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Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

imlefthanded.com

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Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#341

Post by avgcorrection »

hateful wrote: post #47
zuminator wrote: post #7

I've had YouTube Premium since its inception. Whenever I'm around someone else who puts on a free-tier version of YouTube its rather shocking how frequent and intrusive the commercial ads are.

I ran ad blocking on Youtube for years, and I've been a Premium member since it came out (as Red back then). I can't stand ads and avoid them like the plague. Some ads still sneak into my world though. My current peeve is when going to a restaurant and they have "the game" on full blast. I'm perfectly fine with people watching/listening to the game - and half the time the restaurant is considered a "sports bar", so I…

The gym that I go to (and pay for) have ads on most of the displays (some are running TV programs). Ads for local businesses and “upgrade your membership TODAY”. It irks me. I don’t want to be distracted by these flashing screens.

But I guess there is no law that says that patrons should be shielded from ads. And I don’t think they would listen if I gave them a complaint (why would they give up a source of revenue?). So I don’t know what can be done about it short of a concerted effort by many members. And they (and myself) would probably not be motivated enough to go to that level of effort just to get rid of some irksome ads.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#342

Post by mrweasel »

marcodiego wrote: post #278

I wanted to show a video on YouTube to a friend. He passed me his cellphone. I searched and found the video and then something very strange happened: a completely unrelated something started playing. I said "Sorry I don't know what is this. This has nothing to do with what I wanted to show you." He then explained me that was just an advertisement and the video would play soon. People are used to abuse. My internet is…

One of the services I happily pay for is Youtube Premium, though I could do without also having to pay for Youtube Music at the same time. I have same experience as you, when I somehow not logged in to Youtube. It’s a surreal mess and it’s the same 5 - 10 ads, if it’s that many, on repeat. It’s unusable.

Technically I don’t use and ad block, I just run DuckDuckGo’s privacy plugin. You can show me ads, but not track me, weirdly enough it’s 98% the same result. It facinating that ad tech cannot see the difference between ads and tracking.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#343

Post by brewdad »

bbarn wrote: post #310
hattmall wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One market where this has always been a problem is tools. So almost 20 years ago we were told in shop class that the industry magazines and reviews were basically all paid for by manufacturers. The solution we learned was to always buy the cheapest option first. If it breaks or fails to meet your needs understand how and why and then move on to a more costly tool that you can demonstrate is better in the specific way…

Harbor Freight's "low quality" tools will work for a great many average home owners doing some upgrading or light work. We absolutely fall into the trap of wanting the best thing ever, but how many people actually need the top of the line Milwaukee or Makita brand biscuit joiner for the 2 tables they ever make at 200$, vs the Harbor Freight one at 60 that you can probably find a coupon for to make it 45-50? On that n…

I managed to get a 48" flex bit stuck in my wall when I was running ethernet last summer. Since it was the last hole I needed and it only cost me $9 at Harbor Freight, I left it in the wall and called it good. The $90 bit from Home Depot probably would have meant removing a bunch of drywall and then having to patch it.

The batteries on my ~20 year old Craftsman cordless drill are finally getting to the point where they won't hold a charge. I'll probably have to bite the bullet and wade into the mess of "brand-name" tools the next time I have a significant project.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#344

Post by TheRealDunkirk »

rq1 wrote: post #288
patrickk wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can't even buy appliances designed perform their function well You can't research good appliances either online, because the SERPs are stuffed with SEO-ed blogs and sometimes industry magazines, monetized with Amazon affiliates or other networks, with titles like "5 best dishwashers in 2022". Unless you know someone in the industry or offline with knowledge you don't know what to buy. This is noticeable in many…

Try: Best dishwashers 2022 -amazon All websites with affiliated links disappear. You’ll most likely end up on Reddit but sometimes make some good discoveries.

I have yet to find a question Reddit has a good answer for, so I also add `-site:reddit.com` if my query has been SEO'd into a page full of their spam.

The net-net of all of this is that I buy a lot more stuff from brick and mortar stores now, where they've done the curation, and will only carry the stuff that sells best per square foot, and minimizes their returns.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#345

Post by thrower123 »

reincarnate0x14 wrote: post #17
blakesterz wrote: post #2

In FireFox I have my ad blockers disabled in Private Mode so nothing is getting in the way if I'm testing or some site is being weird. Sometimes it's SHOCKINGLY different how a page looks with the blockers in place. I really can't believe anyone would user a browser without an ad blocker if they knew how things would look while using one. The web is a much better place with a blocker in place. (Yes, I know, we get a…

I feel zero guilt about ad blocking. There was some period of discussion on the subject back in like 2003 but the ad companies went to war against human civilization and there's been no going back. It corrupts and twists everything it touches into a constant hustle for eyeball-cash and an entire generation has now reached adulthood knowing nothing but that hustle touching every bit of media they ever interact with. W…

Ad companies gave up any right to not be blocked decades ago when they were serving actively malicious stuff that would backdoor browsers and own earlier versions of Windows. Since then it has been irresponsible to use the internet without a robust ad-blocker.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#346

Post by aksss »

Terretta wrote: post #289
hattmall wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One market where this has always been a problem is tools. So almost 20 years ago we were told in shop class that the industry magazines and reviews were basically all paid for by manufacturers. The solution we learned was to always buy the cheapest option first. If it breaks or fails to meet your needs understand how and why and then move on to a more costly tool that you can demonstrate is better in the specific way…

For a lot of people "cheapest tool first" is their goto (and not for the principled reason you shared). So eventually the cheapest tool makers get enough money to buy up the differentiated quality makers for their logo with enough branding power to price discriminate, and slap it on products from the same cheap factory line. Then, ugh.

A lot of times the price differential is such that I can buy two or three of item x for the price of a single premium version. If you seldom use the tool and it isn’t getting handled a lot (transportation, etc), this is the way. You can replace the item and still come out ahead.

There’s also that motto of “I’m too poor to buy it twice”, which comes into play when item y has a price like 75% of the premium version and/or you know the tool will have some rough travel and high demand, or time lost from outage isn’t acceptable. Then just spend the money on known-solid brands.

Reviews are an area where I really value specialized forums more than social media or blogs or industry publications.

In all cases with reviews even when no monetization involved, there can be a bandwagon mentality for brands and also people convincing themselves the high price they paid matters for something (even though it may not).

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#347

Post by scarface74 »

ipaddr wrote: post #319
colordrops wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that really an ad though? A recommendation on the platform itself isn't an ad IMO.

It is and many get paid for it. You think those top prime picks are most viewed/best rate.. no they are picked by an editor for a variety of reasons some include clauses in deals or money spent/relationship with the studio.

That’s not how Netflix works. Netflix pays a one time fee for content to be in its platform. It’s not a pay per play deal like Spotify.

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#348

Post by gundmc »

perryizgr8 wrote: post #114
gundmc wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do adblockers help with native product placement? Or are you saying you might as well not pay for premium if you'll still have to deal with the product placement anyway?

A combination of ublock origin and sponsorblock will make youtube completely ad free. Even the in video adverts are gone.

Interesting, I hadn't heard of sponsorblock. Thanks!

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#349

Post by 0xbadcafebee »

At some point we need to decide as a culture to reject advertising. Stop putting ads on our own websites and apps, stop linking to sites that advertise. Either charge me money for the content or give it for free. The world will become a better place. Less compromises and capitulations to advertising companies, less mindless consumerism, less distractions. More funding for actually good content (thus a monetary incentive to create it), lower consumer prices (from less money spent on advertising).

Re: Adblocking people and non-adblocking people experience a different web

#350

Post by timeon »

TheIronMark wrote: post #51
reincarnate0x14 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel zero guilt about ad blocking. There was some period of discussion on the subject back in like 2003 but the ad companies went to war against human civilization and there's been no going back. It corrupts and twists everything it touches into a constant hustle for eyeball-cash and an entire generation has now reached adulthood knowing nothing but that hustle touching every bit of media they ever interact with. W…

Quoted post unavailable.

I would gladly visit other sites but with SEO exploitation they are staying in the way. So maybe they owe us.
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