Amazon Affiliate Links Not Working (1 Viewer)

[Filmgazer]

For some reason, both my computer and android phone have started blocking ads on Home Theater Forum. I've tried un-blocking, but without success. I need to see the ads to use the Amazon link to support the website. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[John Dirk]

Are you using a common browser for both, with synced settings? What steps have you taken to un-block?

 

[Filmgazer]

Are you using a common browser for both, with synced settings? What steps have you taken to un-block?

John -- I'm using Chrome browser on my phone and Edge browser on my desktop computer. At first, I thought it was something wrong with the phone, so I went into the settings on the homepage for HTF and allowed pop-ups and intrusive ads to see if that would correct the problem. It didn't. The funny thing is, up until today I've always gotten the Amazon ads on both my phone and my computer for HTF. Now all of a sudden they won't appear. It's very strange.

 

[Filmgazer]

John -- I'm using Chrome browser on my phone and Edge browser on my desktop computer. At first, I thought it was something wrong with the phone, so I went into the settings on the homepage for HTF and allowed pop-ups and intrusive ads to see if that would correct the problem. It didn't. The funny thing is, up until today I've always gotten the Amazon ads on both my phone and my computer for HTF. Now all of a sudden they won't appear. It's very strange.

I guess what I need to know is how to disable Adblock on the HTF website.

 

[Mark_TB]

I've had the same issue crop up in the past day or so, and I haven't changed any settings.

 

[John Dirk]

Calling @Ronald Epstein and/or @Jonathan . This sounds like a server side issue.

 

[Filmgazer]

I've had the same issue crop up in the past day or so, and I haven't changed any settings.

Mark -- that's exactly the same thing that happened to me. It's cropped up in the last day or so and I haven't changed any settings on my phone or desktop computer. I wonder if it's a problem with the HTF website since you're having the same issue?

 

[theJman]

Chrome and Edge are both based on Chromium so there's no inherent ad-blocking in either browser. Tracker blocking yes, but not ads. You can't even install extensions for Chrome on phones. At least not on Android, I don't know if they're allowed on iOS (I somehow doubt it though). Obviously Edge on a PC you can install extensions, but it sounds like you really haven't touched your configuration. Given both browsers share the same code base I wonder if a Chromium update changed something.

 

[Filmgazer]

Calling @Ronald Epstein and/or @Jonathan . This sounds like a server side issue.

Thanks for your suggestion John! I've contacted both Ronald and Jonathan to see if they might be able to help with this. As you can see from the previous post, another HTF member has experienced the same problem in the last few days with having the Amazon ads blocked.

 

[Mike Frezon]

It's a site issue.

I suspect its being looked into. I know they have been notified several times over.

 

[Filmgazer]

It's a site issue.

I suspect its being looked into. I know they have been notified several times over.

Thanks so much for the information, Mike! I certainly hope they fix the problem on the website soon.

 

[andrew]

Okay everyone, I have good news and bad news.

Good news: We did figure out whats wrong with Amazon Affiliate Links.
Bad news: It's not something we can do much about currently.

The gist is that Amazon discontinued the program that provided the data for this kind of affiliate linking. There is new way of course, however we cannot implement it currently. It requires a version of PHP we don't have installed, to install that will require major updates to Xenforo and Wordpress, which are massively huge undertakings on a site this size to ensure they go smoothly as possible. We have already been planning these updates for the first quarter for 2024 because it needed doing anyway and would likely fix quite a few other quirks we see on the forums. That said, it's likely a few weeks out as we're waiting on the newest version of Xenforo to be released and we've got a few ducks to get in a row before making major updates.

In the meantime:
We have removed the photo and text aspects of the affiliate plugin, which is where Amazon made changes that broke it. If we post a raw amazon link it will now format it as an affiliate and be clickable. Anyone using the [media] tag will see that those no longer work at all for the time being. This is not the most ideal, but in the immediate short term this is the best we can do to make it workable.

What we will end up with are links that looks like this:

Amazon.com

or if you pretty it up, this:
Groundhog Day 30th Anniversary Steelbook

Ps. @Filmgazer Please excuse my edit - I changed your title to fit the issue and we'll direct all questions/problems/etc here to this thread so they're not scattered around the forum and I can keep an eye on them easiest.

 

[Filmgazer]

Thanks so much for the explanation, Andrew! The problem sounds complicated, but I hope HTF and Amazon can work it out in the first quarter of 2024. I'll be looking forward to using the Amazon links again so I can support the HTF site. And thanks for editing the title of the thread, as that more clearly states the problem with the Amazon links.

 

[BobO'Link]

Another easy option is to just use the "Shop" menu at the top of the page and select "Shop Amazon" from the list. Doing that will give HTF credit for *anything* you purchase using that link - not just media (and, IIRC, that's also the case if you do use a media link - anything ordered in the same session will get credit). I prefer that method as I'll just search for what I want and don't have to look for a link in a thread.

 

[andrew]

We can still use them now at least, it's just not as fancy and a little more tedious. Upon researching the issue we found that many sites have been caught off guard by this change so at the very least we're not alone in scrambling to figure out what happened. I appreciate you guys all bringing it up so we could dig in and find a livable solution for the time being.

Please do let me know if anything doesn't seem to be working correctly while using the Amazon URL to make links like above. We've run through some testing, but it's been limited to just the last hour or so. I'll do my best to watch my notifications throughout the day as well in case anything does go awry.

 

[JohnRice]

Okay everyone, I have good news and bad news.

Good news: We did figure out whats wrong with Amazon Affiliate Links.
Bad news: It's not something we can do much about currently.

The gist is that Amazon discontinued the program that provided the data for this kind of affiliate linking. There is new way of course, however we cannot implement it currently. It requires a version of PHP we don't have installed, to install that will require major updates to Xenforo and Wordpress, which are massively huge undertakings on a site this size to ensure they go smoothly as possible. We have already been planning these updates for the first quarter for 2024 because it needed doing anyway and would likely fix quite a few other quirks we see on the forums. That said, it's likely a few weeks out as we're waiting on the newest version of Xenforo to be released and we've got a few ducks to get in a row before making major updates.

In the meantime:
We have removed the photo and text aspects of the affiliate plugin, which is where Amazon made changes that broke it. If we post a raw amazon link it will now format it as an affiliate and be clickable. Anyone using the [media] tag will see that those no longer work at all for the time being. This is not the most ideal, but in the immediate short term this is the best we can do to make it workable.

View attachment 208931

What we will end up with are links that looks like this:

Amazon.com

or if you pretty it up, this:
Groundhog Day 30th Anniversary Steelbook

Ps. @Filmgazer Please excuse my edit - I changed your title to fit the issue and we'll direct all questions/problems/etc here to this thread so they're not scattered around the forum and I can keep an eye on them easiest.

Most people have no idea how many complexities there are in keeping web sites running smoothly and up to date.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Another easy option is to just use the "Shop" menu at the top of the page and select "Shop Amazon" from the list. Doing that will give HTF credit for *anything* you purchase using that link - not just media (and, IIRC, that's also the case if you do use a media link - anything ordered in the same session will get credit). I prefer that method as I'll just search for what I want and don't have to look for a link in a thread.

Or you can use this thread for pre-orders which is also listed in the "Shop" menu:

Amazon Blu Ray Preorders - Updated Weekly

This is a continually updated list for HTF members and the public of all Amazon blu ray preorders each week. Follow along with us!

www.hometheaterforum.com

 

[Mike Frezon]

For what it's worth, I also include Amazon links on each week's RoundUp in the Bargains & Deals sub-forum.

We got options!

 

[Filmgazer]

Another easy option is to just use the "Shop" menu at the top of the page and select "Shop Amazon" from the list. Doing that will give HTF credit for *anything* you purchase using that link - not just media (and, IIRC, that's also the case if you do use a media link - anything ordered in the same session will get credit). I prefer that method as I'll just search for what I want and don't have to look for a link in a thread.

Thanks for the suggestion, Bob! Yes, I would be able to shop at Amazon and support the HTF site using the method you suggest. I just hope that eventually the pre-order links for Amazon will reappear on my phone and desktop before too long.

 

[Filmgazer]

For what it's worth, I also include Amazon links on each week's RoundUp in the Bargains & Deals sub-forum.

We got options!

Thanks, Mike! That certainly gives me another option.