Pop ups make gathering friends so easy.  You just sit in front of the computer and watch for a stranger.  I would liken to sitting on the front porch and watch for the next friendly person to wander by your house.   Hey, there's somebody I don't know.

Popups can reveal what a person is up to when less than desirable posts are being made. Forums one would never visit allow, like a window, the observer to have a peek into the forum. Do people even think about this when they post?? Would you really want 800 people see a 10 sec. advertisement of your temperment?

Mary, This maybe different for experienced people, but to me "a newbie", it is
quite distracting and not appreciated. Jim

Jim, they can be quite a distraction, getting into the area where you are working. Now this is just my opinion, but I think they have been such a distraction to some that it has caused trouble. "every popup needs an answer", "I have to read every popup or I will miss out", are factors that make some people hyper active and thus agressive. New people who haven't learned to ignore them get shook up with all the activity on the screen.

Hi Jim, I've been in Adland over a year now and they still irritate me, so don't feel bad. I disabled them by going to my 'account' (menu on left side of screen) then going to 'personal' and scrolling down to the bottom and setting my preferences. Easy! Welcome to Adland!