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You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

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Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#151

Post by the_snooze »

Nextgrid wrote: post #140
88840-8855 wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So basically all digital ads are bad. All analog ads are less bad.

Analog ads have an installation & maintenance cost associated with them. Digital ads don't - if you have a screen anywhere, it can be turned into an ad with little effort and will require no ongoing maintenance.

Exactly. Ads are basically pollution. Digital (and network-connected) ads drive the cost of polluting to near zero, so you see them everywhere: on transit, in gas stations, on your TV's UI, in your operating system, etc. Analog ads actually have a deployment cost, so they don't pollute the space as much.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#152

Post by 323 »

JulianMorrison wrote: post #49

Ads should simply be illegal anywhere, anywhen. Perhaps if we did that for, say, 80 years, then after the last advertiser has dropped dead of advanced age, we could cautiously re-enable the legality of purely informational, manipulation-free adverts.

So it should be illegal for me to wear a t-shirt with Adidas written on it? Or shoes with the Nike swoosh on it?

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#153

Post by Nextgrid »

paxys wrote: post #124
whalesalad wrote: post #113

I am hoping for a membership service (think Clear vs TSA PRE) that allows you to avoid ads on all (digital) platforms. YouTube and Twitter are becoming so terrible with advertisements these days. I don't want to complain about it though - I want to just pay some $$$ to not see them anymore. We went all-in on this advertising based economy and no one really wants it but the advertisers.

You can do exactly that on YouTube (with Premium). It is one of the highest value memberships I can think of, considering how much time I (and the rest of the world) spend on YouTube every day. Ultimately though, all such solutions turn into yet another money grab. Cable TV was supposed to be this premium ad-free experience, but media conglomerates realized hey, why not get money out of both subscriptions and ads?

> media conglomerates realized hey, why not get money out of both subscriptions and ads?

This is exactly the reason why I advocate against YT Premium. You're still providing data to Google (and you need to provide real data otherwise the payment may fail) who has proven their bad faith several times with dark patterns and their non-GDPR-compliant "consent" flow.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#154

Post by captn3m0 »

Bangalore did this for the last 2 years, albeit for a different reason. BBMP (the civic body) took down thousands of billboards and hoardings over weeks, and while there were violations, Bangalore was (for the last 2 years or so) a city with adblock.

Unfortunately, the ban was struck down by the court this year in August, so we're going back.

For what it's worth, the ban was called out as great by various citizen activist groups[0], even if the reason it happened was quite political.

A few links:

- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-natio...

- https://www.myhoardings.com/blog/ban-on-bangalore-hoardings-...

[0]: https://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/bbmp-bangalore-illegal-h...

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#156

Post by timw4mail »

technothrasher wrote: post #66
jcun4128 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I heard some gas stations have ads on the pump display

These pumps with “Gas Station TV” are so annoying that I go out of my way to get my gas at a different station. I’ve wondered if it actively drives other customers away too or if I’m just very sensitive to it.

Where are these gas stations without them? They are everywhere!

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#157

Post by kdmccormick »

323 wrote: post #138
Miner49er wrote: post #116

Reminds me of this Banksy quote: People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most…

> Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head. Funnily enough, you can say the same thing about Bansky's art: > An artist who defaced several works of famed graffiti artist Banksy has been charged with the cri…

What are you gaining by arguing this? What point are you trying to make? Do you really think an artist who hand-paints pieces on walls is comparable to a corporation that copy-pastes their flashing, carefully targeted, profit-seeking message onto dozens of billboards overlooking a highway? Are their motives and the results of their work not wildly different?

Your second example is valid. But your first example is a complete strawman. Bansky didn't sue, the property owner did, because they liked Banksy's thing and didn't like what the vandal did.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#158

Post by Someone »

kiryin wrote: post #26

I strongly believe that advertising by definition is unethical in all of it's forms and "block" ads to the best of my ability, in real life as well. I do not view ads that reach me by mail, and as for billboards and posters I see around town, I make a note to avoid the products they advertise. I know this doesn't make a difference but it's an ideological thing. If my actions could in theory cause a tiny little dent i…

> I strongly believe that advertising by definition is unethical in all of it's forms

So, you think “Show HN” is unethical, too? If so, how are people with a new product going to find customers? Word of mouth? How do they find their first customer?

I suspect your opinion on advertising is strong, but not that strong.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#159

Post by duxup »

Miner49er wrote: post #116

Reminds me of this Banksy quote: People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most…

> Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours

Welcome to public spaces?

Life involves maybe seeing things, idea, people you don’t like. That’s not inherently bad.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#160

Post by Retric »

323 wrote: post #138
Miner49er wrote: post #116

Reminds me of this Banksy quote: People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most…

> Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head. Funnily enough, you can say the same thing about Bansky's art: > An artist who defaced several works of famed graffiti artist Banksy has been charged with the cri…

I see nothing hypocritical about either of those. The vandal wasn’t sued by the artist who may have approved.

In the second case I find greeting cars as objectionable as street billboards.

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