The Joy of Tech, one of my favorite online cartoons, blasts pop-up ads.

I agree that pop-ups and pop-unders are evil and should be abolished. Most modern browsers have options to suppress them; MSIE is the notable exception. The capability to open new windows, resize or move existing windows, or alter the window layering should be eliminated from JavaScript altogether; I can’t think of a single justifiable example. MSIE compounds its sins by blocking all activity – even quitting or clicking on the close button – until a pop-up has finished loading all its noisome payload.

Update: Illiad‘s UserFriendly expresses my sentiments very well…