to play with it right now though.

[michael24179]

The popup appears to me, even if the forum mentioned in the Whitelists.

[BirdOPrey5]

Originally Posted by michael24179

The popup appears to me, even if the forum mentioned in the Whitelists.

It sounds like you don't have the <div> code around a valid ad...

<div class="forumAd" style=" text-align:center;margin:1px">
$ad_location[ad_footer_start]
</div>

Is just an example if you used a footer banner in every page... you must put this code around an ad that will load every time.

[michael24179]

In my footer that is the case inside

//-->
</script>
<!-- / auto DST correction code -->

</if>
<script type="text/javascript">
<!--
// Main vBulletin Javascript Initialization
vBulletin_init();
//-->
</script>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<div class="forumAd" style=" text-align:center;margin:1px">
$ad_location[ad_footer_start]
</div>

[BirdOPrey5]

Please post the code in your Ad Location Templates -> ad_footer_start template. (all of it).