Ads: bug or feature

Nielsens latest alertbox is about ads and how they affect the visitors experience.
Read the quote below, and you’ll know how some people feel about pop-ups or similar forms of ads.

Another user entered the following comment on a major website’s feedback form: “You people should be ashamed of yourself! I did not ask to have 3 pop ups come across my screen when I visit you. I do not visit singles sites, and I don’t want to add 4 inches to my penis. As a matter of fact, I don’t use any of the services that pop up on my screen. I think it is disgusting that you money hungry bastards have infringed on my computer for your own selfish gain. From this moment on, I am boycotting you, and I am advising EVERYONE I know to do the same thing. Down with you and your pop up ads.”

People really don�t know what is going on with their computer. Most people have problems with regular applications like MS Office. These apps don�t behave like people want them to do. Sometimes it�s a bug, but more often it is the user who doesn�t know or see what might be causing the problem. Most users cannot distinguish between an error and a real feature. So according to the user the app behaves in a way that he or she cannot predict.
This drives me mad too. When a printer doesn�t do what he needs to do, when manuals are stating to press a non-existing button, things like that.
Ads are just the same. They drive you mad because your pc starts doing things that most people we cannot control.
I worked as an agent at a helpdesk and people really start to freak out when they get ads displayed for porn sites. At work, when their boss is looking over their shoulder :-)
For some I could say, you really shouldn�t have gone to that site. But the secretary that just wanted to book a cheap flight for their manager shouldn�t have gotten these pop-ups.
She didn�t do anything wrong and still this browser starts creating new screens. What happened? They start blaming the site, the application or even worse themselves.
While I was writing this I got a call from a colleague. Her keyboard-layout switched to querty layout, and she didn�t do anything. Off course she didn�t do anything. She just pressed alt-Shift too long. It is just a feature to switch keyboard layouts with a keyboard stroke. Not a very desirable feature, but not an error or a bug.

Ads are mostly perceived in the same way, as a feature build into the site or the application. Not a very desirable feature, but not an error or a bug.

Update

I didn’t want to mention IE, but this article hits the nail on the head:

Web developers should avoid the temptation to develop applications only for bug-ridden IE.

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