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YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers

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Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers

#871

Post by YoshiRulz »

fennecfoxy wrote: post #842
freehorse wrote: post #615

It is not just about youtube. The whole internet is bloated with ads right now, and the vast majority of them quite the opposite of discrete. I just cannot browse the internet without adblocker, it is too slow, but more importantly too distracting. I could count the times that I have found an internet ad interesting in my lifetime using half the fingers of one hand. Personalised or not, the vast majority is useless,…

I think the core issue is: * People don't like ads, because ads suck * Youtube offers premium, an ad-less experience Never have I seen self-entitled people so furious as when YT requests they buy premium in order to remove ads. What, should YT be hosted for free without ads and without a subscription? I get that ads suck and companies suck, but self-entitled people suck too; most of us here are devs and we get paid b…

> YT users have two great options for paying for their access, dealing with ads or paying a subscription.

I wouldn't say it offers 2 great options. The ad-funded offering is a non-starter given the reality of its ad market. The paid option sounds great, but if the goal is to finance the creators you enjoy most, it doesn't work. The success of Nebula, plus several of YouTube's policy changes or lack thereof, imply that YouTube doesn't actually care, it's just driven by greed.

Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers

#872

Post by JohnFen »

kevincox wrote: post #870

Makes me really happy that I recently subscribed to Nebula. I had YouTube Premium for a while but the experience kept getting worse. They removed email notifications, added more and more ads for "premium features" that I wasn't interested in and kept making offline downloads a pain (YouTube DL is usually a better experience). On top of that the recommendations are awful and search results have random unrelated ads fo…

Do you use their app?

I used Nebula for a while a year or two ago, but their Android app was almost unusably bad, so I cancelled my subscription. I'm curious if it's any better now.

Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers

#873

Post by kevincox »

JohnFen wrote: post #872
kevincox wrote: post #870

Makes me really happy that I recently subscribed to Nebula. I had YouTube Premium for a while but the experience kept getting worse. They removed email notifications, added more and more ads for "premium features" that I wasn't interested in and kept making offline downloads a pain (YouTube DL is usually a better experience). On top of that the recommendations are awful and search results have random unrelated ads fo…

Do you use their app? I used Nebula for a while a year or two ago, but their Android app was almost unusably bad, so I cancelled my subscription. I'm curious if it's any better now.

I do use their app. About 50/50 Firefox and the Android app.

There is a pretty annoying bug regarding Chromecast (opening a link when already connected to a device doesn't work properly) that I reported but apparently they are working on it. But other than that I haven't had any issues.

Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers

#875

Post by mike741 »

theragra wrote: post #865
93po wrote: post #859

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any website that doesn't want me able to choose what I do on my own computer with the information they've freely given me is welcome to move to a different protocol that requires a locked down operating system that forces display of their content in the manner that they dictate. Until then, they can choose to stop freely sending me information or accept I'm going to use information on my own computer however I want (…

When they try to add these protocols, though, everybody complaints a lot.

and? the changes are either worth it or they aren't. if they're not worth it then don't make them.

Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers

#876

Post by 6177c40f »

II2II wrote: post #794
red_admiral wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ad-blocking also gives you similar if not more extra security to anti-virus software, with fewer downsides (faster not slower). I'm afraid the ad ecosystem is so big that occasionally, threats slip through.

Performance and security may be my primary reasons for using an ad-blocker, but I must also admit that I would not remove the blocker even if those issues were addressed. On the rare occasion that I have used a computer without an ad blocker, I have found that advertising is so intrusive that I would rather not use the web.

I've resolved that I just don't want to be advertised to. I will never stop blocking ads no matter what, even without the security benefits.

Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers

#878

Post by jjeaff »

xpdx wrote: post #869

I got tired of keeping up the arms race with ad blockers. So now I just pay them. So, it worked on me I guess. I watch youtube more than Netflix and I pay for that every month too.

What effort is required on your part to keep up? I have had uBlock Origin for years and it keeps itself updated. I don't think I ever see ads.
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