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Should I Block Ads?

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Re: Should I Block Ads?

#131

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

ComputerGuru wrote: post #50
derefr wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do use my adblocker disable button, but not in response to sites pleading for me to do so. I just find that sometimes it helps when a web app is being wonky. (Usually, the adblocker has misidentified one of the app’s main first-party JS files as an ad script and prevented it from loading.) Of course, since we’re talking about web apps , no ads usually result from this.

Usually. But Fidelity loads bootstrap.js from the ensighten CDN on some pages, so it’s not a mistaken first party domain blocked but a tracking third party you need to allow.

Then it sounds like you might be in the market for a new stockbroker.

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#132

Post by flukus »

hpoe wrote: post #41

So the reason I block ads, or at least started is a book I read called Pre-suasion by Robert Caldini. In it he points out that internet ads are dismissed and ignored by our conscious mind but because of that often will produce an effect on our unconscious mind. Think like the subliminal messaging type thing. People who were shown Kodiak ads on a webpage in an experiment couldn't recall seeing any Kodiak ads simply be…

Even without the psychology, advertisers aren't charities giving money away as many people seem to believe, they want a return on their investment and that return comes from users giving them money. Manipulating you into giving them money is the sole reason that 99% of ads exist and if it didn't work there would be no ads.

> however later for the subjects favored purchasing a Kodiak camera over competitors products.

Even worse is that when they were purchasing the camera the cost of the ads was embedded in that price. They weren't just manipulated into buying that brand, they paid for the manipulation itself. I now make a conscious effort to avoid advertised products, at least the ones in meatspace where there are no ad blockers. I can't wait for the day that AR is advanced enough to let me block them too.

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#133

Post by inetknght »

Kim_Bruning wrote: post #112
inetknght wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How many people actually disable their adblockers when sites don't allow you to access them if you have one enabled? It's just much easier to close the tab. Some sites intentionally break if you're using an adblocker. It's really easy to argue to not use those sites. But... What about government sites? Government sites don't work with strong ad blockers. What about bank sites? Bank sites don't work with strong ad b…

Hmm, all the bank and government websites I've used work fine (so far) . I've also worked at many companies now, and I haven't had trouble with ad blockers there either. I'm actually surprised how they could cause problems? Do you have specific examples?

> I'm actually surprised how they could cause problems? Do you have specific examples?

1) use uMatrix and block all scripts and all third party sites

2) go to your favorite bank

3) if you're lucky, you'll get a warm welcome to enable javascript. i don't think that's reasonable, but just enable it to get moving.

4) after enabling javascript, see a few third party sites. some of them are "content delivery networks" (which IMO shouldn't be a thing, and absolutely shouldn't be a different gTLD), some of them are telemetry (hope you trust your bank to vacuum up only what they want), and some are services your bank tries to upsell you on (please sign up for our (third party) rewards to further monetize your purchase habits).

5) good luck trying to figure out which sites to trust

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#134

Post by missedthecue »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #63
lalaland1125 wrote: post #6

I think this article downplays the downsides of ad blockers too much. If ad blockers become the norm, much of the current web will no longer be viable. Facebook, YouTube, Google, Reddit, StackOverflow, and countless other sites are fundamentally based on advertising and can't survive without it. The article tries to address this a little bit with the "Ad blockers do not block all advertising" section, but I don't thi…

Web site owners brought the wrath of ad blockers upon themselves. If ads were limited to a simple image, MAYBE a non-obtrusive animated GIF, it'd be fine. Honestly, I thought Project Wonderful[0]'s ads were fine and even had an exception in my blocker for them. But no, advertising networks allow advertisements to run JavaScript, auto-playing videos with sound, and create malvertising that hijacks my browser and even…

So do you turn your adblocker off on legitimate sites that don't run malicious advertising? (Which, unless you have a browsing history not fit for publication on this site, is likely the majority of sites that you visit)

Or do you just want to have your cake and eat it too? It's quite funny to me that the same crowd who blocks internet advertising wholesale is often times the same crowd that bemoans the fact that so many websites are going to subscription models and paywalls versus say 10 or 15 years ago. Frankly, there is little discernable difference between adblocking and theft, but I'm sure that that statement is not a popular one on a forum like this.

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#135

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

XCSme wrote: post #73
Hamuko wrote: post #2

How many people actually disable their adblockers when sites don't allow you to access them if you have one enabled? It's just much easier to close the tab.

I had to disable adblocker to view my old Yahoo mail inbox. I didn't find a way yet to safely switch from Yahoo to Gmail without potentially missing out on emails or lose access to sites registered using that email. I did disable it. I am not proud.

Enable forwarding of your Yahoo inbox to Gmail, or enable Gmail's periodic fetching feature from the Yahoo mailbox.

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#136

Post by frosted-flakes »

fivre wrote: post #125
collyw wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it? Who will pay for the internet then? I almost feel guilty for blocking them in a way, I appreciate that we need to have some naive users to fund stuff. Some smarter sites ask you to voluntarily unblock their site. If its something I value I will actually do that. If it's forced upon my often I'll try and work my way around it.

Not the ad companies, and I'm not sure I'll miss the ad-funded internet. The internet services I use most often and enjoy are either paid or are essentially nonprofits. The ad-funded internet seems to largely churn out a wealth of low-effort content mill sites polluting Google results. I won't mourn their death in the slightest.

This made me stop and think: what services do I use frequently that are supported by ads? Honestly, not much. Search engines (DuckDuckGo), YouTube, Outlook.com email, a couple of non-traditional news sites (Ars Technica mostly), Stack Overflow, and podcasts. HN links drive most of my browsing habits, and that kind of content tends to not have or rely on ads.

And apart from YouTube, I'm mostly fine with the ads on those services. Clearly I'm not the average user, but I agree with your conclusion that most ads and the services they support can die in a dumpster fire and I won't care.

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#137

Post by missedthecue »

identity0 wrote: post #37
lalaland1125 wrote: post #6

I think this article downplays the downsides of ad blockers too much. If ad blockers become the norm, much of the current web will no longer be viable. Facebook, YouTube, Google, Reddit, StackOverflow, and countless other sites are fundamentally based on advertising and can't survive without it. The article tries to address this a little bit with the "Ad blockers do not block all advertising" section, but I don't thi…

Good. A web without ads and ad companies is a freer, fairer, and more decentralized web.

How is it freer? Would you pay 10 cents every time you scrolled through your Twitter feed?

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#138

Post by asdff »

Hamuko wrote: post #2

How many people actually disable their adblockers when sites don't allow you to access them if you have one enabled? It's just much easier to close the tab.

If sites have a wall come up complaining about my ad blocker or cookies, I can usually get around it using my ad blockers content filtering to block the paywall itself. If it starts to take more than three seconds, I close the tab and move on.

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#139

Post by asdff »

stblack wrote: post #14

With ad blocking, some sites present you with an overlay, preventing you from accessing content. A really nice Chrome and FF extension to scrub overlays is named Behind The Overlay: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/behindtheoverlay/l...

If you use ublock origin you can usually just right click and block the element and peel it off layer by layer.

Re: Should I Block Ads?

#140

Post by renewiltord »

The answer is obviously yes. You externalize the pain (lost revenue isn't a thing felt by you) and internalize the gain (no ads to view, etc.). It's just like the answer to:

* Should you pirate your school textbooks? Yes, obviously. I did it all through uni and I'm a good software engineer. Oh sorry, that's not right. I meant "It's a travesty that a university I pay money to would force me to spend money on books I could just get from the previous year. The writer barely makes any money on the book anyway".

* Should you pirate games? Yes, obviously. A game that's free is better than a game you pay for. If it's sufficiently cheap then the advantage of discovery and your library makes Steam or Epic worth it. "Store-bought games include intrusive DRM that messes with your system files and is a security nightmare"

* Should you pirate software? Yes, obviously. That's why most paid software is SaaS now. You can't pirate SaaS. "Same DRM argument as above".

Ultimately, the answer to "Should I get something for free which I would otherwise pay for" is always yes.

I mean we still have DRM and shit and once upon a time people grumbled that they pirate games because they don't like always on DRM. Well, Steam is always on DRM and folks love that. To paraphrase big Bill C, "It's about the money, stupid".

I could probably invent a plausible smoke screen for everything from riding on trains for free (why are cars so subsidized?) to not paying for parking (I already pay so much in road tax and income tax) to taking all the Halloween candy someone left outside in a bowl (I never had this stuff as a child, all these kids already have way more than they need).

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