Why ads are a problem

Why ads are a problem
typed.pw

An interesting environmentalist argument would be, to ask everyone to pay more to producers of all kinds (online or otherwise), to prevent the "need" for extra resource consumption on any medium.

It "should" be an easy argument because people are clearly already paying for ads, they just don't see how. For instance, your electric bill would go down if you knew your TV would run for a half hour less every day.

People always seem to forget that most of the Internet is free BECAUSE of ads.

There are websites which are actually free to end users. They don't serve ads, they might have a donation page, and largely exist because the operator simply wants to publish something. Most of the 'old web' embodies these qualities.

The assumption that the only way for websites to make money is via ads or paywalls is completely pervasive and it's simply not true. These two options are the most naive monetization strategies. My favorite counterexample is the Welcome to Nightvale Podcast. Their podcast is gratis and without ads. They make money through donations, selling swag, their book, and by performing live shows -- all which sell out extremely fast because I've been trying to get tickets recently.

The Internet is quite expensive because of ads.

With donations, I'm offering free information, that they're really supposed to pay for, but instead of just asking for the money as an exchange, I rely on the goodness of their heart, or guilting them into feeling bad and owing me. Then they pay, but the information was already free, so they're not actually paying for it, instead they're paying for the smugness of being one of the few that actually paid what they owed, and I become the charity case in their eyes, and they are disappointed if they're not rewarded for their good deed. They expect me to do something, give them some feedback, either by personally thanking them, or posting on the website how great they are for donating. Either way, I owe them, they owe me, and it's all in this fuzzy emotional space that's outside the actual exchange of information and costs of hardware and networking.

I hate donations. I tried them once, and where I would've made $100 per day, I'd be lucky if I got $1 per day, maybe even $1 per week it was that low. Because I don't want to have a "family". I don't want charity. I refunded donations and put ads back up.

Ads are what people want. Nobody wants to pay directly, and nobody wants to be guilted and in debt. The people who donate are doing it for other purposes than paying for nothing. They want something out of it, and I don't want to give them it.

Go ahead and block ads. So what. They aren't for everyone. Then you get free information, donated to you by the people who like ads and support those who pay to advertise, and the businesses who take the risk in paying to have their name part of your site.

People love ads, even those who block them.