Slashdot Mirror
Gator Will Replace Ads On Sites
Bill Dimm writes "This CNet article says that a new version of Gator, a browser plug-in for managing passwords that also can display pop-up ads for competing products when you visit web sites, is being developed that will launch its own ads over top of the banner ads on the sites you visit. The software achieves wide distribution by bundling (much like TopText) with file-sharing utilities, with over 18 million installations of the current version claimed on their web site."
We all hate ads, but remember, the ads you see help pay for the pages you see.
Gator, on the other hand is a complete and total leach. They are selling advertising on other peoples content without compensation.
No, but if my Tivo replaced ads put in by the broadcasters, they would be sued, and it wouldn't really matter whether I had agreed to it or not.
I would say there is a difference between removing something (ie, adding a 30 second skip or allowing me to fast forward through ads) and replacing it with different content that is represented as the original.
Like I said, I wouldn't have a problem if the popped up ads were clearly seperate from the original content, such as in the task bar, or the toolbar of your browser, nor would I object to software that allowed the user to block out some or all ads. That is merely allowing the consumer to choose what parts of a webpage they view. Replacing content is fraudulent. End of story.
Gator does its best to make sure the user doesn't know it's working
There's an obvious reason for this type of behaviour. Consider: if users were informed of exactly what they are installing and exactly what it does, and then given a choice about whether to install it or not, how many users would willingly install it? My guess, none, whatsoever. Thats why they have to try hide their behaviour. If this alone doesn't make it glaringly obvious that such software should not exist (i.e. exactly 0% of users would ever willingly choose to use it), then nothing will.
Its sad how much the computer industry relies specifically on the lack of user education amongst its client base. Software companies and hardware companies thrive on it. The success of Microsofts business is built on it. "Keep the users in the dark ..". All you see in the computer industry these days is companies attempting to trick their customers, lying to their customers, fooling their customers, suckering their customers, all relying on lack of user education. Its all around. I saw a banner ad today "if this ad is flickering, you've won! click here to claim your prize". Its an animated GIF, if its not flickering it means your browser doesn't support animated gifs .. but its just another case of relying on the cluelessness of your own client base. If a company NEEDS its users to be clueless in order to survive, it shouldn't be allowed to survive, period.