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I Block Ads

coryd.dev

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Re: I Block Ads

#231

Post by raxxorraxor »

GoblinSlayer wrote: post #188
31337Logic wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

There's research about it: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-fallible-mind/20...

There is certainly a difference in reaction though. There are people that cannot resist if you slap a percentage on something. It doesn't matter if they need it or the price is even good. There is something to save here and it is all that matters...

And it even affects people that should be adapt at math too.

Re: I Block Ads

#232

Post by abenga »

maest wrote: post #90

Yes, ads suck. However, here's my take on advertising: Modern economic markets are a decentralized process via which we decide how to best allocate resources. For this to work, we need a mechanism that allows information to be broadcasted through the system to ensure local decisions make sense. (In fact, information asymmetry is one of the main failure modes of modern markets). So, yeah, advertising sucks, but 1. it'…

Relevant, non-obtrusive ads are kinda sort of fine, or at best bearable. What sucks is inability to opt out of specific ads due to inappropriateness or irrelevance. I need to to tell YouTube every couple of weeks that I don't want to see betting company ads just because I watch NBA and soccer videos. No matter how much I say this is "Not Appropriate" or "Not Relevant", every two weeks, there is Emmanuel Adebayor telling me to use some betting app (it's always the same ad). I finally caved and installed Smarttube on my Android TV.

Re: I Block Ads

#233

Post by realityloop »

mgbmtl wrote: post #70
judge2020 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/firefox-private-safe-browser/i... ? Or is it not "can't use Firefox on iOS" but "doesn't have x feature from Firefox on Desktop"?

Last time I checked, it was just a Safari webview, and missed a lot of features compared to Firefox on Android. Has that changed recently? Other nice thing of Firefox on Android: being able to listen to Youtube videos even when the screen is turned off. (I'm sure there are solutions, but many seemed sketchy or didn't work well)

You can play yt videos with screen off using vinegar if you pop the video out to pip view it will be able to keep playing when you turn the screen off. https://apps.apple.com/au/app/vinegar-tube-cleaner/id1591303...

Re: I Block Ads

#234

Post by ollien »

V1ndaar wrote: post #77
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

Might you explain /why/?

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't think to check back on this :)

A couple reasons:

Back when I did use them, I got really bothered by sites breaking, and I'd rather have the ads than dealing with "is this broken because of my ad blocker or is the site broken". Now, I've just gotten to the point where I don't really mind.

The other part is there's enough content I consume that is supported by ads that I would like to continue supporting, without having to consciously opt into it (e.g. news sites; I don't want to pay a subscription for every newspaper but am happy to contribute to what little money they get from ads)

Re: I Block Ads

#235

Post by ollien »

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.

Actually, I don't think I'm immune; I'm definitely affected by ads. But I definitely get used to seeing them and don't think about them actively. Sometimes I miss that they're even on a page.

Re: I Block Ads

#237

Post by bee_rider »

stevenwliao wrote: post #230
bee_rider wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Any dramatic change like banning ads in a day is destined to cause waves. I’m more interested in whether we’d end up in a better place a couple years out.

Re: I Block Ads

#238

Post by temp2022account »

V1ndaar wrote: post #77
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

Might you explain /why/?

Not OP but I do something similar, because I know each ad I see costs someone $$$. This leads to odd behavior like making sure I let youtube ads play for their full duration and I'll usually click on sponsor links + their pages enough to trigger the first flag of a sales pipeline, ensuring the company responsible for the ad pays as much as possible for it.

Re: I Block Ads

#239

Post by numbsafari »

zmnd wrote: post #151
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...)…

If you don't want to see ads, why you didn't want to pay a couple of dollars for an app? Or how do you see developers compensated in this case?

I didn't mind seeing ads. I knew I was signing up for some kind of advertising.

But why does every other ad have to be not only pornographic, but offensively so? Why is it okay for them to hide a little "x" for dismissing their offensiveness?

I have the same problem with blogs and news sites at this point. I wouldn't mind leaving the ads enabled, except that they are very often not only distracting, but offensive. Someone emails me a link to a work-relevant new story, I click the link, and the page is loaded with pictures of women in bikinis, toe fungus, or other gross things. Why? This perfectly safe for work news story is now a case study in hostile work environment.

Trying to maximize for the highest cpm bidder, rather than trying to maximize for actually showing the most ads, is why the publishing industry is having to deal with ad blockers. It's the same as when napster became a challenge to exploitative pricing for CDs by music publishers. iTunes broke that mold by resetting the pricing on the supply side to actually match the demand side, and sucked a lot of the wind out of the demand for piracy. Streaming only took that further.

Content publishers could find ways to make ads less offensive, less intrusive, and safer for consumers (even the FBI is now recommending ad blockers because of the risks of ad networks run amok), and they would take much of the wind out of the demand for ad-blockers. Won't eliminate it, but would certainly dial things down.

Instead, they just keep adding more layers. More ads, more interruptions, more distractions, more offensive content. And then they complain? Come on.

Re: I Block Ads

#240

Post by zmnd »

numbsafari wrote: post #239
zmnd wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don't want to see ads, why you didn't want to pay a couple of dollars for an app? Or how do you see developers compensated in this case?

I didn't mind seeing ads. I knew I was signing up for some kind of advertising. But why does every other ad have to be not only pornographic, but offensively so? Why is it okay for them to hide a little "x" for dismissing their offensiveness? I have the same problem with blogs and news sites at this point. I wouldn't mind leaving the ads enabled, except that they are very often not only distracting, but offensive. So…

Because again, that's their incentive. They use whatever ads they get paid more for. Worst case, they are going to lose frustrated users like you, and make much more on others. Products that want to bring a better user experience, just can't survive, because even well paid users can't justify a couple of dollars for their service. For games there's Apple Arcade, for news - Apple News. They have some decent alternatives. Support great products that you like.
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