I’ve been getting email about a somewhat nasty - okay, really really nasty — ad that got inserted in my feed. I’m aware of it, and have notified the authorities.
For those wondering what’s going on, there are three basic ways to read this blog: come here directly to the site, get it through email, or use a feed reader. The first is obvious enough, so ’nuff said. To get the blog through email enter your address in the text field in the right sidebar that says "Read BABlog via email", and whenever I post a new entry you’ll get it through email. The third method is to use a feed reader like BlogLines or Google Reader. If you don’t know about feed aggregators, that’s OK. Just go to those links and they’ll tell you what’s what.
Anyway, I use a service called FeedBlitz to send out the blog via email, and there are some ads inserted into the mail. There has never been a problem until yesterday, when a rather distasteful advertisement got in. I’ve looked into it, and it appears to have been a fluke. Something got past them for one email, is what it appears; I haven’t noticed it repeated since. If it happens again, please let me know and I’ll do what I can.
Ads are a necessary evil in many cases, but I try not to let them cross that particular line. 
Sorry about that to anyone who saw it.
Update: I heard back from FeedBlitz… this was my fault! The last time I was approving ad categories, I accidentally unchecked "Adult". Oops. It’s been fixed, and those shouldn’t show up again. So, sorry again about this!
February 4th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Oooh, which ad? Are you talking about the one with the two folks smooching because that one REALLY kills my browser all the times.
February 4th, 2008 at 9:38 am
This is one of the reasons why I love AdBlock.
February 4th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Which ad is it? This blog entry has an ad for “Amateur Astronomy Ringtones” and I did not know there was such a thing.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:24 am
That’s strange, I’ve never noticed any ads in the FeedBlitz emails. I just checked the emails from the past few days and couldn’t find any.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:25 am
That’s strange, I’ve never noticed any ads in the FeedBlitz emails. I just checked the emails from the past few days and couldn’t find any…
February 4th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Aww, now I’m dying to see the ad
February 4th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Hmm, it certainly gets one curious.. Oddly enough I very rarely see ads in the RSS feed, I thought I did but checking back a bit I don’t now so perhaps I’m thinking of another feed. I intentionally don’t adblock sites/feeds I like figuring it’s a fair enough trade for the content, though I use it on more suspicious sites (along with noscript). I love RSS, so I’ve never used the mail service here or for others since RSS became an expected feature, but I can see where it’d be a little frustrating for someone trying to stack those eyeballs to pay for producing things when the more convenient ways don’t see many ads. Always a tricky business rounding up ads that aren’t inappropriate.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:38 am
awwww, now you got our curiousity going..you can’t just tease us like this and not tell us what the ad was!
February 4th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I never see ads here. I guess I missed something good.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Haha, now we’re all wondering what did the add show. Phil, you can’t do that to a critical-thinker (is that the expression?) audience, that always likes to know what’s beyond the words we read…
February 4th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Probably an ad from the Book of Mormon.
February 4th, 2008 at 11:03 am
The ad must be shown!
February 4th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I’m assuming it’s some NSFW space ‘love’ scene which would make sense when talking about an astronomy website (I don’t know how detailed I can get before Phil moderates me into oblivion).
February 4th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Yeah, Verizon is about as offensive as you can possibly get. *shudder*
February 4th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Trust me. It isn’t that impressive. At least not for anyone that has a Spam folder as filled as mine is. And yes, I got it, but never noticed it until going back to look at my trash folder.
Interesting that it slipped through though. The wording really isn’t leaving anything to the imagination.
JC
February 4th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I just found it also. No pictures…just words (unless my email blocked the picture!) but definitely NSFW.
I think we are learning just how good most of us are at mentally filtering the ads!
February 4th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
It only came through in the feedblitz email version of the feed, right? Now I’m curious what it said.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
If anyone really, really, really, just can’t live another day without it wants to see this thing, tell you what.
Go to http://www.moli.com/ and sign up for an account (free and easy, just like all this stuff) then send a note to the user that has the first and last letters in my name. Yeah - that is me. And I will forward the silly thing to you.
But - it really isn’t worth it.
Moli might be though. Full disclosure, I have a friend that works there, it is a new “community”, I have no real clue how to use it, but he likes the work, so I try to support him
JC
February 4th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I think we are learning just how good most of us are at mentally filtering the ads!
I believe there has been research showing that we are so inundated with advertising that people are actually developing mental defences against it… in effect, we’re so used to ads we just mentally block them out.
It is starting to hurt TV and radio advertising, and that is documented… in part because less people watch TV and listen to radio, and in part because everyone just schedules their breaks and chats to go right over top of the ads.
February 4th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Go to http://www.moli.com/ and sign up for an account
I sign up for very little on the internet without help from:
http://www.10minutemail.com/10MinuteMail/index.html
Whoever set up 10-minute-mail should get the internet equivalent of a Nobel prize.
February 4th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Hey astronomy freaks!
Telescope not big enough?
Looking to have longer observing sessions?
Equatorial mount not firm enough?
Then try some of these special blue pills from Bob’s Amateur Astronomer & Sexual Potency Warehouse!
February 4th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
10-Minute mail - that is pretty cool - kind of like an old thing I used to use called “Knock-Knock” (Is that still around anywhere??)
But I think 10 minutes probably isn’t quite enough for this little silly thing. Very cool thought though. I will surely use it in the future!
JC
February 4th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Seems like Knock-knock is still there ( http://www.knockmail.com/ ), but appears a mere shadow of it’s former self - at least on casual glance.
I recall being able to set up timeframes for temporary mail addresses - as short as a few minutes and as long as several weeks. Now it looks like it just filters incoming mail on a “what you use” algorythm.
Oh well. All good things….
JC
February 4th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
We need some good astronomy porn to fill in the gap. So to speak. It can be educational!
“Hey, baby, get a load of my ten-inch refractor!”
“Ooh, it’s so… large…” Cassie began to massage the bloated telescope sensuously. “And the light-gathering power scales as the square of the aperture!”
February 4th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hmm, I get the FeedBlitz e-mails, and I don’t seem to have the offending ad in my copy. Unless restaurant franchises are NSFW.
I do use Gmail, however, which might have something to do with it? Though Gmail is amusing for its delivered ads on the sidebar and the sponsored link up top, given how very inappropriate they can be; by that I mean right now on the sponsored link with the FeedBlitz e-mail open, I have a website trying to claim that “Science declares our universe is intelligently designed.”
February 4th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Illucian - check your Gmail for a few days back - the one with the HEMA link. Be sure you “display images” - and give it a moment to go get them. Check the three or four linkie things at the top.
You might want to be sure no one important is looking over your shoulder.
JC
February 4th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Another service similar to 10-Minute-Mail is Mailinator.
They also used to also have a groovy “Where is spam currently coming from?” map, but I don’t see it now!? ;-(
February 4th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
One more thing. If anyone DOES use the Moli thingie noted above to request a copy, just give me a useable email address to send to in the message. I promise to delete it after sending the forward and it is just to keep those ‘bots a little bit at bay.
JC
February 4th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Feedblitz inserts x-rated ads? I’ll have to sign up!
February 4th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
OK, that is just sick. How the heck did that make it through feedblitz ads?
jbs
February 4th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Phil, “Adult” means a different thing to some of us
JC
February 4th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
JC, on the web, “adult” means only one thing!
February 5th, 2008 at 7:56 am
“adult” means only one thing!
That may be true, but it appears that at least one of us was taken in by, perhaps, the more rational of the meanings. Or not?
You UN-checked Adult? Does this not mean that your site would NOT be considered “Adult” material (e.g. - a site for those who have never successfully reached adulthood
??
I have to say - I am perplexed. If you CHECKED “Adult”, then I would anticipate more material of a spurious nature similar to the item at issue. However, if you UN-Checked “Adult”, then I would presume that to mean this site is NOT an “Adult-only” site and such material would be expressly redacted.
Am I missing something???
JC
February 5th, 2008 at 10:00 am
What?!? Something offensive on the Internet? The INTERNET?!?
That’s crazy.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
First posing naked on cheesecake calendars, and now sending porn out to your readers? Have you no shame, sir?
Let me know if it increases your traffic. Maybe I’ll try it too.
February 5th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
…something about globes, moons and a black hole…?
February 5th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
For JackC:
I think this explains it well…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbFnH66eGtU
(yes, it is totally safe for work).
February 5th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
If you are going to get all crankey about FeedBlitz ads you should know they routinely have ads for astrology sites under the BA headlines. Now that’s obscene! but scarcely adult.
February 6th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Oh maaaaaaaaaaaaan, PZ, how’d I miss that?!?! Geek d00ds is teh sexxxxxxxxxxxxiest!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now tell me……… you wouldn’t happen to be in there too, wouldja?
February 7th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Yes. We saw this coming in our tarot cards. The naked maiden with the plastic knife, the rubber king with excitement in his eyes and the network helpdesk joker.