Vietnam bans unskippable ads • Hacker News Board

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#781

Post by tombert » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 3:44 PM UTC

fainpul wrote: post #735

tombert wrote: post #658

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At this point, I've just decided that I'm going to actually pay for my games on iPhone. Stardew Valley cost me $15 on iPhone a few years ago, which is a lot for an iPhone game, but I don't regret it at all. It's a direct port of the PC version, meaning it's a complete experience, but also not a single ad. No attempts to get me to spam my friends, no prompts for me to buy gems to make my crops grow faster, no need to…

> Organ Trail Sounds interesting :)

It’s great. Zombie themed tribute to Oregon Trail.

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#782

Post by tcfhgj » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 3:47 PM UTC

squigz wrote: post #87

_jab wrote: post #13

I've often wondered whether the world would be better without ads. The incentive to create services (especially in social media) that strive to addict their users feels toxic to society. Often, it feels uncertain whether these services are providing actual value, and I suspect that whether a user would pay for a service in lieu of watching ads is incidentally a good barometer for whether real value is present. Don't…

The problem isn't fundamentally advertising - it's stuff like toxic and anti-user advertisements, and the ad industry not knowing what the word "privacy" means.

the fundamental problem is capitalism

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#783

Post by barbazoo » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 3:53 PM UTC

taffer wrote: post #576

cramsession wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they provide value, people will seek them out.

How? If you don't advertise, no one can see you.

How did people that had something to sell do it before advertising?

The problem again is greed. The organic way is too inefficient so advertising needs to come in and make people rich instead of letting the product do the convincing naturally, word of mouth and so on.

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#784

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 4:19 PM UTC

fainpul wrote: post #735

tombert wrote: post #658

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At this point, I've just decided that I'm going to actually pay for my games on iPhone. Stardew Valley cost me $15 on iPhone a few years ago, which is a lot for an iPhone game, but I don't regret it at all. It's a direct port of the PC version, meaning it's a complete experience, but also not a single ad. No attempts to get me to spam my friends, no prompts for me to buy gems to make my crops grow faster, no need to…

> Organ Trail Sounds interesting :)

[deleted]

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#785

Post by RHSeeger » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 4:42 PM UTC

layer8 wrote: post #446

RHSeeger wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that also bound you to your ISP in a way, because switching ISPs meant switching emails. It is better to have then separated.

ISPs could be required by law to allow the porting of email addresses, just like it happens with mobile phone numbers.

How would that work? The email address generally has the ISP's domain name in it.

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#786

Post by dominicrose » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 4:48 PM UTC

dmix wrote: post #748

dominicrose wrote: post #692

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even the technofeudalist lords have to deal with reality: they add more enforced ad time, I reduce Youtube usage. Disney+ puts long unskippable repeated ads, I watch what I want then unsuscribe. They're supposed to play a long-term game, but they're too greedy, and humanity can live without Youtube or Disney+.

You're free to pay for youtube and not see ads. I personally don't know how people use it without paying. It's no different from a streaming service like Apple TV and it's clear Youtube wants to go that direction, but people treat it like it should be entirely free or lightly ad supported only.

Netflix as a streaming provider was paid from the get go and only provides professionally made content. It's closer to the way we normally buy things or something like an internet subscription.

For youtube, different people are going to have different reactions to their business model.

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#787

Post by layer8 » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 4:54 PM UTC

RHSeeger wrote: post #785

layer8 wrote: post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ISPs could be required by law to allow the porting of email addresses, just like it happens with mobile phone numbers.

How would that work? The email address generally has the ISP's domain name in it.

Similar as it happens for phone numbers, where there is internal routing of phone calls between providers. A customer can be at a different provider with their phone number than the provider who “owns” the containing block of numbers.

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#788

Post by cardiffspaceman » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 5:10 PM UTC

missingdays wrote: post #707

DrewADesign wrote: post #603

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, but then you’re the much-maligned hipster .

What's the downside?

If the right type of mate uses those traits to find their type of mate there’s no downside.

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#789

Post by pharrington » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 5:28 PM UTC

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #420

layer8 wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Directories aren’t ads. The crucial feature would be that nobody would have to pay to get listed, or only a small nominal fee that anyone can afford. Like in a phonebook. Paying for placement is what makes an ad. And that’s what would have to be prohibited.

> The crucial feature would be that nobody would have to pay to get listed, or only a small nominal fee that anyone can afford You see the contradiction. You’re essentially saying no bad ads, only good ads, without defunding the difference. (Anyone can afford a Google or Meta ad in the way they could a White Pages listing.)

What does "defunding the difference" mean? layer8 and phantasmish absolutely said what the difference was.

Re: Vietnam bans unskippable ads

#790

Post by kube-system » Wed, Jan 07, 2026, 5:35 PM UTC

Blikkentrekker wrote: post #664

kube-system wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are no successful economies without ads. Ads are a necessary evil for effective market discovery. They should be heavily regulated but you can't effectively operate a market economy without one.

All that can be regulated though. In many jurisdictions, it's forbidden for lawyers or pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products with it being regulated what counts as an advertisement and putting oneself into the phone book or putting a big sign with “Lawyer” on one's practice is allowed but putting oneself into a magazine or on television is not.

And it should be.