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Adblock Plus now sells ads

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Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#381

Post by Nadya »

blakeyrat wrote: post #380
Nadya wrote: post #379

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'd like to see the ads at first to give the benefit of the doubt, but then be able to blacklist the site if it turned out I didn't like them. When I say "blacklist the site" I mean the domain I'm viewing the content on, not the domain the ads are being served on. Otherwise you're "punishing" poor sods who just happen to be using the same ad network as an abusive site. If the ads are being served from the same ad ne…

> If the ads are being served from the same ad network - then you will be served more or less the same shitty ads you didn't want to see on Site A when you visit Site B. Not true. > Because it is the ad network tracking you and deciding which ads you see with very little, if any, input from Sites A or B. I don't care about "tracking". I think that's extremely overblown paranoia. > Furthermore, since advertisements ar…

The second statement that you separated from the first statement was to explain to you why the first statement is correct. I used some weasel words there ("more or less") because there will be some targeted ads based on A or B - but the ads served from the same ad network will be largely the same ads except when a placement ad wins the bid. That is how ad networks work. Especially Google. [0] [1]

The Ad Network tracks you and knows which ads to show you. It doesn't give a damn if you visit Site A or Site B it is going to show you the ads it thinks it should be showing you because it knows who you are. If Site A is about cars and Site B is about cleaning supplies, you may see more ads for cars/cleaning supplies on the respective sites - but any "irrelevant" ads will be shared between the two sites based on your user profile. I'm not bringing up the tracking aspect as a reason for blocking because some people don't care about that, as you mentioned you don't yourself. I'm bringing it up because it is what determines what advertisements you see - and no matter what site you visit, as long as they are using the same Ad Network, you will receive advertisements based on your personal profile with that Ad Network.

The company I work for exists to get people like you to click ads. Every large Ad Network works like this.

>That is your opinion; I do not share it.

I hope you have absolutely nothing important on your computer, are never the target of ransomware, never have any of your personal accounts compromised, etc. You're probably the first person I've ever met who doesn't care about personal security. For many people it is even a concern of financial security (identity theft) with the rise of online banking, but I'll assume you don't do any of that and you never make any purchases online.

[0] https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/113771?visit_id=1-...

[1] https://support.google.com/adsense/troubleshooter/1631343

[2] https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/32856

Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#382

Post by jeeva »

amyjess wrote: post #124
jeeva wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! Was just wondering about the availability for Edge. ...not that Edge isn't hilariously un-fun to use, even with an adblocker...

As someone who regularly uses a Surface Pro 3 without the keyboard attached (it's become my default couch computer), Edge is the only Windows browser I've found that's touch-friendly, so it remains the main browser I use on that machine.

That's fair - I just find it's horrendously unstable (often hanging or crashing) with only a few (under 8, generally) tabs open (also on an SP3), whereas Chrome / FF will handle up to hundreds with no issues.

Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#383

Post by phelm »

nercht12 wrote: post #351
cpeterso wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The uBlock Origin name just adds to the confusion. The original developer (gorhill) should create a totally new project name. Word would spread that uBlock was the old thing and no longer maintained and that gorhill's new project was the future. Even using a name like "uBlock Next Generation", which is less ambiguous than "uBlock Origin" and suggests "this is the new project", would still cause confusion. People unfa…

Agreed. Similar name issue happened with Tox.

what happend with tox?

Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#384

Post by blakeyrat »

Nadya wrote: post #381
blakeyrat wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the ads are being served from the same ad network - then you will be served more or less the same shitty ads you didn't want to see on Site A when you visit Site B. Not true. > Because it is the ad network tracking you and deciding which ads you see with very little, if any, input from Sites A or B. I don't care about "tracking". I think that's extremely overblown paranoia. > Furthermore, since advertisements ar…

The second statement that you separated from the first statement was to explain to you why the first statement is correct. I used some weasel words there ("more or less") because there will be some targeted ads based on A or B - but the ads served from the same ad network will be largely the same ads except when a placement ad wins the bid. That is how ad networks work. Especially Google. [0] [1] The Ad Network track…

Except Site A could be consuming only text ads, and Site B could be consuming mostly rich media ads.

Even though I'd prefer Site A, because it doesn't have those nasty takeovers or anything, if I blocked the ad exchange I'd be fucking over both Site A and Site B. Site A would become collateral damage, in effect.

Believe me, I worked for Atlas for 5 years. I know how ad networks work.

> I hope you have absolutely nothing important on your computer, are never the target of ransomware, never have any of your personal accounts compromised, etc.

So do I.

> You're probably the first person I've ever met who doesn't care about personal security.

I do care about personal security. I don't see what blocking ads has anything to do with that.

> For many people it is even a concern of financial security (identity theft) with the rise of online banking, but I'll assume you don't do any of that and you never make any purchases online.

I've never seen or heard of anybody who's ever lost any money due to an ad load. It's just irrational paranoia.

Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#385

Post by Nadya »

blakeyrat wrote: post #384
Nadya wrote: post #381

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The second statement that you separated from the first statement was to explain to you why the first statement is correct. I used some weasel words there ("more or less") because there will be some targeted ads based on A or B - but the ads served from the same ad network will be largely the same ads except when a placement ad wins the bid. That is how ad networks work. Especially Google. [0] [1] The Ad Network track…

Except Site A could be consuming only text ads, and Site B could be consuming mostly rich media ads. Even though I'd prefer Site A, because it doesn't have those nasty takeovers or anything, if I blocked the ad exchange I'd be fucking over both Site A and Site B. Site A would become collateral damage, in effect. Believe me, I worked for Atlas for 5 years. I know how ad networks work. > I hope you have absolutely noth…

>I do care about personal security. I don't see what blocking ads has anything to do with that.

Do you have absolutely zero personal information tied to or stored on your computer? A compromised computer would be compromised security in such a case.

>I've never seen or heard of anybody who's ever lost any money due to an ad load. It's just irrational paranoia.

Look into malvertising and especially ransomware. Just because it hasn't happened to you or someone you know doesn't mean it hasn't happened. It's also happened on big name and high trafficked sites like The New York Times, Yahoo!, the Huffington Post, and more. We're talking hundreds of thousands of people who have been financially impacted due to malicious ads on otherwise "trusted" sites. Even sites that specifically requested they disable their ad blocker, like Forbes.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malvertising

[1] http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/03/big-name-sites-hit-b...

Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#386

Post by danneu »

majewsky wrote: post #364
danneu wrote: post #306

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not every website is Forbes. What about all the small websites, from creative to forums, that aren't big enough to graduate from ads but can pay their own rent with them? Seems like a net loss for humanity to lose them from the internet while keeping only the large businesses online.

Are these sites a thing (small sites that can subsist on their ad revenue)? If I couldn't pay the bills for one of my services, I would rather introduce a paid tier, or at least a paid ad-free version. Or I would ask for donations whenever the money runs out, like Wikipedia does.

Yes, I run such websites.

A paid tier is a surprisingly narrow business model. People aren't willing to pay for much, and not every website has such an explicit product. A lot of that is just conditioning, as people aren't used to having to pay for anything since ads. And most people see ads as zero-cost. The second you start charging a dollar, now you're the guy charging the dollar that nobody else is.

How many forums do you pay for?

And donations are almost always a joke. Else you wouldn't have to beg in a way that puts most ads to shame: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/spa/quq37nq1583x0lf/nv9ad0..., and that's for a website that brings value to just about everyone that touches the internet.

Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#387

Post by manigandham »

moovacha wrote: post #342
manigandham wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clicking on ads isnt necessary. A vast amount of ads are paid on an impression basis and I can guarantee that you've been affected by the advertising you've come across in your life. This is one of the most data-driven industries on the planet and there are petabytes of data generated every day showing how well it works.

oh really? there are petabytes of data proving ads work?

Yes...

Re: Adblock Plus now sells ads

#388

Post by nercht12 »

phelm wrote: post #383
nercht12 wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. Similar name issue happened with Tox.

what happend with tox?

Sorry for the late reply. Tox was loosely organized under the umbrella Tox Foundation. When it was discovered that head and CEO (holding the purse strings) was abusing donation money, the devs split and created uTox. However, the Tox Foundation insists on holding the name, but as it's only one guy who doesn't appear to have taken any binding legal action, the name sharing persists.
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