Smileygenerator.us blocks Opera and Firefox
http://www.smileygenerator.us/ is the leading clean smiley sites.It has made few thousand smileys so far.Smileygenerator has all of a sudden it has started blocking Opera and Firefox.
If you try accesing the site with Opera or Firefox you get a message saying :
We have determined that you are using some sort of ad-blocking software or using a leech enabled browser that downloads our site to your machine.
The webmaster (balamm) doesnt stop there.
The banned software currently includes Firefox and Opera browsers
As long as these “compliant browsers” and harvesters developers continue to promote theft and fraud,
or allow blocking banner ads or other advertising which allow me to pay for this site and earn a meager living,
I have no choice but to limit their access or close this site entirely.For those who complain, keep in mind that this site is designed using “Proprietary Creativity”.
I don’t care about opensource standards or w3c compliance and neither should the average web user! We’re here to have fun!
.
Being stunned on seeing this, I joined their forum to file a complaint and was greeted by the webmaster with the choiciest of words.The following are his grudges against firefox and opera.
Problem is, Firefox now prides itself on being Leech enabled. Even adverstises that it can strip an entire site, harvesting all links. It’s looking less like an opensource alternative and more like a way to bring an end to the free internet.
Banner blockers, ad stoppers, leech extensions, what next? Hacking and password cracking extensions?Oh, right…. It’s already has those doesn’t it.
Opera is just as bad but even worse for the crappy way it handles site layout and “drag and drop”. WTF is that crap?
When IE comes with blanket ad and banner blocking and integrated MS sponsored leech plugins, then I’ll block it too.Firefox and Opera browsers are both designed to either fake their identity or just not supply it. They are also designed to circumvent site features and block images, banners, text based ads, etc.
Not a very friendly or cooperative software from a webmaster’s point of view.
They are the reason more and more sites are being forced to switch to a subscriber system rather than provide free, ad sponsored content which users just take for granted.
Unfortunately, their designers took a good idea (blocking pop ups) and turned it into an anti webmaster, antisocial, anti “free internet” tool that blocks everything and hurts everyone.
It would be pretty clear to you that his complaints doesnt hold any ground al all.Both Opera and Firefox don’t support ad-blockers inherently.Opera Software has made is very clear that they wont include an adblocker in future either.Hoever there are addons available that can block ads.But, it is exactly the same with Internet Explorer.Actually there are more ad blockers available for IE compared to Firefox and Opera.
Now coming to faking user agents.Opera has been pretty much forced to do it.This is because of all those sites using browser sniffers to send broken code on detecting Opera.Not only that there are many old scripts that dont work if Opera’s ua is detected.Havard – an Opera employee had written a very nice article about this sometime back.You can read it here.And smileygenerator itself has become an example as to why such a feature is needed.If you dont want to edit the ua.ini file manually download this handy addon from myOpera forums.If you are using Firefox you can grab the useragent switcher extension from here.
And even after thinking a lot I just couldnt understand what he meant by a leech browser.
I guess this one beats environmentalchemistry episode by a mile(in case you are wondering what I am talking about please see this and this).I am angry with smileygenerator, but even more than that I am dissapointed to see such immature behaviour from them.Actually now if you want to use smileygenerator you would either have to use ua.ini or else fake your useragent using Proxomitron(whose principal task is to block ads and pop-ups).Not only that Maxthon is a webbrowser that comes with an adblocker included.But you can acces that site without the ads on Maxthon.Ironical.Isnt it?
Visit Smileygenerator
Visit their forums
Update 1 (5/11):It seems that smileygenerator.us is redirecting to a different german site called smileygenerator.com
Update 2 (11/11): Smileygenerator.us is no longer blocking Opera or Firefox.However the webmaster has made the following comment:
pallab.net noise
Pallab.net has been making a lot of noise lately. Seems he’s very desperate to have his site appear on the opera home page so he’s decided to challenge me. He doesn’t want you to know what he’s really about so I’ve asked a friend to ensure there’s an unedited version to keep him honest. When he restores the original, I’ll have this deleted. http://snipurl.com/nquq
It should be pretty obvious to any sensible person that his first accusition holds no ground.Neither am I challenging him.Smileygenerator is his website and he may do whatever he wants.However, this is my blog and I have the right to post my observations and comments on his website.And, in this article wasnt written to challenge him, but I merely pointed out the flaws in his argument for blocking Opera and Firefox.
I have no idea as to what he means by “He doesn’t want you to know what he’s really about”!I dont delete or edit comments posted only blog unless they are blatant comment spams,have abusive/racist comments.Sometimes I edit comments just to correct the formatting.He has put up a copy of this page here.If you scroll down you would notice that there is a comment there by the webmaster which isnt on my blog.It does make it seem like I deleted the comment.But the fact is that the comment was never posted on my blog.If I didn’t delete his earlier comments why would I delete that either?Feel free to draw your own conclusions.
He says:
“Guns don’t kill, people do!”Same with firefox and opera. It’s the people using it that give the software a bad name and a foul smell.
Does that mean that people using internet explorer don’t use adblockers?
The comment he makes in the last paragraph is really hillarious 
)
Your fanatacism is very usefull. I didn’t have to do much at all to make it into thousands of sites where other fanatics like yourself plot the overthrow of MSN or Microsoft, or IE.
And yet he calls me a fanatic
Oh, by the way palab,your CSS is NOT valid!
I know it very well.I never claimed to be an expereinced webmaster.I am an ameteur.But even an ameteur like me can tell that with the current design the click through rate at smileygenerator would be lowe than it deserves.Smileygenerator is one of the few sites still using almost extinct frames.But heck, this article wasnt supposed to be about webdesigning.
Another greedy webmaster.
I hate humans’ stupidity.
What do you think?Are ad-filters killing the web? One of our community members has written a post in his blog abo …
Yeah this is all about greed. But if we see this from a webmaster prospective it these ads that keep them up! Let’s face it.
..:: peace ::..
Jeba
I agree Jeba.If he can device an effective script that prevents ads from being blocked it is ok.However,he has decided to block two browsers completely!How silly this is evident from the fact that you can’t acces the site without ad blockers with Opera and Firefox,but it can be easily accesed without ads if i fake my useragent using proxomitron or I am using Maxthon.
Neither Firefox nor Opera support ad-blockers inherently.They are addons.Just like it is with Internet Explorer.
Blocking Opera and Firefox: Yet another silly webmasterThere are webmasters out there who don’t like that the ads they’re showing on their web pages can be blocked. Which is understandable, of course – ads give them a revenue so that they can keep on doing what they do. How webmasters react to …
What a retard!
One of his reasons for blocking those browsers is because they “steal” from him. Now I find this amazingly stupid considering the amount of actual stolen content available in his website.
I also get the feeling that this guy is colour blind, considering the Times New Roman, and pale yellow/green colours used on the website. Perhaps its a good thing? Perhaps IE users will get so scared when visiting the site that they will try another browser just so they don’t have to worry about seing those colours on their screen ever again?
Who knows…
Well, I decided to start implementing server bans as well since this last commenter showed up spouting more of his nonsense at our forums.
)
I don’t know where He’s seeing “pale yellow/green colours”. Maybe it’s just his choice of browser rendering those odd “colors”
Anyway, I’d challenge him to show me any stolen content anywhere.
All the images we use are stored in an invision database and served from there just like the invision agreement states.
Most of the images on the forum are created by members like Aiwan, Hoosierdude, Exile, Myself, and many others.
He read the terms of use when he signed up to post garbage and get himself banned but I guess when you’re that fanatical and so far from reason, nothing sinks in.
Anyway, Traffic has doubled so I don’t mind doing a little clean up after the whiners. It’s all good
Balamm,
would you mind explaining exactly why you hate Opera and Firefox so much?:-/
It’s probably due to the superiority complexes of their users.
I’ve always worked outside the mainstream and refuse to be forced to accept a dull gray internet created from the w3c opensource standards mould.
I’m here to be entertained and to entertain others. Not to worry about who uses what tags in the source of their website pages.
If your software was half as good as you claim, it would be intuitive enough to compensate and coexist with any markup language, compliant to your pipe dreams or not.
I had Opera installed for a few minutes last month and all I could think was “what the hell is this garbage?”
I used to like it way back but I’m afraid desperation has taken it’s toll on a lot of programs and programmmers.
Like so many other new programs, I just don’t see a need for it.
But, aside from all that, flipflopping the issues doesn’t change the fact that Opera saw fit to fake user agents. Like I said before, the only person who could benefit from that is a leech.
Consider this:
You knock on my door.
I don’t know you and don’t like the way you look. I certainly don’t want you in my home so I send you away.
You put on a Cop disguise and return to knock on my door again hoping I’ll let you in this time.
Are you some kind of nut?
When you’re not wanted and not welcome, go away! It’s that simple.
Who in their right mind would create a software like this and claim innocence?
Who in their right mind would be so comsumed by defending it?
You went to great lengths to show me you could leech despite this simple script. I think that speaks a lot about your character and motivation.
Before anything else I would ask you,what does the words used by you in your forum indicate about your character?
I showed you the ways I could leech just to proove that your script is inefficient.My question is why are you targetting browers instead of ad-blocking softwares?I checked the list of useragents you were blocking I couldnt find Maxthon (which comes with ad-hunter) and proxomitron in the list.
Your post just shows that you now absolutely nothing about the two companies and you are consumed with the worst browser available(not only in terms of standard compliance but also features and performance).Think about the chaos that would exist if different browsers render the same code differently.That is why W3C is neeed.Opera however never said that they wont support anything other than W3C.
This is what Opera’s CTO H?kon Wium Lie had said when I had asked him about support for advanced non standard features like Xhttp -
Also check the changelog for Opera v9 beta.That shows that they are adding support for more and more standards.
And as far as faking useragents is concerned it was specifically added for tackling webmasters like you and also the inexperienced webmasters who unkowingly use outdated scripts that dont work with Opera.
But initially your argument was that you blocked Opera and Firefox as it blocked ads and it helped in leeching.Why are you now moving away from your initial argument?
Opera and Firefox has created a software far superior than Microsoft internet explorer.Why are you ignoring the wonderfull features that both of them provide but Ie does not?
Why are you spouting rhetoric instead of providing facts?
You’re just folowing the anti MS anti IE mob mentallity. It has nothing to do with how the browser works.
IE works just fine for every site I’ve ever visited. Maybe you’re a failed IE user, bitter because you don’t have what it takes to run a pure windows operating system. Well, not everyone is as capable those of us who do maintain pure systems. Don’t feel too bad about it, but also don’t attack the rest of the world because they can manage something you can’t.
You’re one of those “interpretive” readers.
You don’t grasp written language, you create your own version of what you read.
I said from the start that Opera was designed to leech and fake headers and UA’s.
If you didn’t read it that way, then your educational system needs work.
I’ve used Opera. I know what it can and can’t do. Don’t be laying your bullshit on me. If what you claimed was true, you’d be on a bandwagon to have Opera banned for the way it does NOT display pages properly.
You’re so [edited] worried about “standards”, why not worry about standards of integrity and honesty instead.
Um balamm… How is Opera “designed to leech”?
And any half competent webmaster knows that Opera never hides its true identity. “Opera” is always part of the useragent string.
As for IE displaying pages “correctly”, it doesn’t. It’s just that people test their pages in IE and adapt them to work around IE’s bugs.
Noticed on your site that you weren’t making any money, and you also “banned Google” for not giving you a higher rank in the search results. I find that just amazing. You haven’t been penalized, it’s just that other sites are better than yours. I know it’s hard to accept, but that’s a fact.
Balamm,get this thing very clear!I won’t tolerate any filthy language over here!Please,first go and learn manners.I hope that you don’t need to be taught how to speak in a public place.
Balamm you are speaking just like an ignorant newbee.I choose my software only and only based on performance.
Let drift away from this debate a little.
As I mentioned I chose opera as it performs better than IE.However it is clear that you never even bothered to try it out,so you wont know.Can you make IE do the following?
a)Resume from where I left browsing last time.Does IE have a session manager?
b)Can IE resize pages and fit it to window width to remove horizontal scrolling?
c)Can IE be controlled via voice?
d)Can you emulate Opera show in IE?
e)Does IE have Copy to note feature?
f)Ie doesnt inherently support Mouse Gestures
It just shows that you are not mature enough to respect other people’s choices.Seriously how old are you?You speek like a thirteen year old stepping into the teens.
Also what Microsoft FAN said is true.If you change the ua using F12 your identity isnt completely hideen.And balamm it’s because of immature webmasters like you that Opera has been forced to add this feature.And if I bypass your ua check by faking my ua then I am doing nothing wrong.
Not making money? lol!!!
Google was banned for a number of reasons. It’s stale, it’s corrupt, it’s no longer relevant, they added filters to certain words and phrases on my site to prevent anything but crap ads from showing, and more.
I’d show you the corresponence with Google execs but I promised not to.
Maybe when MSN replaces googleads…
I’m a hell of a lot older than you people and a hell of a lot wiser.
Open under your terms only.
I don’t have to respect a bunch of whiny bedwetters who want something they’re not entitiled to.
That’s the beauty of capitalism and free enterprise.
Something users like you just don’t understand.
So you don’t like the word “bullshit” eh? That is truly sad. I guess your “open internet” statement was just more of that then.
Anyway… The increased traffic and subscriptions from this little tantrum has been great! Keep bitching about us, we’re loving it!
Bullshit isnt the word that was edited.Please open you eyes.
Oh. A self-declared wise guy.. eh? Camino blocks all your ads.. even safari.. and I can still open you site. Mr. webmaster, match that.
So wise guy, what next? You think you’re doing some big thing by just allowing IE in. I don’t promote Opera/Firefox, but certainly asking people to visit sites such as yours on IE is like asking them to invite death. i know the real reason behind all this shit. You just need some publicity, don’t you?
Now don’t go on and tell me I use windows and am talking against Microsoft…windows is too retarted to be used
Have u ever heard about Apple. I use it’s products.. block ads on your site.. and you can’t do s*** about it. Block safari and camino 
I notice that balamm refuses to answer specific questions and concerns from others. He has yet to explain how Opera is “designed to leech”.
I can match that, there are no ads! The redirects are random!
Hahahaha!!!!!
fools!
Your fanaticism is an excellent tool for generating traffic and you fall right into it.
Problem here is, opera is too insignificant to matter much. But the firefox militants are performing wonderfully :p
Anand [Visitor], learn how to spell. Then design a few operating systems or work in their design. Then I may allow you to speak. In the meantime, you don’t have any knowledge on the matter other than what rhetoric you’ve heard from others.
If I’m wrong, then tell me what made Amdahl famous,Without looking it up on google
Show me any software you’ve created.
Show me what contributions you’ve made, if any, to computing or web development.
Show me your certifications.
I’m certified with MS and Openwave, have developer status at sourceforge and freshmeat, have contributed to a number of other opensource and non opensource projects, developed applications to work on both windows and unix that no one else has been able to duplicate. I built and sold 3 Cable ISP’s before my 22nd birthday, did contract work for every major ISP on the west coast of canada for over 25 years.
I suspect you’re still living in your parents home and unemployed.
Yeah, like I respect what you think.
I study in one of my country’s top commerce colleges.
Period.
I hope you got the message there
If you’re intelligent, you’ll get it…. You may have done wonders, but why are you bragging about it? There are thousands and thousand of developers around the world. If you’re not humble, the world doesn’t care shit for you.. remember that.
Fine, who cares what you think.
Look at the attitude. *sigh*
I agree with you Anand.
Also balamm I asked you a simple question -Why did you call Opera and Firefox a leech browser?
You havent been able to give any valid reason whatsoever.Instead you are flamming,abusing and bragging.
smiley generator is crap anyways adware sh*t
)
no regrets being blocked by crap
The solution: easy, search other alternative website with the same or similar job but made by a real professional webmaster, and leave out this pathetic pseudo-site made by uneducated teenager pseudo-webmaster who doesn’t have so sufficient reasons to block Opera or Firefox and now only tries to insult.
Mr. Dasky may be in for a nasty surprise when the authorities look into the spyware he is secretly distributing through his site.
And it’s too late to remove it now. The evidence has already been collected.
balamm: “I’m certified with MS and Openwave, have developer status at sourceforge and freshmeat, have contributed to a number of other opensource and non opensource projects, developed applications to work on both windows and unix that no one else has been able to duplicate. I built and sold 3 Cable ISP’s before my 22nd birthday, did contract work for every major ISP on the west coast of canada for over 25 years.” And developing webpages? hahahaha, you would be an expert in other areas but in the WWW developing you are a real disaster, believe me. And your education and manners, too, which are far more important. And you can say now “No, I’m a expert developing webpages” haha, who believes that. If you would be a expert and doesn’t want to his ads to be blocked, then you would be writing a script which detects any ad blocked by ANY application and then denying the access like Kenneth L Barbalace do it his webpage which detects the banners blocked and then denies the access, but doesn’t not block any browsers which don’t block ads. And at least he has manners unlike you, rude and inmature