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Welcome to the ad-free internet

economist.com

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Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#231

Post by ActionHank »

loughnane wrote: post #217

I treasure my attention and so I've spent some time to opt out of ads. 5 years ago I couldn't tell what DNS was, now I've got an OPNsense router at home running ZenArmor/Unbound and I can can link to it from my phone over wireguard. Using ublock I've made a point to prune the pages I visit, so classes like "header" "breadcrumbs" "recommended" "sponsor" &c. are hidden. I self-host my media collection so I avoid spotif…

Missing some Invidious and Yattee for youtube there friend.

Adfree and crowd-sourced sponsor segment skipping is a glorious experience.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#232

Post by pixl97 »

alwayslikethis wrote: post #211

The ad-free internet has already been here for a long time if you are willing to spend 10 minutes install ublock origin. Paying is actually worse on all aspects, even if you ignore the cost, because it shows the fact that you have some amount of disposable income and are willing to pay for things, which greatly increases the value of advertising to you specifically.

For some values of ad-free.

Direct ads from the site you are viewing, yea adblock is great.

Aren't you feeling thirsty and want the cool crisp refreshing taste of an ice cold coca cola right now?

In content ads, and user posts as ads are far more difficult to deal with, but at least they don't track you.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#233

Post by oldpersonintx »

haswell wrote: post #229
alwayslikethis wrote: post #211

The ad-free internet has already been here for a long time if you are willing to spend 10 minutes install ublock origin. Paying is actually worse on all aspects, even if you ignore the cost, because it shows the fact that you have some amount of disposable income and are willing to pay for things, which greatly increases the value of advertising to you specifically.

While I use ublock and ad blocking DNS, this particular ad-free Internet isn’t sustainable. For better or worse, the business model behind many of these sites rely on the ad revenue to continue existing, and ad blocking only works as long as most people still aren’t doing it.

Don't worry about sustainability. There was life before YouTube and Facebook and there will be life after. I am not sacrificing my mental well-being for a false economy. If the internet rots out its own Ponzi Scheme, we will build something else

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#234

Post by tannhaeuser »

We used to have (and still kind of have?) carrier billing for receiving assets such as ring tones but also paid web content via MMS for small money, even though the powers-that-be in the mobile space have worked hard to establish verticals and subscriptions without micro-transactions. Also "we" (as in "hackers") have now for I don't know how long seen greedy telcos as our natural enemy, embracing supposedly open TCP/IP-based protocols, and turning a blind eye towards new monopolies, even though telcos live in a highly regulated market while new monopolists do not.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#235

Post by cjcole »

“Our clients understand that a two- to three-minute ad load is more valuable than a nine-minute ad load,” says Mark Read, head of WPP, the world’s largest ad company and Groupm’s parent firm.

It's appropriate that even the chief of the purveyors of advertisements uses the same language ("load") that clinicians use for viral infections.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#236

Post by dicknuckle »

ActionHank wrote: post #231
loughnane wrote: post #217

I treasure my attention and so I've spent some time to opt out of ads. 5 years ago I couldn't tell what DNS was, now I've got an OPNsense router at home running ZenArmor/Unbound and I can can link to it from my phone over wireguard. Using ublock I've made a point to prune the pages I visit, so classes like "header" "breadcrumbs" "recommended" "sponsor" &c. are hidden. I self-host my media collection so I avoid spotif…

Missing some Invidious and Yattee for youtube there friend. Adfree and crowd-sourced sponsor segment skipping is a glorious experience.

or ReVanced. it's a beautiful project. Also, I've been using AdNauseum (based on Ublock) over the last few months and love it.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#237

Post by robertlagrant »

RugnirViking wrote: post #191
robertlagrant wrote: post #188

> Privacy campaigners say that the price is so high as to be prohibitive; expect more legal battles in the new year. I struggle with this: you have three options: ad-supported, paid, or don't use it. What's the legal challenge?

the option being discussed at that part, the meta offering, only came into existence because europe mandated that users must be able to use the full functionality of a site without tracking/personalized ads. The paid option was facebooks attempt to do that - the question is over whether a paid option follows the intent of the law. Note the mandate is not "no ads" but rather "no personalised ads"

Ah okay - that makes sense. But still - I don't understand why if one of the options is "don't use it", an option I exercise almost every day of the year, there is a legal privacy claim. This isn't a system we'd consider access/participation in it to be mandatory, like healthcare or government.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#238

Post by pixl97 »

zigman1 wrote: post #136
avgcorrection wrote: post #116

There’s this local newspaper. While I’m on a logged in account (EDIT: paid) the ads seem to take up at least 25% screen real estate at all times. The best ones are the ones that graciously show up while scrolling, dynamically—it’s like wathing TV (again)! My favorite place though is the gym. Which costs a lot when you just go there to use frickin’ weights and cardio equipment. LCD screens with ads running (for local…

I'd even argue that internet, while it was seen as a counter-balance to the ad infected tv and radio space, has become WORST than watching a TV. If I want to show something on YT to my friend, and I don't know exactly which video is correct, well lots of luck to me to find it in first few tries, as EACH video I click on will first show me a two unskippable ads, no matter how short the video is

Not totally sure on this...

Yea, I adblock the living hell out of my internet, so I am jaded, but I was at an older persons house with regular broadcast TV on and it was so much worse then I remember TV being when I was young.

The amount of actual show time seems to have dropped even further. The TV ads seem to be all gambling and drugs. It was pretty terrible.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#239

Post by gspencley »

pixl97 wrote: post #232
alwayslikethis wrote: post #211

The ad-free internet has already been here for a long time if you are willing to spend 10 minutes install ublock origin. Paying is actually worse on all aspects, even if you ignore the cost, because it shows the fact that you have some amount of disposable income and are willing to pay for things, which greatly increases the value of advertising to you specifically.

For some values of ad-free. Direct ads from the site you are viewing, yea adblock is great. Aren't you feeling thirsty and want the cool crisp refreshing taste of an ice cold coca cola right now? In content ads, and user posts as ads are far more difficult to deal with, but at least they don't track you.

I'm actually OK with "product placement" ads as long as they don't interrupt the content. It IS annoying when a YouTube creator interrupts the content to say "And now an ad for a VPN which has NOTHING to do with what you are watching or care about..." but I've seen some YouTube creators actually integrate the product being sponsored into their content in a way that makes sense and serves both purposes.

For example, I was watching a "maker" video where they 3d printed some models for the project that were provided by their sponsor for use in the project they were showing you how to make. That type of "advertising" I can support. It doesn't detract from the content or distract, the product is relevant to what you are watching and, as you said, it doesn't track you other than tracking aggregate viewing numbers and how many people skip that section of the video.

Classic examples would be things like Apple paying to have their laptops or computers used as the props in movies. Or a car manufacturer having their vehicles shown. As long as it doesn't take you out of the content and make you feel like you've been interrupted to be advertised to then that's the one and only form of advertising I don't hate.

I guess there's also "opt in" stuff, like the user taking deliberate action to subscribe to a product magazine or newsletter is fine too... emphasis on "opt in" and "deliberate action", however. Nothing gets me to avoid doing business with a company faster than if their "Sign up to your newsletter" checkbox is default checked or, worse, there is no check box and you've been auto signed up and need to unsubscribe. Thanks for punishing me by doing business with you, assholes.

The rest can go away forever and never come back.

Re: Welcome to the ad-free internet

#240

Post by pixl97 »

filleokus wrote: post #219
alwayslikethis wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a non paying ublock origin user, I don't see any ads. The ad-free internet has already been here for a long time if you are willing to spend 10 minutes install ublock origin. Paying is actually worse, because it shows the fact that you have some amount of disposable income and are willing to pay for things, which greatly increases the value of advertising to you specifically.

I have never really used an ad blocker for any kind of time. I've tried on multiple occasions but then just range uninstall it whenever some random site breaks because of it and I don't realise it's because of it. Last time it was some online shop... Regardless of the morality / philosophical questions, the modern web feels to janky and unstable for me to trust the house of cards staying standing if you throw some Ad…

Just wondering what you're using for adblockers?

I find the web far more unstable NOT using a blocker. Far too often the ads themselves break the layout or gobble up as much CPU as possible.

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