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The correct amount of ads is zero

manuelmoreale.com

231–240 of 611 posts

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#231

To me, being anti-ads is being anti-poor, plain and simple. The advertising model makes the rich subsidize services for the poor, and I think that's a very good thing, and many people underappreciate the extend to which it happens. On that note, I'm somewhat annoyed that we're culturally ok with people who use online services and block ads, and yet we're not ok with people who ride on public transit and don't buy tic…

I don't necessarily agree. Blocking ads on a private site is more like going into a bookstore, reading the magazines and books and not buying anything. At some point the store clerk will approach you and suggest that you either pay or leave.

Poor people should have the option to go to the public library and read things for free. In the public transportation metaphor, poor people should get fair public transportation at an affordable price, and not need to ride without tickets.

Saying ads sustain poor people is, in my view, saying there is no expectation that the State/society will give a decent base level of service to anyone, and we're left to what private companies are willing to do and the mercy of the ones who can pay - coupled with their willingness to go along with whatever conditions the companies enforce for their "benevolence" (i.e., making you and your data the product).

So, what's wrong is that there's a gap here, and the poor people are not getting any support to bridge that gap and eventually get better off and add more value to society. Private philanthropy is not a valid welfare policy.

We need a new model like we had with libraries, one that handles the fact that most new content is now online. Unfortunately, most discussions I've seen around that were more about IP rights and protecting paywalls than enabling a 21st century lending model. And the traditional libraries are dying. Solving that would do more for the poor than subjecting yourself to intrusive ads ever will.

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#233
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It used to be a smaller, brighter place without ads.

I'm old enough to know that in the past the Internet was for a few, and now it is for many.

Yeah, because the cost of an internet connection/computer/cellphone got cheaper over the years.

Microwaves were also for the few, and now they are cheap and most people have them.

And microwaves got cheaper without having to resort to displaying ads while the user cooks food.

What a stupid argument.

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#234

It's why I use Firefox and avoid situations where I might get exposed to annoying ads. I was watching some Amazon Prime recently (the new rings of power season). Pretty OK and completely ad free experience. Except I noticed these weird cuts every few minutes. It took me quite a while to realize that Amazon introduced ads some time ago for Amazon prime and uBlock origin was doing a great job of simply blocking them. H…

I would pay for YouTube premium if you can afford it. The cost is pretty reasonable and 55% of the subscription goes to content creators. It's not a huge amount but probably similar to what a creator would make if ads were shown.

I remember hearing from some creators that youtube premium watch time is MUCH more valuable than ad-based people. I don't remember how much though.

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#235

Advertising is fundamentally corrosive to society and should be outlawed with few and carefully tailored exceptions. Any business models that consequently fail, fail because their externalities to collective society are now priced in.

You will just get other kinds of advertisement. Ads that are technically not ads. Things like product placements, free promotions, word of mouth campaigns etc.

We get those already so removing all the others is still an improvement. But we can outlaw paid product placements too.

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#236
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It used to be a smaller, brighter place without ads.

I'm old enough to know that in the past the Internet was for a few, and now it is for many.

The Internet got to be for many before it was filled with ads.

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#237
post #80

Dear friends! I am a simple programmer. I had a website in 2009, where I posted useful articles. I had a small ad block, which allowed me to pay for my expenses. When users began to install ad blockers en masse, the number of ad views dropped significantly and I had to close the site. Now I have no job and I am very poor. I want to thank those people who not only do not want to pay for good service, but also install…

dear friend! I am also a simple programmer. When I post simple rants like the one featured here, not only it doesn't have an ad block anywhere and so it generates no money but you're also all consuming bandwidth on a server i'm paying for with my money. I also have a job—as a self employed developer that earns absolutely not enough to live a decent life—and I still do what I can to respect the web and respect the peo…

Let me give you a piece of advice. Since you are still young and you do not have enough experience to make a lot of money. Because before it was not a few dollars that you mention, but hundreds of dollars. Advertising revenue has dropped so much. I thought the same as you. I was young and naive. Companies also have little money from advertising and therefore they simply cannot hire you and pay you a lot of money. Think about making a lot of money while you are young and full of energy. I am about 50 years old and I can not work hard anymore as in my youth. It becomes harder to make money with age. Think about the fact that none of those people who come to your site without advertising will give you a dollar in your old age. They will forget everything. Start being a serious adult. You are responsible only for yourself, but not for other people who just come to your site, and you do not have enough money to enjoy life while you are young. This time will quickly pass and in old age you will remember that you did not earn a lot of money in time.

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#238
While I agree with the post author on the "if I pay the subscription then there should be no ads" part, there is a bit that comes fairly often in such posts which I find rather funny: "sell my data to your advertisers"

Sorry, that's not how 90% of digital advertising works. The company doesn't sell your data, they just offer some other companies to put an ad in front of your screen based on some specific profiling.

But these ads companies don't receive a file called "Manuel Moreale personal data and shopping history"

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#239

It's why I use Firefox and avoid situations where I might get exposed to annoying ads. I was watching some Amazon Prime recently (the new rings of power season). Pretty OK and completely ad free experience. Except I noticed these weird cuts every few minutes. It took me quite a while to realize that Amazon introduced ads some time ago for Amazon prime and uBlock origin was doing a great job of simply blocking them. H…

Well I'm pretty much an anti-ad radical as well, but you're saying you block ads and you don't want to pay for stuff like subscriptions and similar. Well that's also not very sustainable, content creators have to eat :)

Fortunately there's many ways to financially support the workers whose content you appreciate: patreon, ko-fi, etc. I still wished there was something much more friction-free, something like flattr

Re: The correct amount of ads is zero

#240

> The correct amount of ads for a publication that’s directly supported is zero. I basically agree with this sentiment, but one place where it can be a tricky balance (not saying that's the case here!) is "native advertising". For example, a new game is being released, the publisher collaborates with TheBrink, a hypothetical popular game news site, and for this they get a huge takeover banner advert for the week, inc…

If I go to TheBrink to read about game news, and I click on a link that says the article is about that new game, then I get what I asked for. Coupled with a clear indication that it's paid-for content, it should be fine.

What's not fine is seeing an ad for the new game when I didn't go to a games news site and didn't click on such a link. I don't want to be interrupted with games news while I'm watching a video on DIY. I shouldn't be shown appraisals of the new game while shopping for a new car radio.

Ads should be opt-in.

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