Remove ads from site

johncs2016
31 December 2023 08:25:06

I didn’t think I minded the ads, as they generate an income for the site and I just made my donation last year to help with the site upkeep.  But now the ads are back, I realise how annoying they are!  

I’m pretty sure my problem is down to user error though.  I just can’t log into the members area to toggle ads off.  Probably too many attempts with the wrong password.  Tried to log in with my forum password, then realised it was a different one. Will try again later   🙄

Originally Posted by: Caz 



I have been able to log into both my member area and forum accounts on here. These both have different user names in my case as I always base my user names on my full first name plus the first letters of my middle name and surname followed by the year in which I created that particular user name.

It is therefore because I joined the forum back in 2016 that my forum user name is as it is as shown on all of my posts on here (including this one of course).

If I was to create a new user name just now, it would probably be "johncs2023" but since today is the last day of 2023, my new user name would be "johncs2024" if I waited until tomorrow before I created it.

My member area user name is actually "johncs2022" and that is because I created it last year in 2022 but to date, this is only the first time that I have had any issues regarding the ad-free status on here.

In a way, it would probably be better if those two accounts were merged into one single account which could be used anywhere on TWO including the forum but over on Netweather, they also operate with separate accounts for the Netweather Extra service and their forum, so TWO is not completely unique in that regard.

Of course, I don't know all of the technical details of how this site is operated, but Brian has said in the past that different versions of a certain software at a particular time are used to operate this forum, and he has also admitted in the past that certain versions of that software have been rather buggy.

For that reason, it would appear that there may well have been a recent upgrade to this software which is shown to rather buggy and it's possible that this is what is causing those issues with the ads.

Now, I know that the forum isn't Brian's highest priority when it comes to his overall business model but nevertheless, it is still a part of that model which means that as with everything else, I'm sure that he doesn't really want to be losing any money with that.

For that reason, I have no doubt that he will sort out those issues as quickly as he can, once he is fully aware of them.
 
The north of Edinburgh, usually always missing out on snow events which occur not just within the rest of Scotland or the UK, but also within the rest of Edinburgh.
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
31 December 2023 08:39:51
I agree John. I’m sure it will get sorted. I know the forum isn’t the priority, although I don’t use the members area, but I’m happy to contribute just to keep the forum going.  Without it, I wouldn’t be on TWO at all.  Ads aren’t such a problem, just an annoyance.  
Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
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lanky
31 December 2023 08:46:28

I agree John. I’m sure it will get sorted. I know the forum isn’t the priority, although I don’t use the members area, but I’m happy to contribute just to keep the forum going.  Without it, I wouldn’t be on TWO at all.  Ads aren’t such a problem, just an annoyance.  

Originally Posted by: Caz 



I didn't subscribe to an ad free version but I have never thought the ads were al that obtrusive on TWO being just banner ads on the headers and footers and quite easy to scroll past. I never see any pop-ups on TWO unlike the pages of the daily papers where the news stories are sometimes unreadable with pop up ads and videos interrupting all the time some without any controls or controls so small you have to use a microscope to see them.


 
Martin
Richmond, Surrey
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
31 December 2023 08:53:05

I didn't subscribe to an ad free version but I have never thought the ads were al that obtrusive on TWO being just banner ads on the headers and footers and quite easy to scroll past. I never see any pop-ups on TWO unlike the pages of the daily papers where the news stories are sometimes unreadable with pop up ads and videos interrupting all the time some without any controls or controls so small you have to use a microscope to see them.


 

Originally Posted by: lanky 

I never saw the ads as a problem either and only subscribed as a contribution to the upkeep of the forum.  But having had a year of being ad free on TWO, I realise they are annoying.  😂 
Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
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Brian Gaze
31 December 2023 09:10:28
The problem with ads on the forum relates to the date and not individual accounts.

I have put a temporary fix in place. 

1) Go to your member page

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twousers/user.aspx 


2) Toggle the forum advert status off

3) Close browser and restart

Let me know if you have any problems.

Brian Gaze
Berkhamsted
TWO Buzz - get the latest news and views 
"I'm not socialist, I know that. I don't believe in sharing my money." - Gary Numan
johncs2016
31 December 2023 09:35:45

The problem with ads on the forum relates to the date and not individual accounts.

I have put a temporary fix in place. 

1) Go to your member page

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twousers/user.aspx 


2) Toggle the forum advert status off

3) Close browser and restart

Let me know if you have any problems.

Originally Posted by: Brian Gaze 



Thanks Brian

That worked fine for me.
 
The north of Edinburgh, usually always missing out on snow events which occur not just within the rest of Scotland or the UK, but also within the rest of Edinburgh.
Brian Gaze
31 December 2023 09:37:34

I have paid for ad-free access up until 31 December 2024, but the ads keep switching back on every time that I enter the forum.😡

I have tried going into the members area to switch them back off again, but the ads still appear when I go into the forum and then when I return to the members once again, the ads status is then always back to being on once again.😡

This shows that switching off the ads even manually is clearly having no effect, even though the status on the members area page correctly shows that I should be ad-free until 31 December 2024.

Since I have paid to be ad-free until then, I would be very grateful if this issued was sorted out ASAP and once and for all, since I can currently not getting what I actually paid for at the moment.😡

Originally Posted by: johncs2016 



Sorry to read that. If you experience problems like these it is best to contact me directly for the quickest response. I know on the forum I can be a bit sharp at times 😛but I don't bite and will always try to help resolve issues as quickly as possible!

 
Brian Gaze
Berkhamsted
TWO Buzz - get the latest news and views 
"I'm not socialist, I know that. I don't believe in sharing my money." - Gary Numan
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
31 December 2023 09:49:50
That worked for me too!  Thanks Brian!  😀
Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
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Brian Gaze
31 December 2023 12:44:54
I've changed the way forum ads are removed.

The process is now automatic so there is no button to toggle. However, to ensure ad free continuity you will need to visit (no action needed once you've opened the page) your member page:

1) When you have extended your donation period

2) If you make a monthly recurring donation you will need to visit it at least once each month to maintain ad free continuity.

Member page link:

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twousers/user.aspx 
 
Brian Gaze
Berkhamsted
TWO Buzz - get the latest news and views 
"I'm not socialist, I know that. I don't believe in sharing my money." - Gary Numan
redmoons
31 December 2023 13:56:22
Thanks, that worked. 🙂
Brian Gaze
31 December 2023 17:11:02

Thanks, that worked.

Originally Posted by: redmoons 



👍 That's good.
Brian Gaze
Berkhamsted
TWO Buzz - get the latest news and views 
"I'm not socialist, I know that. I don't believe in sharing my money." - Gary Numan
Brian Gaze
02 May 2024 14:19:51
Premium members can now create multi model and chart animations. (Currently on: gfs, ukv, arpege, gem, ecmwf, ukmet, ecmhr). If you're logged in the option is automatically available! (You can use on social media & your own channels). The option appears automatically on the appropriate chart viewer, e.g. GFS

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twodata/gfs.aspx 




Brian Gaze
Berkhamsted
TWO Buzz - get the latest news and views 
"I'm not socialist, I know that. I don't believe in sharing my money." - Gary Numan
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
01 January 2025 07:37:42
Ahh.  The ads are back.  Donation on its way!  Thanks Brian. Happy New Year!  
Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
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johncs2016
01 January 2025 08:22:19

Ahh.  The ads are back.  Donation on its way!  Thanks Brian. Happy New Year!  

Originally Posted by: Caz 


I am having the same issue despite having paid my latest annual subscription.

When you pay for your subscription though, you may well get an email from Brian which will suggest that you contact him by email if you have any issues.

Having received such an email at the time when I renewed my subscription, I have now taken that action as suggested.

My suggestion to you is that if you continue to see any ads after paying your subscription, I would email Brian at the email address which is given in the response which you get to that and if you don't have that email address, I would try PMing Brian on this issue as I'm sure that he would be more than happy to give you his email address in that instance.
The north of Edinburgh, usually always missing out on snow events which occur not just within the rest of Scotland or the UK, but also within the rest of Edinburgh.
Caz
  • Caz
  • Advanced Member
01 January 2025 08:40:32
Thanks John and a Happy Hogmanay to you!
I’ve only just paid my subscription this morning and I think it takes a while for the ads to be removed, so I’ll hang on a bit before contacting Brian.  I’m a bit of a pain anyway, because my log in details for the members area are different to those for the forum and I keep messing up my passwords and locking myself out.  I’ll give Brian a break for now.  Lol
Market Warsop, North Nottinghamshire.
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Brian Gaze
04 January 2025 14:18:09
Sorry, I'm just catching up with the comments in this thread now. I spoke directly to people and know the issues were resolved on 1st January. However, I think it's worth me adding a quick explanation to clarify what happened. 
Members who paid before 01/12/2025 were added to the correct security group for this year. However, the logic sets an authentication cookie for forum access which has an end date based on the FIRST group it finds you in. As it happens, that was the 2024 group, so the expiry date was being set as 31/12/2024 for ad free access. The issue has now been resolved and won't repeat if you choose to renew again next year. I know we had some issue last year too, so I am genuinely sorry another issue arose this year. Thanks for your patience and speaking to me directly. 
Brian Gaze
Berkhamsted
TWO Buzz - get the latest news and views 
"I'm not socialist, I know that. I don't believe in sharing my money." - Gary Numan

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