Verbal diarrhea... (Score 1)

Verbal diarrhea is remarkably like the real thing: it splatters uncontrollably in all directions and leaves a nasty smell. Let's start by referring to Zango and the like by some name other than adware. ICQ is adware and no-one, whatever their role in internet commerce, can reasonably take exception to "free" anything which puts a simple promo in front of its users, which they are free to ignore. Scumware functions quite differently: a surfer attempts to visit a site and another site is popped over his intended destination. For the surfer that is as bad, but admittedly no worse, than how he is treated by many sites - adult and mainstream. It is in effect a console. But from a commercial point of view, there is no similarity at all. Firstly because a webmaster who has chosen to keep his site free of such tricks, is helpless to prevent his visitors being exposed to them anyway. Secondly because he has no financial interest in these consoles and they - to all practical intents and purposes - "steal" a percentage of his sales. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to be smug about this, because mainstream sites are every bit as vulnerable as are adult sites. I have worked in online adult for more than 10 years. Yes the industry has many people who came from flipping hamburgers and will return to flipping hamburgers. That is pretty much inevitable, since a lot of people still believe it is a route to instant riches. There are many who owe their success entirely to timing and have wasted years bragging about their new cars and houses, rather than learning anything about business. Another inevitability in view of the gold-rush which was online porn during the mid-to-late 90's. And unfortunately some of these people built up big companies which still have a significant presence. In short, even without getting into the material that adult webmasters handle, the industry as a whole is indeed wide open to criticism. But it is a myth that mainstream internet commerce occupies higher ground. Replicated content, viruses, consoles, SE spammers, you name it. If it exists in adult online, it exists in mainstream. As to the charge that we only just got around to noticing Zango and their ilk, that is simply nonsense: the current interest is just the latest skirmish between the white hats and the black hats. Unfortunately the good guys aren't any more likely to win this time than on previous occasions, but this is a process every industry apparently has to put itself until it finally matures and sidelines the cowboys. Anyone in mainstream who derives any pleasure from watching our growing pains, might want to ponder on the reality that with much weaker webmaster communities, it will take mainstream commerce much longer to rid itself on those who prey on legimitate businesses.