Aren't we at the point where displaying rich media ads, especially ones with video, costs more energy than they actually earn?
Should I Block Ads?
101–110 of 161 posts
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#102How many people actually disable their adblockers when sites don't allow you to access them if you have one enabled? It's just much easier to close the tab.
Honestly, whenever a site doesn't allow me to access it with an adblocker active, all I do is look up the right adblocker rules to remove that restriction and continue on my merry way. Usually not that tricky to do so, most rely on JavaScript and HTML elements for this stuff.
Alternatively, if it's a single page, then either reader view, an archiving service, or flat out editing the offending elements with the inspector works fine.
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#103Earlier quoted context omitted.
This includes plenty of “good” sites. I kept forwarding Worldometers’ COVID-19 data site [1] to friends and families, then later realized it’s full of banner ads if viewed without ad blocking. [1]: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Oh wow, I also forward that site around, and sometimes comment on the great minimal design and information density. Just had a look at it with uBlock Origin disabled, and wow, how do people browse the internet like this?
Indeed. I showed my 80 year old mother uBlock Origin and she actually said it made her remaining time more useful. That really put it into perspective.
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#104To add to that HTTPSEverywhere and Privacy Badger are quite useful too
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#105I don't block ads, I block third-party scripts and trackers, the ads just happen to not be visible without those, which is not my problem.
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#106With ad blocking, some sites present you with an overlay, preventing you from accessing content. A really nice Chrome and FF extension to scrub overlays is named Behind The Overlay: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/behindtheoverlay/l...
I have a much simpler trick for this. As the page loads, if you start hitting Esc repeatedly really fast just at the right moment, when the content is loaded, but the overlay is not, or a little bit earlier, it might work too. Not always though.
Edit: If you miss it, just hit F5, and try again. It’s a good game.
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#107Ad blocking is a security issue now. When the ad networks started serving malware, what were the websites response? Basically nothing, they just said it's not their problem and pointed the finger at the ad networks. Ad blocking is now vital to having a safe web experience. This is not some trivial issue. Computers and the web are critical for modern life now. The same computer that people use for browsing news sites…
This x10000.
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#108How many people actually disable their adblockers when sites don't allow you to access them if you have one enabled? It's just much easier to close the tab.
> How many people actually disable their adblockers when sites don't allow you to access them if you have one enabled? It's just much easier to close the tab. Some sites intentionally break if you're using an adblocker. It's really easy to argue to not use those sites. But... What about government sites? Government sites don't work with strong ad blockers. What about bank sites? Bank sites don't work with strong ad b…
If the site is not internal to your company, and it's broken, most reputable ad blocker lists will accept bug reports to fix it. EasyList has a forum specifically dedicated to doing this.
If it's internal to your company, just whitelist it. They already pay for your time, so it's really their business if they put stuff on their internal sites that ruins your productivity.
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#109YES. I think you should block ALL ads entirely, internet and everywhere. They are time sinking distraction and you definitely don't need them in your life. A specific adblocker somebody needs to develop is podcast ad blocker, just auto-skip or have no sponsored message please.
You do realize that most podcasts will go away if they can't make money via advertising, right?
None of the podcasts I listen to have ads, many use things like Patreon or have a "first hour free, second hour only for members" model.
Re: Should I Block Ads?
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's no rule saying I can't pay them money, and continue to use an ad blocker as well.
Assuming they'll still let you see content with an active blocker. Once you have a business relationship they can set any terms they want.
If I'm giving them money, and they still insist on screwing with me like that, then I won't stay a customer for very long unless I actually HAVE TO.