Opinion: Web popups do not work

When I go to a site to view some article that truly interests me, having clicked a link that interested me enough to click it (most of them don't), the absolute last thing that I am going to do is read the freaking popup that I assume is trying to sell me something and usually just look for the escape mechanism.

It's much like concentrating while trying to drive down a road and a big, fat bug splatters on your windshield. I don't concentrate on that stupid bug, I try to see past it.

If I do not find the escape mechanism fast enough, I usually leave immediately, and if the content is something that I truly want to see I sometimes see if I can bypass the escape mechanism (turn off JS? remove the div from the page manually? search for an archive of the article? find another article).

I imagine most people, in fact, do not read these popup mechanisms either.