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YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

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Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#381

From the article: >“YouTube’s ad-supported model supports a diverse ecosystem of creators, and provides billions of people globally access to content for free with ads,” the company’s statement says. Let's at least be 100% honest with everyone and stop with the disingenuous garbage: 1. Ad-blocker usage is roughly 25-30% of US users. 2. The average YouTube content creator makes less than 0.02 per ad view and thus why…

I think you're being completely disingenuous here. Using an ad-blocker is free-riding and nothing less. We consume a service provided by Google through server capacity, monetization enginea, and improved discovery and by the creators through sweat and tears in creating video content without paying for it. You can consume the content without being exposed to ads while paying Google and the creators their share by buyi…

Users are also part of the content-generation algorithm. Youtube uses my view history in their recommendation algorithm to others. YT uses my interactions the same way, whether it's engaging with the creator in the comments or providing feedback for other viewers or just simply giving it a like.

Yes, I'm consuming the service, but I'm also contributing to it. Less users = less engagement, and maybe that's good for YT's bottom line but it's harmful to the ecosystem.

Using words like 'theft' to describe visiting an openly-accessible webpage with a browser extension that modifies the presentation of that webpage is a bit extreme.

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#382
Most ads are a pile of garbage crafted in a way to brainwash people into thinking they need something that they actually don't. And the more sophisticated they are, the more costly they become and need to be pushed again and again down the users throats to remain profitable. My point is that unless there is some sort of pro-users regulation against advertising, ads use will be abused just like anything that is not regulated is abused by the strongest animals in the pack at the expense of the weakest. Those of us who remember how was surfing the web in its infancy recall the text ads, the small banners, then side frames, then animated ones, then popups, then interstitials, then videos with one ad at the beginning, then more ads scattered during play time, etc. Advertising has been growing since day one, and will continue to grow; no matter what the users accept today, it won't be enough tomorrow, and more and more annoyances will come. This must be stopped, either by regulation or by the use of ad blocking. I think we'll see some development in AI regarding this field. If i had the skills, I'd explore the possibility of a headless browser that unbeknownst to Google uses local AI to fully play ad filled videos, then remove all crap and pass them to the user browser.

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#383

I can't recommend enough of the spiritual successor to Vanced since the article briefly mentioned that. It's called Revanced. It requires more hoops than usual but I'm sure the intelligent folks here won't have a problem with that. It's on Github. Other results are probably fake.

I wouldn't have a problem with it if it actually worked, it always crashes when patching for me.

NewPipe is another option which works since it's a full client, though it doesn't handle logging in and youtube without an account and personalized recommended is like swimming in a river of garbage.

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#384

I get that people hate companies but $7 a month for unlimited video on any device with 500 hours uploaded every minute. That's a decent deal. The only drawback is that you don't get Sponsorblock on smart devices. People seem to overestimate how much the average person care about online outrage. Netflix, Reddit, Twitter.. They all seem fine despite being declared dead numerous times.

>$7 a month for unlimited video on any device with 500 hours uploaded every minute. This is irrelevant. 99.9% of content is garbage and / or not relevant to me. Also, I really don't watch that much so why should I be paying ~8 EUR a month to watch a few videos without ads? Moreover, I don't earn that much, so even that amount is a noticeable loss.

> 99.9% of content is garbage and / or not relevant to

Then don't use it ? That's like saying you only like one show on netflix so they should give it to you for free

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#385

This doesn't really affect me since I subscribe to premium, but something that a lot of ad-based services don't seem to grasp is why people block ads. It's because they've become increasingly obnoxious. Nobody blocked ads when they were a simple column of links in the gutter or maybe an animated GIF banner with 3 frames. No, adblockers became popular because ads kept getting more loud (both visually and audibly), in…

I listen to some podcasts to sleep and it is infuriating to get even 12-45 (!) min long ads! I wouldn't be that upset with 5-10s ads every 10 minutes (as long as the volume level doesn't kill me) but half a freaking hour? What the hell is this?

If there was a company with clear community intentions and sound morals, yeah I would consider paying for it and support the creators. But YT that treats me like trash with their dark patterns and algorithms showing me stuff to hijack my brain instead of stuff I am looking for? No way in hell.

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#387
post #222

I don't really understand either side of the equation here. So, on the one hand you have people who use ad blockers. The first retort that comes to mind here is: Well, we'll take our business elsewhere. Which is odd because without ads they aren't paying and them leaving is the goal. Of course on the other hand ... when I read the title my thoughts weren't that I would be okay because I don't ad block youtube. My tho…

> So, on the one hand you have people who use ad blockers. The first retort that comes to mind here is: Well, we'll take our business elsewhere. Which is odd because without ads they aren't paying and them leaving is the goal. I use an ad blocker. If I can no longer block ads on YouTube, yes I will just stop using YouTube, or use an Invidious/Piped instance. I think your mistake is believing everyone who uses ad-bloc…

>I think your mistake is believing everyone who uses ad-block also believes ad-free YouTube is worth paying for. I do not.

No, they are saying that they will not "lose your business" because there was no business in the first place, which is true.

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#388

This doesn't really affect me since I subscribe to premium, but something that a lot of ad-based services don't seem to grasp is why people block ads. It's because they've become increasingly obnoxious. Nobody blocked ads when they were a simple column of links in the gutter or maybe an animated GIF banner with 3 frames. No, adblockers became popular because ads kept getting more loud (both visually and audibly), in…

[flagged]

YouTube has gotten progressively worse with its ads over time, though. They're slowly turning up the heat to eventually boil the frog. Without opposition, YouTube ads will eventually be as bad as TV ads have become.

On that note, I haven't watched network TV in over a decade because to the ads. None of the content on offer on cable and satellite TV is worth the asking price of both a subscription fees and ads, especially when most of it can be found in other legitimate sources, usually in higher quality.

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#389

I block ads because they're psychological warfare that corporations wage against me. I don't care how unobtrusive the ads are. I don't care if the ads don't track me. I grew up changing the channel on TV when ads came on, and ripping adverts out of magazines before sitting down to read them. I vote for billboard bans whenever I can. I have zero tolerance for ads of any sort. Advertisers have no morals, they're comple…

> It is really not so repulsive to see the poor asking for money as to see the rich asking for more money. And advertisement is the rich asking for more money. A man would be annoyed if he found himself in a mob of millionaires, all holding out their silk hats for a penny; or all shouting with one voice, “Give me money.” Yet advertisement does really assault the eye very much as such a shout would assault the ear. “B…

I'd never thought of it quite like that, in terms of rich beggars versus poor beggars. Thanks for sharing.

Re: YouTube is testing a more aggressive approach against ad blockers

#390
post #313

This is just so funny to me. Google has to have the absolute worst PR for any company I've ever seen to make this happen. Somehow, they've duped the general public (at least on HN) into believing they insert the ads into videos. All they need to do is run a marketing campaign about how as a content creator you get to decide when ads play, whether they're unskippable, and how many ads to place in your video. Blast tha…

Uhm... Youtube still puts in ads for those videos, regardless of whether or not the creator wants to.
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