How do I avoid ad interruptions?

By "ad interruption", I refer to redirections — you see an ad rather than the page you requested, requiring a second click or clicks before you see the page you wanted.

There are many ways to reduce the number of ads. Understanding the ads helps you avoid them:

Only non-donors see these ads at all. This solution should be obvious.

Several forms of access are exempt from ads:

• Any page that neither asks for nor delivers information from a Dance Gypsy data base
• Any direct link from a supporter (e.g., a dance organization) that includes a link to display their local dances.
• Any page linked to directly from another ad
• Any page linked to directly from the user section
• Any page linked to directly from a Dance Gypsy letter (e.g. donation acknowledgement, ad acknowledgement, user-update information)

How does the Gypsy know where I am?

For users on cell phones this may seem obvious: your GPS provides the information. Same for iPads and similar computers. For the rest of you it may come as a surprise. But more and more websites are tailoring your information to your location. To do this they use information provided by your internet service provider (ISP, or web hot spot).

How accurate is it: this depends on the source of the information. It can be as accurate as the correct house or cafe on the correct street. Usually it will be pretty accurate (say, at least to the right street). Occasionally it may be highly inaccurate. For example some ISPs simply return the address of the provider. Some ISPs refuse to provide any actual information and instead return their corporate address.

I don't like having my address given away, what can I do? Each time the Gypsy checks your address, it will ask permission. Simply deny the request and no address will be delivered to us. The question may sometimes be a bit subtile and it is different for each browser:

• Firefox: present a Black pop up query box. Note that it is a pull down menu: allow, always allow, never allow and not this time. The "always" options set the values permanently.
• Google Chrome, Opera, Internet explorer and Safari: These produce a slim query field in the same menu. it may be on the top or bottom of the window

Does the Dance Gypsy keep the information? No we use the information only to help you find the nearest dances. We do not save it for any reason.

I used to deny (allow) the DG to know my location. Now I want to change:

This is different for each browser:

• Firefox: From the "tools" menu, select "Page info" and then "Permissions". Find share location and change the setting to what you would like.
• Google Chrome: shows that a setting has been change by displaying a small compass symbol in the address bar. You must change the setting and reload the page.

 

What does “confirmed” mean?

The Dance Gypsy now lists about 10,000 events each year. Some of these entries will be erroneous. We use the word “unconfirmed” to mean that based on past history for that event we believe that it will occur and that the information is reasonably accurate — but we have not actually been told by a knowledgeable person: “this event will in fact happen at that location on that date.” The Dance Gypsy relies on a network of several hundred informants to provide this information. As soon as one of those informants confirms the event, it is so marked.

But why list them at all if they are unconfirmed? There are many reasons why we might not receive confirmation (we might not have it yet; the primary contact person may have changed or changed their email address, etc). We feel it is better to provide the best information we have than to omit it. At the same time we try to distinguish clearly between information that has been in some way confirmed and information that is simply our best guess. In fact, inaccurate information is often self-correcting: Someone sees it an informs us

What does the musical note (♫) mean when it appears in a listing

Whenever you see the ♫ symbol you know that there is music in that musician’s (or band’s) listing. These musicians generously provide their music here so that you can have a better understanding of who they are and what their music is like.

What does the mean?

The symbol means that the performer or organization named helps support the Dance Gypsy. As you may know, it is this support that keeps the Dance Gypsy in business and enables you to see your dance information. So the represents one small effort on or part to give some small recognition to those performers.