The latest articles on DEV Community by Adam Cole (@adam_cole_96280adf5949a35). https://dev.to/adam_cole_96280adf5949a35 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4112705%2Fc5c3a388-ff4e-4f16-a383-1f21b49b68db.png https://dev.to/adam_cole_96280adf5949a35 en Adam Cole Sun, 06 Sep 2026 18:25:53 +0000 https://dev.to/adam_cole_96280adf5949a35/the-man-that-invented-the-popup-439a https://dev.to/adam_cole_96280adf5949a35/the-man-that-invented-the-popup-439a <p>The popup ad was written by Ethan Zuckerman at Tripod.com around 1997. Zuckerman has said so publicly and at length, most memorably in a 2014 essay for The Atlantic in which he apologized for it. The origin is not in dispute and has not been for a long time. The mechanism Rob described to me is a pop-under, which is a variation on Zuckerman’s window, and the off-screen positioning trick is a refinement of a refinement. Claiming that as an invention is like claiming you invented the car because you found a way to disable the seatbelt chime.</p> <p><a href="https://galratner.substack.com/p/the-man-that-invented-the-popup" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://galratner.substack.com/p/the-man-that-invented-the-popup</a></p> webdev javascript career