Hi DS - yeah, I know how intrusive advertising have gotten lately. We rely on advertising revenues to keep this website going, and as ad revenues drop, we were forced to add more (and more intrusive) ad units. It's not my preference, of course, but that's where we are. If you log into the site while you browse, you shouldn't see any bottom or banner ads. Oh, and you can help support the site by shopping at the NeatoShop, our online shop :)
The Twitter poster updated the thread after hearing similar concerns - the turtle seems to be perfectly fine now, so whatever it was that caused it seems to be temporary. In any case, I'm glad to hear that the turtle is okay.
I do see your point, Vanessa. As Neatorama is going towards user-submission, we'll see a wider variety of stories. And I would welcome your contributions too if you'd like - submitting a post is easy.
Oh, and you can help support the site by shopping at the NeatoShop, our online shop :)