Is it worth supporting Firefox? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is it worth supporting Firefox?

#221

Post by _jal » Wed, May 09, 2018, 1:02 AM UTC

sowbug wrote: post #92

syntheticnature wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on whether you share the links to others who run without ad blocking in place.

So the site's owners and employees should work for you for free because you're giving them exposure. https://www.reddit.com/r/choosingbeggars would enjoy discussing that proposition.

Obviously not. The site was, is, and remains perfectly free to do anything they want and exclude anyone they want.

However, it does appear impossible to criticize technical and/or business decisions without being accused of enslaving web developers.

Re: Is it worth supporting Firefox?

#222

Post by scottie_m » Wed, May 09, 2018, 1:13 AM UTC

lakechfoma wrote: post #71

Steltek wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From my POV, it's a race to the bottom. One publisher offered video ads so other publishers felt pushed to do the same. There was a medium post here a few days ago about the eponymous extension "Adblock". Adblock offered advertisers a paid program ("Acceptable Ads") where their ads would be vetted and whitelisted. The blog post focused on the ethical and legal quandry of double dipping income (users and advertisers)…

I get that it's a race to the bottom, but lets redefine the bottom I guess. I'm afraid that as publishers react to the public being anti ads, we'll all forget the reasons ads became such an issue. We'll get more paywalls where self regulated respectable advertising may suffice. Maybe that model won't work for some reason, I'd like to see some publishers talking about it though! It's either full on the google/fb track…

The thing is, a paywall isn’t going to work out for most publishers either, because they’re not worth the money. Most “content” out there is marginal at best, deceptive clickbait at worst. Putting up a paywall is more likely to just end in people calling that bluff.

I for one, wouldn’t pay $20 for a month of Bloomberg, never mind $40. I won’t really miss them either. If Buzzfeed puts up a paywall... ok that’s fine, good even! Of course this assumes that people don’t just rapidly figure out ways to pirate content, and they will. Try to track me, I’ll use uMatrix. Try to paywall me, and I’ll remember how little you’re worth. The NYT and FT can paywall, and a few others are worth the money... most aren’t. How many sites would you be willing to pay for rather than just forget exist in a week?

There’s always piracy lurking in the background, waiting for companies to be venal or stupid enough to make the hassle of pirating less onerous than the legal option.

Re: Is it worth supporting Firefox?

#223

Post by afrnld » Wed, May 09, 2018, 2:44 AM UTC

scottie_m wrote: post #222

lakechfoma wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get that it's a race to the bottom, but lets redefine the bottom I guess. I'm afraid that as publishers react to the public being anti ads, we'll all forget the reasons ads became such an issue. We'll get more paywalls where self regulated respectable advertising may suffice. Maybe that model won't work for some reason, I'd like to see some publishers talking about it though! It's either full on the google/fb track…

The thing is, a paywall isn’t going to work out for most publishers either, because they’re not worth the money. Most “content” out there is marginal at best, deceptive clickbait at worst. Putting up a paywall is more likely to just end in people calling that bluff. I for one, wouldn’t pay $20 for a month of Bloomberg, never mind $40. I won’t really miss them either. If Buzzfeed puts up a paywall... ok that’s fine, g…

[dead]

Re: Is it worth supporting Firefox?

#224

Post by janc_ » Thu, May 17, 2018, 1:53 AM UTC

dorgo wrote: post #190

mkirklions wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>if you "discourage" my browser, I go away and don't come back. Yep, there are lots of major news websites I dont visit at all. I know they are going to have an annoying autoplay video. I'll skip to the comment section.

I have an extension (Block site) which stops me from visiting some sites by accident (SERPs or links).

If you already have it, you can do that with e.g. uMatrix or uBlock Origin too; no need for an extra extension.