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I Block Ads

coryd.dev

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Re: I Block Ads

#141

Post by Miner49er »

elwell wrote: post #86
ltbarcly3 wrote: post #6

Advertising based 'free' things cost you far more than a subscription ever would. This is because Advertising Works and it works on you too . You are being manipulated into buying things you wouldn't buy, manipulated into making poor decisions you wouldn't otherwise make. Generations of people lost decades with relatives from smoking and drinking that would not have happened but for advertising. Advertising makes peo…

I don't think it gets me to buy things I wouldn't otherwise, but it directs me to certain brands subconsciously (more ad time, more trustworthy (...not saying that's necessarily accurate...)).

It might have an effect on your mental health though. Ads use all kinds of psychological tricks including making people feel worse about themselves.

Re: I Block Ads

#142

Post by stragies »

31337Logic wrote: post #132
ollien wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't used an ad blocker in years. The short answer: you get used to it. Banner blindness is a real thing

Anyone who claims they are unaffected by advertising likely just understand how the human brain works. You aren't immune. No one is.

... likely doesn't understand... ?

Re: I Block Ads

#143

Post by nicenewtemp84 »

thorwagoog wrote: post #106

Am I the only person who thought that list was a poem? :) Here is how my mind read it: I block ads in the browser, I block their DNS I block beacons and the ping attribute in their URLs I block analytics, reporting, and diagnostic logging I block programmatic pleas to disable ad-blocking I strip query strings from UTM campaign tags I unshorten URLs to avoid tracking hacks I stop autoplay for the videos on my feed I b…

I took your text and asked chatgpt to turn it into a fun poem:

I surf the web with playful glee, Blocking ads, just watch and see! In my browser, they won't appear, DNS blocked, they shed a tear.

Beacons and pings, they can't track me, URLs confused, they cannot be. Analytics and logs, no data they'll find, Programmatic pleas, they're left behind.

Campaign tags, I strip them bare, UTM queries, I won't share. Unshorten URLs, a clever trick, Tracking hacks, they're in a fix.

Autoplay videos, I make them stop, No more interruptions, no more flop. Cookies, beware! I block you all, Only the necessary ones may crawl.

Visibility API, you can't spy, No prompts to install, no need to try. Hidden pixels, stay out of sight, My email's safe, try as you might.

Unsubscribe, I'll show you the door, No more emails, I'll take no more. Block your address, a final resort, No more junk in my digital fort.

SMS ads, they come my way, But I block and report, come what may. Phone calls, ignored if not my friend, Only contacts, let the ringing send.

Data brokers, they won't win, I pay a company to wrangle them in. Junk mail, it's a thing of the past, Straight into the bin, it's gone at last.

So join me, my dear friend so true, Block those ads, they're not for you! Let's surf the web with joyful cheer, No ads, no tracking, have no fear!

Re: I Block Ads

#144

Post by jader201 »

There’s a lot of ad hate in this thread — and on HN in general — that sometimes feels a bit naive.

In 2004, I started a small website on the side that had no business value at all. It was just a small community of video game fans (specifically Animal Crossing), and pretty quickly, the costs outgrew what I was willing to afford on my own.

So I opened up donations. Unfortunately that didn’t get me very far, so I eventually— and begrudgingly — added ads. I was very intentional about keeping them as unobtrusive as possible: just some banner ads at the top and bottom of each thread and forum, and a square next to the first unread comment. I hated pop-ups (the kind that opened in a new window — very common at that time), and I didn’t have them on any other page on the site (just forums).

This gained me about 10x the revenue I got from donations alone, and was able to scale the site’s hardware, allowing me to keep the site up and running for nearly 20 years, and provided some modest passive income for a time. (I just recently sold it to someone else, but it’s still up and running.)

My point is, that wouldn’t have been possible without ads.

I agree with most of you: sites today have a ridiculous number of ads and are very intrusive. But for sites that don’t go overboard, or for small independent YouTube channels, I don’t mind allowing the ads, because I know they probably wouldn’t make it otherwise.

Yes, I hear the comments saying “maybe they shouldn’t exist if they can’t monetize without ads”, but I’m not sure I agree. There are many that just wouldn’t survive with donations alone, and a subscription model may not make sense.

There are just some cases where ads make sense for them, and I’m ok with that (with the caveat they don’t go overboard), and because I’ve been on the other side, I don’t block ads.

Re: I Block Ads

#145

Post by jacooper »

Personally my issue with ads aren't the ads themselves, its the tracking and digital stalking that big tech does for ad targeting.

Re: I Block Ads

#146

Post by MSFT_Edging »

lostmsu wrote: post #75
MSFT_Edging wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm almost afraid that if the userbase of effective ad blocking gets big enough, large firms like google will put even more resources into the anti-ad blocking like what is happening with Chrome's new plugin api. I feel like letting people enjoy the ads if they don't know any better is a little smoke screen for people who do know better.

Isn't it already "big"? Over 25% in US according to https://www.statista.com/topics/3201/ad-blocking/#topicOverv...

Oh dang, yeah that's a decent chunk.

Re: I Block Ads

#147

Post by tombert »

You know, I don't even want to deprive people of money; as a yuppie who has money nowadays I am not opposed to paying for things I use if I could avoid the tracking and propaganda of ads.

YouTube Premium, for example, is pretty solid for the most part, and I'm happy to spend some money to support the creators I like, but they kind of fucked that up because now I have to deal with the endless ads for RayCon or ExpressVPN or SkillShare. It's a bit frustrating because I though I paid for "no ads", when in reality I paid for "we're hiding the ads you could have easily blocked for free".

Re: I Block Ads

#149

Post by satysin »

tombert wrote: post #147

You know, I don't even want to deprive people of money; as a yuppie who has money nowadays I am not opposed to paying for things I use if I could avoid the tracking and propaganda of ads. YouTube Premium, for example, is pretty solid for the most part, and I'm happy to spend some money to support the creators I like, but they kind of fucked that up because now I have to deal with the endless ads for RayCon or Express…

SponsorBlock is what you want to auto-skip all in-video sponsored segments/ads

https://sponsor.ajay.app/

Re: I Block Ads

#150

Post by zmnd »

bombcar wrote: post #127
numbsafari wrote: post #66

I was stuck at an airport. I downloaded a free backgammon app on my iPhone, to kill some time. It showed me ads between every game. The ads were mostly for other apps. Most of those apps were games. Games that involved implied incestuous rape, non-consensual voyeurism, and other highly repulsive things. I just wanted to play backgammon. I uninstalled the app (thankfully, that's an easy thing to do on iOS, for now...)…

I just want simple games you pay your $2-5 for and you never see any ads. Apple should offer "App Store Plus" where you pay $10/20/30 whatever a month and all the ad-infested apps just show nothing.

like.. apple arcade?
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