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I was trying to avoid covering this thread but the people in the thread are incredibly passionate about Google dropping the top blue bar that asks them to make Google their home page.
The thread is at the Google Webmaster Help forums and it is now three pages long with just under a hundred posts. The request is simple, remove the blue bar that comes up in Internet Explorer and some other browsers that reads "Come Here Often? Make Google Your Homepage."
Here is a picture, click on it for a full size:
Personally, when I hit "No thanks" it doesn't come back up for me, but others are saying it does come back up. It is probably a cookie issue either on Google's side or with the browser auto-deleting cookies and not remember the "no thanks" setting.
Either way - I can see how this constant reminder about making Google your homepage in this bold blue color can be annoying. Some users said they have left Google and switched to Bing over this.
Forum discussion at Google Webmaster Help.
Comments:
Kevin Mullett
05/25/2011 12:37 pm
I wonder if this started appearing before or after Facebook started prompting people to make them your homepage.
Rich
05/25/2011 12:41 pm
Yeah
Rich
05/25/2011 12:42 pm
Sorry, I meant to add that I found it most irritating when Facebook kept on asking me to set it as my homepage. Haven't seen this from Google though....
Guest
05/25/2011 03:08 pm
It keeps coming back for me. These are strong arm tactics and very annoying. Couldn't this be considered a form of browser spam? It cetainly defies good web design user experience. I avoid their site as much as possible anymore and try alternatives as in many areas of the experience from force filling my search query box to tracking and "personalizing" my search returns I find them way over the line and annoying.
Ben L.
05/25/2011 10:59 pm
Maybe they should worry about updating their browsers instead of complaining about Google's 10 pixel tall toolbar.
Sean
05/26/2011 05:37 pm
the new Google news interface is even worse .....if it aint broke don fix it ...
Alexander Aigner
05/26/2011 06:09 pm
when this is realy a cookie issue why is google knowing that you come here often? so the problem can bee avoided by changing to "show bar when Cookie has value=often"
rytsk
05/28/2011 03:56 am
I am surprised Google does not offer all 100 Google products on the front page... yet And not making them compulsory installed in order to use Google search..
paul jakob
05/30/2011 04:51 pm
make google my homepage is ok for me
Fiji
05/31/2011 07:01 am
I'm removing google as my homepage. Ramming shit down people's throat is one thing. Making it impossible to stop the ramming of shit down your throat is another. Fuck you google.
Anony Mouse
06/11/2011 04:20 am
Sadly, the larger (and therefore more Rich with excess time and money) - the larger the software company, i.e. micro$$oft, $Google$, Yahoo, etc., the larger the software company, the more arrogant, the more they could care less about familiarity, consistency, preserving user OPTIONS, preserving the classic (i.e. non-cpu-intensive, non-annoying) interface. The change-it-all-around-every-ten-months epidemic continues. Such "changes" are NOT user requested but rather a result of bored software teams sitting around with nothing to do except annoy millions of people. Where is the outrage.
care
06/23/2011 02:05 pm
Google is my home page and yet from today I now must suffer the blue curse...
xp
06/26/2011 07:57 am
Google is my home page ,but i still get it each time i visit google- Thats the most annoying thing google have ever done
Wind Wolf
06/26/2011 02:53 pm
That's annoying to me, too. To those who clicked "no thanks", if they clear their browser's cookie then the cursed blue bar will appear again as a result.
Nreeder
06/29/2011 10:07 pm
Couldnt have found a better way to put it myself!!!
In Care
06/30/2011 12:12 am
Gosh, wow, now I know how to make google my homepage. Thanks Mr Google. Erm, what's a homepage?
Desmond Reilly
07/04/2011 07:07 am
IN INTERNET OPTIONS CHECK YOU HAVE GOOGLE .UK OR SIMILAR FOR YOUR COUNTRY. ONLY APPEARS IF GOOGLE.COM SELECTED
Dennisgoodwin2010
07/09/2011 11:36 pm
THE BLUE ;COME HERE OFTEN BAR; ON MY GOOGLE HOMEPAGE REALLY ANNOYS ME,AS I HAVE ALREADY MADE GOOGLE MY HOMEPAGE,AND MY DEFAULT SEARCH ENGINE,I KEEP CLICKING ;NO THANKS; SO WHY DOES IT KEEP ASKING, THINKING OF CHANGING MY HOMEPAGE TO BING/LESS HASSLE
Cynulliad
07/18/2011 05:56 pm
Its dreadful, typical american lets take over the word stuff - I hve decided to abandon google and use Bing even though I don't like it.
Gonk
07/19/2011 06:05 pm
Google already know they forked up again, and like Google Fade, after the fuss dies down it will disappear. They can't afford to lose face twice in a row, as that makes them look like duckheads. Oh wait... They are!
Mac21
07/30/2011 05:03 pm
Ditched Google after 10 years ,now using Bing as my default search engine , no more nags :)
Gorble
08/04/2011 02:33 pm
I have switched to bing and Yahoo and conduit. I prefer Yahoo because bing was so in your face when microsoft first introduced it. Forcing bing on us if you will. However Google is busy losing favor with anyone that keeps their computer clean on a regular basis. You would think they would be smarter than this. Maybe they are pissed of at the chinese for telling them to take a hike and making us pay. Where is our government when you need it?
Nomail
08/08/2011 10:18 pm
I'm using IE 8. So my browser is "updated", asshole. Why should I have to go thru all the hassle of upgrading to something newer when 1) What I have works fine, 2) I should n't have to upgrade simply to try to evede googles crap.
YouCantCount
08/11/2011 05:55 pm
It's 31 pixels Einsteen.
BensAnIdiot
08/11/2011 05:58 pm
Let me guess. You work for GOOGLE? Maybe the girls should quit wearing sexy clothing instead of complaining about rape! Nice theory you have there, hero.
Razor Edger
08/31/2011 04:14 pm
Google is ALREADY been my default home page for years. But this funky blue bar issue has forced me to look at other options for my home page and search. It won't go away no matter how many times I check no thanks, and on top of that, ignores my home page settings in IE and always redirects me to a different page in a different language. That coupled with with the instant autocorrection and suggestions have become the proverbial straw on that broke the camel's back. Google has become a my chief online persecutor and make me wish I could sue them for harassment.
Cma Energy
09/03/2011 09:56 pm
Yah here's one comment they should adhere to! They are definitely arrogant about annoying people with their desire to affect the lives of others. So for that reason we would like them to ponder about putting their heads in a bucket of diarrhea and breathing deeply. That's just exactly how we feel and they should do it. They are disrespectful to say the least. And have NO consideration for others. They are not God! They deserve to hear the truth as it is, and should learn a lesson in humility, and stop pushing unwanted product on innocent people. A one reply should be a no, Humility comes before humbleness. That just as bad as learning what your government and authority do not want. CMA energy
Noone
09/07/2011 08:41 pm
People are not reading between the lines here. Why oh WHY would such a popular company put at risk their loyal customer base through such a stupid promotion? Answer - they wouldn't. So what's the other possibility? GOOGLE HAS BEEN HACKED! Possibly they're being held to ransom for large amounts of money and naturally there is NO WAY AT ALL THEY COULD ADMIT to having had their security compromised. It explains why Google staff are not forthcoming with solutions to remove the banner. It explains why they're hardly putting any info out about the problem. It explains why they can do nothing whilst loyal customers move over to other search providers. Only completely retarded idiots would promote a "make us your homepage" banner in the way this has been implemented. I do not believe Google are retarded idiots. You all know this. Read between the lines. They've probably been hacked.
Riversidebots
09/28/2011 07:02 pm
The mini BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH! (or it could be a bug in the software.) The mini BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!(or it could be a bug in the software.) The mini BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!(or it could be a bug in the software.)
Thebighat
11/05/2011 08:12 pm
It seems like some guy is sitting at google going what can we do to piss people off ? I know a blue bar? Its funny because google is my home page but it keeps asking me over and over again to make it my home page. not only that my visted web sites do not change color anymore. What are they trying to do to google?
Excol
11/07/2011 08:39 am
Bing !
skrappy
11/07/2011 09:40 pm
Just to let you Know i had the same problem with the blue popup, and the google instant. Then I realized when I went into my internet setting, I had clear history on exit checked off. This is why it does not remember you saying no thanks before you shut down IE. When you start up IE again there is no history so voila the blue nasty pops up.Hope this helps.
skrappy
11/07/2011 09:42 pm
Just to let you Know i had the same problem with the blue popup, and the google instant. Then I realized when I went into my internet setting, I had clear history on exit checked off. This is why it does not remember you saying no thanks before you shut down IE. When you start up IE again there is no history so voila the blue nasty pops up.Hope this helps.
Timothy M Wong
11/27/2011 07:57 pm
Yes.. I am going to switch to bing... google has gone too far on its personal ads
Stepabuv
02/18/2012 07:06 pm
I do want google as my home page but it keeps getting hijacked by Yahoo! i hate Yahoo and dont appreciate it showing up as my home page when I didnt select it ever.
Freemancornwall
02/20/2012 08:58 am
You are entitled to that opinion but it is clealry an invasion of privacy, particularly when Google is your homepage of choice! It is annoying becasue it forces the reader to make the effort to turn it off. So how about we put a blue bar on your screen that ten times a day says "have you washed your hands yet?" Not annoyed? I don't think so!
Stevlieb2011
03/25/2012 12:28 am
My clear history on exit is not checked and never has been. Google still wants to remind me to do what I've already done. I just don't like the wase of page real estate. I'm a minimalist when it comes to web pages. Every "extra" toolbar turned off. I don't want to be told what I need. When I need it, I'll ask for it.
Nickernator
03/25/2012 02:16 pm
Are you asking for the government to keep you safe from google? WTF seriously?
Hogan Barry
04/21/2012 02:54 pm
I live in Ireland, and i had google.com as my homepage, if i change to google.ie the blue banner wont apear, it's been said previously here on this forum.
bigbob
05/17/2012 09:59 pm
rbob Just downloaded Google problem how do I get the pointer to operate right - can't get it though I did try
guest
09/14/2012 10:31 am
you should try aboogy
Vlada
09/30/2012 12:00 pm
Try this rule (Adblock Plus 2.1.2): ##DIV#pushdown
Also Frustrated
12/06/2012 02:17 pm
What worked for me? Just click on "Sure" instead of "No thanks" Choose next option "make Google you only homepage?"--I figured what harm if I'm only using Google anyway? I then immediately erased my history, cookies, etc. and closed IE. Restarting IE--behold! No blue bar. No problem since then.
Mahogany
04/17/2013 10:47 pm
I was just about to switch to Bing...but it's still not as thorough as Google. So I was dealing with the annoying blue tag until I figured out how to get rid of it for good. See, the secret is in getting rid of the other tool bars. Google's interface is not working well with all the other download toolbar crap that I had unknowing got when I was downloading some free software. I went into my control panel and deleted all the unnecessary tool bars that weren't even showing up on the google homepage, but still were on my system somehow. The moment I cleaned up my tool bars. Google stopped ticking me off! Good luck