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You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

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Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#131
> Blocking ads may work online, but unless you spend your life in VR goggles, one cannot apply technical solutions alone.

The VR goggle / IRL ad blocking is an interesting idea. I immediately jump to fear that something politically sensitive could be censored. However, I suppose we still have that issue in online ad blocking.

Are there any known examples of censorship of content critical of $GOV being applied to an ad-blocker? Any crowd sourced list could in theory be vulnerable to censorship.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#132
post #19
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank the Lord reality (still) does not have cookie banners.

When you sign up for a store loyalty card, there's usually a form you fill out and sign. That's your "cookie consent".

I have never given correct information for those. I always sign up with the name of a president and the address of the White House. I’ve been using a phone number from 15 years ago for those.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But they do. You have to mentally process the incoming data first, then discard it. It's a waste of attention, especially with mind-catching ads you can't figure out immediately. Sometimes they are as blocking as browser pop-ups, e.g.: logotypes (or even full ads) displayed before a responsive UI is shown to you, duty-free zones in the airports, and so on. I am pretty sure we will soon have real-life targeted billboa…

Quoted post unavailable.

The difference is that his "ad" is relevant; you are on a comment thread about ads reading his (relevant) reply, similar to seeing an ad about a phone in a phone store.

In contrast, ads in most public places are completely irrelevant and unwelcome.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#134
post #103

Ads should simply be illegal anywhere, anywhen. Perhaps if we did that for, say, 80 years, then after the last advertiser has dropped dead of advanced age, we could cautiously re-enable the legality of purely informational, manipulation-free adverts.

Who's going to pay for your Google search, maps, and Gmail if there are no ads?

Paid online services have been a thing long before internet advertising took over. People used to have search, email, GPS navigation, business directories, news, weather and lots more before Google was even an idea. Why do people suddenly think giving up your privacy to look at obnoxious ads all day is the only way technology will progress further?

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#135
post #103

Ads should simply be illegal anywhere, anywhen. Perhaps if we did that for, say, 80 years, then after the last advertiser has dropped dead of advanced age, we could cautiously re-enable the legality of purely informational, manipulation-free adverts.

Who's going to pay for your Google search, maps, and Gmail if there are no ads?

The same who pays for other subscription based software, music, and groceries.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#136
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some new forms of IRL ads do interrupt your flow. Examples I've encountered: * In a mall touchscreen navigation kiosk, an ad is shown when you first wake up the device by touching it. * At multiple points in the McDonald's self-order touchscreen kiosk flow. * On Starbucks screen menus, the whole menu is periodically replaced with a video ad, forcing you to wait until its end to finish making your choice. > You also d…

Don’t forget the loud advertisements at the petrol pump!

And in airplanes. Airlines like to use those screens in front of each seat as billboards. They're on by default and don't time out, so they keep cycling bright ads while you're trying to sleep. Sure, you can turn yours off, but most of your neighbors won't bother changing the default on state.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#137
post #64
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you run into the IRL pop up ads? People walking in front of you, interrupting your UX for a quick "5 min conversation" about their chosen cause? These pesky ads get through my blockers no matter how often I update my filters.

The local cable co. has set up shop in random places throughout the closest grocery store to me for a number of months recently. I can't stand it; it's like walking onto a used car lot to buy groceries.

An effective way of revenge could be to pretend (actually, if they're a cable company pretending may not be necessary) to have a bad experience with them and ask about your money back or why you've been overcharged/etc, especially if their colleagues are pitching to another mark within earshot.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#138

Reminds me of this Banksy quote: People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most…

> Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

Funnily enough, you can say the same thing about Bansky's art:

> An artist who defaced several works of famed graffiti artist Banksy has been charged with the crime of vandalism -- which is pretty incredible since Banksy's collection is itself an act of vandalism

https://www.tmz.com/2014/04/02/banksy-david-william-noll-ric...

What a hypocrite:

> The E.U. Rules Against Banksy in His Trademark Fight With a Greeting Card Company, Citing His Own Statement That ‘Copyright Is For Losers’

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/banksy-trademark-full-colo...

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#139
post #95

When physical ads track me, and harass me in a shop, then I'll consider it.

Physical ads do actually track you in a lot of cases. Street level ad screens with cameras are widely available, though the ad companies promise they they only use those to profile you, not to track you.

Traffic billboards have even begun reading license plates for personalised ads.

The days where a billboard was just a billboard are over, ended by the ever scummier advertising industry and their lust for data.

Re: You block ads in your browser, why not in your city?

#140
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some new forms of IRL ads do interrupt your flow. Examples I've encountered: * In a mall touchscreen navigation kiosk, an ad is shown when you first wake up the device by touching it. * At multiple points in the McDonald's self-order touchscreen kiosk flow. * On Starbucks screen menus, the whole menu is periodically replaced with a video ad, forcing you to wait until its end to finish making your choice. > You also d…

So basically all digital ads are bad. All analog ads are less bad.

Analog ads have an installation & maintenance cost associated with them. Digital ads don't - if you have a screen anywhere, it can be turned into an ad with little effort and will require no ongoing maintenance.
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