YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin • Hacker News Board

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#611

Post by wiseowise » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:24 AM UTC

HeeroML wrote: post #523

eqvinox wrote: post #427

This is of course bringing up the discussion on the "morality" of Adblocking. I'd like to point out something that I don't think is getting enough attention. There was a point in the past where video platforms were competing, and by no means was it clear that YouTube would end up dominating this area to the point of being close to a monopoly. When YouTube won that race, they won it with a given set of parameters, inc…

Just that energy and such got more costly. Why should YouTube pay extra cause you feel you had an agreement with them on how much ads there are?

> Why should YouTube pay extra cause you feel you had an agreement with them on how much ads there are?

Because I say so with my AdBlock. This is the reason why small guy should have power.

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#612

Post by jonathanstrange » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:24 AM UTC

plasticeagle wrote: post #190

crop_rotation wrote: post #9

Apart from the Youtube stuff, the post also highlights something else, entitlement towards free services like uBlock origin. > It’s one thing to play cat and mouse with YouTube. It’s quite another to deal with a wave of angry users. > And then one of the moderators actually deleted their Reddit account. “The ID in the post wasn’t updated because my mother was hospitalized,” they said. It’s sad to see them leave becau…

Ironically, "entitlement towards free services like uBlock origin" is exactly the kind of sentiment that leads to the use of ad-blockers in the first place. So it can scarcely be surprising that the sorts of people blocking youtube abs because they want the content for free, are the same sorts of people that feel entitled to uBlock Origin's services for free. If you want youtube's content without ads, then pay for it…

Why can't I just use an ad blocker? My machine, my choice of what and how I display things on it. You haven't presented any argument why people shouldn't use ad blockers. I suppose the pejorative term "entitled" is supposed to replace the actual argument?

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#613

Post by nvm0n2 » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:25 AM UTC

yukkuri wrote: post #78

A lot of absurd moralizing here about "you're stealing by not watching ads". I keep adblock on for most sites because ads are so intrusive and often malware vectors. If advertisers want my eyes they need to not be obnoxious. I started blocking YouTube ads in particular because it kept serving me ads that were brazenly homophobic ("how gross and smelly is gay sex? Find out!") I feel no moral problem with this, if you…

When was the last time someone got malware from YouTube ads? Has that ever happened?

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#614

Post by gmerc » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:25 AM UTC

selcuka wrote: post #454

boredpeter wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This reminds me of the concept of predatory pricing which is when a business lowers their prices to below cost in order to drive out all its competitors and create a monopoly. https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui... I do wonder if it could be argued (maybe even in the current monopoly case against google) whether youtube engaged in predatory or below-cost pricing in order to drive out all of i…

> Get VC funding, run at a loss and burn through money but gain a monopoly market share, and once you've done that you can raise your prices Slightly off topic, but the business plan of most startups seems to be "get VC funding, and exit". What you wrote may be the business plan of VCs. I don't understand the valuation of many startups these days (even in the hypothetical case where they capture 100% of their potenti…

VCs don’t invest because your business has a bright future as a valuable, sustainable operation . Not anymore.

The crypto dynamics have shifted the expectations so far to cheap, quick moment they most VCs, especially the a16z kind are more about “Can I juice this business and it’s metrics enough to sell it to someone to hold the bag”.

Ironically I think the large numbers involved are basically part of that PR game - they act as proof that the business is worth it and attract attention and bagholder interest.

The crypto economy worked like that too - the NFT wash trading, the signal metrics used to sell the idea that there is value where there is none.

Probably something something wework too.

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#615

Post by shiroiuma » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:30 AM UTC

daveevad wrote: post #441

ohhnoodont wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially when youtube's early success was built on piracy. That continued for a long time even after Google's acquisition. Arguably still is a major contributor regardless of Content ID.

Between Youtube and PirateBay, who do you think has distributed more unauthorized copyrighted works?

I'd say Youtube has distributed unauthorized copyrighted works to FAR more people. Most people have never heard of PirateBay or have any idea what a torrent is.

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#616

Post by TobiWestside » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:32 AM UTC

1vuio0pswjnm7 wrote: post #358

"YouTube isn't rolling out the anti-adblock to everyone. It seems to depend on things like your account, browser, and IP address. And if you're not logged in or you're in a private window, you're safe." If I am not mistaken one also needs to have Javascript enabled. "And... if you're not logged in, you're safe."

I've been getting the anti-adblock pop-ups despite not being logged in. So that last statement seems to not be universally true.

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#617

Post by notthemessiah » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:35 AM UTC

collaborative wrote: post #593

HeeroML wrote: post #528

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it actually wasn’t. Nebula isn’t sustainable. It’s co financed by curiositystream.

Do you know if Rumble is sustainable? Just curious

No way in hell, it's currently just a vanity project financed by untrustworthy billionaires (the main financier is literally a snitch for the FBI https://www.businessinsider.com/peter-thiel-fbi-informant-ch...).

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#618

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:35 AM UTC

boredpeter wrote: post #449

eqvinox wrote: post #427

This is of course bringing up the discussion on the "morality" of Adblocking. I'd like to point out something that I don't think is getting enough attention. There was a point in the past where video platforms were competing, and by no means was it clear that YouTube would end up dominating this area to the point of being close to a monopoly. When YouTube won that race, they won it with a given set of parameters, inc…

This reminds me of the concept of predatory pricing which is when a business lowers their prices to below cost in order to drive out all its competitors and create a monopoly. https://www.ftc.gov/advice-guidance/competition-guidance/gui... I do wonder if it could be argued (maybe even in the current monopoly case against google) whether youtube engaged in predatory or below-cost pricing in order to drive out all of i…

[deleted]

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#619

Post by the_omegist » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:38 AM UTC

Buttons840 wrote: post #369

cj wrote: post #76

At a technical level, what prevents Google from deploying unblockable ads on YouTube? I’m honestly surprised adblockers are able to block YouTube at all. The easiest way to prevent an adblocker from blocking is to make ads and real content indistinguishable in frontend code and network requests. Tie ads and real content together in a way that if you block ads, the video also doesn’t load. Or in the case of video ads,…

If ads are indistinguishable from the regular video, can't people just skip past them? Afterall, regular video can be fast-forwarded / skipped. I will tell my computer to automatically skip video that was originally marked as unskippable. If things really escalate, I will tell my computer to blank the screen and mute the audio when an ad is playing. I will do this with a keybinding, or maybe with an AI. This will be…

I did not see your comment & posted something pretty similar :

Not sure this is the best topic to ask this.

This is not a domain I am knowledgeable about but : if Youtube detects (somehow) when an ad is blocked , why don't adblockers become "adfastworwarders" ?

I am using a bookmarklet to play Youtube videos faster & I noticed the videos are also played at the same speed. Couldn't "adfastworwarders" detect the start of an ad & like play it at x10 or x20? It would still create a tiny "cut" in the watching experience but perhaps a way to skip ads ?

Any reason this cannot be a path for adblockers?

Re: YouTube's Anti-Adblock and uBlock Origin

#620

Post by the_omegist » Mon, Oct 30, 2023, 9:40 AM UTC

Not sure this is the best topic to ask this.

This is not a domain I am knowledgeable about but : if Youtube detects (somehow) when an ad is blocked , why don't adblockers become "adfastworwarders" ?

I am using a bookmarklet to play Youtube videos faster & I noticed the videos are also played at the same speed. Couldn't "adfastworwarders" detect the start of an ad & like play it at x10 or x20? It would still create a tiny "cut" in the watching experience but perhaps a way to skip ads ?

Any reason this cannot be a path for adblockers?