It's not a matter of either of us 'avoiding the issue' but a matter of having no say or sway over the matter, and therefore not in a position to comment, positively or negatively.

I suspect this is something the publisher has control over (or even a higher office within IPC Media), not the moderators or admin of this forum (we have no jurisdiction on the remainder of the site even), and I dare say not even the editorial office.

However, with regard to pop-ups; on this site they are generally set to appear once-per-session, providing you have cookies enabled.