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I Block Ads

coryd.dev

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Re: I Block Ads

#221

Post by r00fus »

omginternets wrote: post #69
jurassicfoxy wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find highway billboards and store signage to be a particularly awful display, and I'd be overjoyed for them to be banned entirely. I have often thought about cutting down highway billboards, although I'm not quite intense enough for that.

Quite. Also, here in the US, gas stations have begun to play particularly loud/obnoxious video advertisements at the pump. I cannot stress how angry I am about this. One of the last places where I could just day-dream has now been deemed "up for grabs" by the lowest form of shit-peddler in the modern world. Pause for a second to consider the absurdity of being blasted with advertisements while paying for a product. T…

Buy an electric vehicle. No kidding, avoiding the pump (and paying the petroleum industry tax) was my #1 goal (not saving money - I live in CA where kWh prices are very high).

And I can't express how much I love not feeling anxious every time I drive by a gas station to worry "do I need to fill up now"?

Filling up at home every single day is much more serene. We also have a 2nd vehicle that's non-EV for trips.

Re: I Block Ads

#223

Post by shortformblog »

93po wrote: post #216
shortformblog wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I should note that Forbes is probably the traditional media outlet that has been most willing to mix advertising and editorial in questionable ways. It has gotten better about its approach in recent years, but it is certainly not perfect.

Product placement and native advertising is rampant across all media.

And I said Forbes was one of the worst examples of it. They pioneered a lot of the darker patterns among major media outlets.

Re: I Block Ads

#224

Post by buzzert »

Nearly all of the things in this list can be blocked by simply disabling JavaScript, or selectively enabling it for certain origins. NoScript is a fantastic extension for this. I don't even have any other ad blockers installed. Just blocking JS and I don't get any of this.

Re: I Block Ads

#225

Post by lost_tourist »

Nextgrid wrote: post #211

I wonder why so many people feel the urge to justify blocking ads? Did we have the same reaction over a decade ago for installing antivirus software and depriving the poor malware makers of their revenue, or email server admins blocking spam and depriving the spammers of their revenue? There is no difference between ads and malware - both are code that uses your machine to make it do something undesirable, and often…

we had ad blockers installed 10 years ago too...

Re: I Block Ads

#226

Post by stodor89 »

DirkH wrote: post #187
nunez wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People ignore them, just like TV ads.

Speak for yourself. I don't own a TV precisely because the ads got too much. I haven't owned a TV in well over a decade. I have a cinema system I just hook up to my laptop whenever I want to watch a movie or series from some streaming service. I doubt I'm rare in this regard.

I have a 16yo TV just because I don't know what to put in its place. And I have cable TV just because cable TV + 500mbps internet was cheaper than 300mbps internet by itself. It's a crazy world we live in.

Haven't turned it on since the FIFA world cup last year, though.

Re: I Block Ads

#227

Post by schneefux »

jader201 wrote: post #144

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 eventu…

Fully agree. I run such a site too.

For an individual, an informational website like that has little value which is why donations or payments do not work. But some communities are so large that the total value that the sites provide is significant. Ads are the best tool to capture this value.

Without ads, there'd be much fewer sites for gaming communities because hosting and maintaining them for free is too expensive.

Re: I Block Ads

#228

Post by tombert »

npteljes wrote: post #200
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…

You have to understand where the ad is coming from. With Premium, you play YouTube to not interject extra ads. They can't really do anything with the content itself.

I do understand that, but I don't have to like it.

Re: I Block Ads

#229

Post by nsett_ »

jjbinx007 wrote: post #72
submeta wrote: post #43

Whenever I'm sitting in front of a computer that isn't using ad blockers, I'm shocked to see how polluted websites are, practically yelling at me, vying for my attention. How can folks concentrate on an article without ad blockers? Then there are those ads in YouTube videos and blog articles purporting to offer the reader something valuable when, in fact, they're packed with falsehoods ("xyz changed my life, and if y…

I don't think I have ADHD but trying to read a news website without an ad blocker actually triggers me a little. The content keeps moving around as the ads are pumped in, and then a video (often unrelated to the article) begins to play, and it's often impossible to close it. I'm unable to concentrate on the article. And then the ads change and a new batch is rotated in. Some of them try their best to obscure the cont…

I have ADHD and the only way it works for me is to use adblocker, disable all video, save the article to zotero if I want to read it in first pass.

I have a set designated time period to read news and never use internet for information outside that period. I disable internet and read only my saved zotero articles one after another until I'm done.

Rules are essential to not let this attention economy businesses ruin your life if you have ADHD.

Re: I Block Ads

#230

Post by stevenwliao »

bee_rider wrote: post #185
jader201 wrote: post #144

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 eventu…

> 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. Selfishly, it could be seen as good for those of us who block ads, that they exist. Let other folks “pay” for the services I enjoy. And I do think there’s a real gap below what I’ll actu…

Suppose web ads were banned tomorrow. How would sites adapt?

Many sites will shut down. A few sites would probably go Wikipedia style and ask for donations, run by the generosity of a few.

But I think the vast majority of remaining sites will become paid walled gardens, kind of like what we have with TV these days. I don't think this is a better web.

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