bobquasit | Obnoxious webvertising

Sent to Slate magazine:

I've been reading Slate almost every day for many years now, and I have to say this: the PBS ad you've got on the site right now (7/11/2006) is the single most annoying thing I've seen online. It is CONSTANTLY surging up and covering the entire screen, and has made Slate virtually unreadable for me.

Sorry, but I'm dropping Slate from my daily reading list; it's not worth the hassle. And I certainly don't plan to watch the PBS special, either.

Sent to the PBS ombudsman:

I want to make a complaint about an advertisement for a PBS special - I believe it is for a Cousteau show - that is on the Slate website this morning. That ad has rendered Slate virtually unreadable for me, since it repeatedly expands and covers the entire page.

I found the effect annoying enough to drop Slate from my daily reading list, and have emailed them to that effect. I am also annoyed that PBS would inflict such an obnoxious and intrusive advertisement on readers.

It's unfortunate that PBS is running so many advertisements on television. Call them "sponsor recognition announcements" if you like, but a rose by any other name is still a commercial, in my book. But this new form of web advertising is even more offensive.

Needless to say, I won't be watching the Cousteau program.

I don't know if you are the right person to address this issue, incidentally, but my search of the PBS website didn't turn up any other person that seemed more appropriate for feedback. If such a person exists, may I suggest that their name and address be posted (or posted more prominently, as may be) on the site?