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Editor-in-Chief of the Next Web: Adblockers Are Immoral

lemur3 writes: Hot on the heels of the recent implementation of Canvas Ads (allowing advertisers to use the full page) Martin Bryant, the Editor-in-Chief of The Next Web, wrote a piece that, ostensibly, calls out mobile carriers in Europe for offering ad blocking as a service. He writes: "Display ads are still an important bread-and-butter income stream. Taking delight in denying publishers that revenue shows either sociopathic tendencies or ignorance of economic realities." While referring to those using ad blocking as sociopathic is likely not to win many fans, this mindset seems to be prevalent in certain circles, as discussed previously on Slashdot. Martin closes his piece with a warning: "For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web. Cut them out and you're strangling the diversity of online voices and publishers – and I don't think consumers really want that."

618 comments

  1. Fuck you. by Noxal · · Score: 5, Insightful

    No. I will not risk the safety and security of my systems by allowing them to display potentially (frequently) harmful ads. Also I don't like being advertised to in general and fuck you anyways.

    Shut the fuck up or join Adblock Plus' unobtrusive ads program.

    1. Re:Fuck you. by robbo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Agree 100%. I installed adblock plus when slashdot started throwing URL blocks from the ad rotator. How do I know the next ad rotation won't be a driveby? The industry provides zero guarantees and relies too much on upstream ad providers to vouch for safety.

      --
      So long, and thanks for all the Phish
    2. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Better yet, they can get the fuck off of my internet. We were better off without all of this commercial shit clogging everything up.

    3. Re:Fuck you. by Dredd13 · · Score: 1, Troll

      I hope you're still in school, so you can still have access to the 'non-commercial' internet you're so much better off with.

    4. Re:Fuck you. by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm of the opinion that advertising is immoral.

      To be clear, I mean active advertising, in the sense of placing product information out of context. That includes billboards, products in movies, commercials between songs or before movies, and most of the crap that shows up in the mail. I don't have an issue with passive advertising, for instance having "the special of the day" on an e-commerce site, or related product information such as offering me different vehicles if I am visiting a vehicle sales site.

      Active advertising is literally coercion, enticing, manipulating, and encouraging a viewer to make purchases that they otherwise do not wish to make. "If only you knew about our great product" does not justify the psychological arm-twisting advertisers undertake. Yes, by the end of your advert I might "want" your product that I'd never heard of, but as the OP says, "fuck you". You are taking money out of my pocket that I did not plan to allow its removal. In some circles, that's theft.

      --
      "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
    5. Re:Fuck you. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Agreed. What is "immoral" is, advertisers expecting to use most of my bandwidth, FOR FREE! Take a typical page full of content, and use some network analyzer while it loads. The actual content might amount to a few hundred k, but the damned advertising can amount to multiple megabytes.

      Fuck 'em all. I have limited bandwidth, which I have to pay for, each and every month. Not one of those advertisers is entitled to any of it.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    6. Re:Fuck you. by slimscsi · · Score: 2

      Yep. The issue isn't advertisements it's trackers, beacons, analytics, and all of the other privacy infringing mechanisms that these icehole companies implement that disturbs the discerning web user.

    7. Re:Fuck you. by WillyWanker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This. I don't want to see ads, I'm sick to death of seeing ads, and I'll do everything in my power not to. If that means the end of the web, I don't care. There isn't a single solitary website I can't live without.

      The thing that gets me is that even though advertisers know full well we're all sick to death of advertising and don't want to see it they are doing everything they can to shove it down our throats whether we like it or not. And y'know what, If I'm forced to somehow sit thru an ad when I don't want to (I recently tried to watch a video at CBS.com, and if you block the ads you can't watch the program) I'm either going to a.) mute the sound and switch the tab till the ad is over, or b.) make note of the advertiser and NEVER patronize them simply because they forced me to sit thru an ad I had no interest in seeing. In most cases I will do both.

      Fuck them.

    8. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree, but for diffrent reasons. ISP's should not be allowed to block anything. (unless explisity requested by the customer)
      however, Just becuase your speaking doesn't mean I have to listen. So let them have their adds, but let me keep my blocking software. Freedom swings both ways.

    9. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In the good old days there was none of this commercialization of the internet. They were good days where thanks to TBL we had a culture of sharing information. First the crappy commercialisation came via Usenet until that turned into spam, then crappy commercialisation of 3w which is where we are today blocking ads. If a website can not survive with out ads one has to ask is it needed. In the early days people (ie teckky folk) used their own money to support BBS, FTP and 3w servers, then Amazon flushed out their affliate book program and then people tried to flog shite to everyone and it all got worse. What it should be is users paying out of their own pocket for servers (like I do) or commercial firms using a paywall to provide payment but any service that use Ads to cover their cost can suck my warty piece pipe. It's my PC, I pay for my bandwidth and if I don't want ads then I am 100% legal to block and disable them and if that makes me sociopathic then so be it, it beats being an anal dipstick Martin Bryant.

    10. Re:Fuck you. by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yes, by the end of your advert I might "want" your product that I'd never heard of, but as the OP says, "fuck you". You are taking money out of my pocket that I did not plan to allow its removal. In some circles, that's theft.

      Huh? I know that the meaning of the word "theft" gets argued about a lot around here -- particularly when the copyright enforcement police come around.

      But whatever we think "theft" means, I don't think it has ANY relation to what you just said. You read something, then you decide to buy something. "In some circles, that's theft." Umm, no, it's not. You made a choice to spend money. That's not "theft" by any stretch of the imagination.

      Active advertising is literally coercion, enticing, manipulating, and encouraging a viewer to make purchases that they otherwise do not wish to make.

      See, all of those words mean different things. "Coercion" is generally immoral and often illegal. "Enticing" or "encouraging" are not. "Manipulating" is usually immoral, but whether it's illegal depends on context.

      I hate advertising probably as much as you do. And I agree with you that it sometimes exploits people psychologically in unfair ways. I wish there were less of it. But as long as you don't have a significant mental deficit and the advertising is basically true (not false or misleading), I cannot possibly see how you say that someone choosing to spend money is "theft."

    11. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Amen!

      Once again we see businesses pushing the idea that their right to a profitable business model outweighs your autonomy. Give them what they want, and every human being would be forced to watch ads, or required to spend a fixed percentage of their income buying what crap the corporations are selling.

    12. Re:Fuck you. by roman_mir · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Billboards are immoral? Products in movies? What is the difference what beverage an actor is holding in his hand? It could be anything at all, or it could be somebody paying him for it. Movies are not reality. Commercials between songs? Do you mean on the radio? And how will a radio station stay open if not for commercials? I think using the word 'immoral' in this context is way overreaching. I see immorality in using force and violence of let's say the State to oppress a group of people. But to advertise a brand of jeans in a movie? To put out a billboard? That is a sound practice to let people know you exist and by the way it is not free, the advertiser is supporting something. A radio station a movie, a website.
      Now blocking ads is in no way shape or form immoral either, just to make sure you don't misunderstand my position.
      I block advertising. But I don't see either advertising or blocking it as immoral. Annoying is the word.

    13. Re:Fuck you. by Livius · · Score: 1

      I think advertising needs to be more 'active' than that to truly qualify as immoral, but there's so much grey area that banning it outright would be much easier.

    14. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I installed it and it said it would only block ads that did not conform to the unobtrusive ad standards. Then I reloaded this page. The Google AdChoices pad down the right side of the page went completely blank and ABP reports that 7 different ads were blocked.

    15. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      It is the same bait and switch used by cable tv. In the beginning there were no ads on cable only tv stations, it was a selling point. Not at all like that now, is it? I should not have to pay to see your ads, you should have to pay me to watch them.

    16. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      They aren't using your bandwidth for free. They are providing the service you are requesting. You see the ad in exchange for that. That is the "price" of typing out a post on slashdot, reading some dude's blog, or looking up recipes in an online database.

      Of course, that doesn't entitle them to stop you from using adblocker software, so it is in their best interests to use unobtrusive or passive advertising.

    17. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And blow me. If your website can't function without ad revenue, IMO it's not much of a website. I refuse to open myself to malware(even Google ad services has been penetrated, no ad service is safe), nor do I care to waste bandwidth on loading the annoying, intrusive crap in the first place. Yes, some of us still have monthly limits, believe it or not...

    18. Re:Fuck you. by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      outweighs your autonomy

      "Your autonomy" isn't what pays the hosting bills for that web site content or forum you want to have magically for free. You're not forced to watch ads. Because you're not forced to connect your browser to somebody else's server in order to amuse or inform yourself.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    19. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What the hell? Advertising isn't some form of magic mind control. If it were, you'd have bought one of every brand of car rather than one car, you'd drink all the beers rather than just one or two brands, you'd be calling divorce lawyers without even being married - but you don't do these things, because you don't do what every ad suggests.

      Humans have free will. Advertising can attempt to persuade people to buy products, but it can't magically make people do things any more than rhetoric could in the ancuent world (where people said the same kinds of things about orators that they do about advertisers today).

    20. Re:Fuck you. by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 2

      I don't want to see ads, I'm sick to death of seeing ads, and I'll do everything in my power not to. If that means the end of the web, I don't care. There isn't a single solitary website I can't live without.

      Ironic -- saying this on a website that serves up ads. (Granted, it allows you to block them if your karma is good, but clearly your morality still allows you spend time on sites that do the thing you detest, particularly to new users.)

      The thing that gets me is that even though advertisers know full well we're all sick to death of advertising and don't want to see it they are doing everything they can to shove it down our throats whether we like it or not.

      The problem is that they can run the stats. Companies know that successful ad campaigns can increase revenue. How effective web ads are, I don't know -- but there are good reasons that companies spend millions of dollars per minute to run ads during the Superbowl or why clothing companies pay to run ads in fashion and pop culture magazines, etc.

      You may hate them and never look at them. I certainly don't -- when I'm trying to read an article in a magazine or newspaper, for example, it's like I "don't even see" ads. I know they are there, but I never look at them. And even if you offered me money to try to remember what any of them were about, I generally couldn't tell you.

      But I also know I'm not "most people." And neither are you. For some reason, most people actually seem to pay at least some attention to ads... and that's why they exist.

      Also, you have to consider things from a financial perspective. If you gave consumers a choice: (1) cable TV with commercials, or (2) cable TV with no ads, but you have to pay for all your programming, I'd bet very few people would be willing to pay the exorbitant cost to take choice (2). It's the same thing for magazines or newspapers, and perhaps for some online things too.

      Personally, I'm willing to put up with random ads in a paper magazine or newspaper with otherwise good actual content, because I know that I end up paying less for content with little inconvenience. I can "filter" my own reading so they are not intrusive to me at all (though I've seen certain fashion magazines that seem to be 95% ads, and I simply would never buy such a magazine, even if I wanted to read some articles, because that's just annoying). I'm less forgiving of ads that actually force me to waste time, whether they're TV commercials, or radio commercials, or web ads that delay my browsing or access to content. So I avoid things like that -- I don't watch live TV, I only tend to listen to public radio, and I don't revisit sites that have served up too many annoying ads to me.

      And y'know what, If I'm forced to somehow sit thru an ad when I don't want to (I recently tried to watch a video at CBS.com, and if you block the ads you can't watch the program) I'm either going to a.) mute the sound and switch the tab till the ad is over, or b.) make note of the advertiser and NEVER patronize them simply because they forced me to sit thru an ad I had no interest in seeing. In most cases I will do both.

      That's a valid choice, and I encourage it. The problem is that you are vastly outnumbered by people who won't take such a stance because they aren't quite as annoyed by the ads. So they put up with them, and as long as the advertisers see enough "views," they'll keep trying.

      In any case, though I wish ads would just go away completely (like you), I realize that there are many people who find some (usually non-intrusive) advertising to be useful. (I know people who have told me that they buy some magazines to look at the ads. Seriously.) And if those people are willing to keep buying random crap to convince advertisers to keep paying to make better content, I'm personally willing to reap the benefits of cheaper content with little downside (since I'm never going to spend money on anything based on an ad, so the people who do are subsidizing me).

      It's when advertising gets annoying and intrusive that I can't stand it. And I do the same thing you do -- I just don't go to that site anymore.

    21. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you block ads with the MVPS hosts file, they use none of your bandwidth at all.
      I've set up my local DNS server with it, both at home and at work, and scripted a weekly update.
      I forget how well it works until I have to use a system somewhere that doesn't have it.
      And sorry about the loss of revenue, but I'm not having all that malware thrown at my system.

    22. Re:Fuck you. by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 1

      Active advertising is literally coercion

      Literally????

      Not very effective coercion, then, since I have NEVER found myself buying something based on an ad. Not once in the last half century....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    23. Re:Fuck you. by jythie · · Score: 2

      *nod* in some ways one can see the adblock stuff as a bit of a referendum on how welcome these forces are on the internet. The original piece starts with the assumption that the internet needs people like them, but it is not all that clear. The internet they want needs people like them, but it got along fine before that crowd started monetizing the 'net, and a lot of the changes which resulted from their interest are not always viewed as positive.

      So this whole 'if you do not do things our way, we will pick up our toys and go home' has the opposite intended effect for a lot of people, many of us do not like what they have done...

    24. Re:Fuck you. by John+Allsup · · Score: 1

      Not that simple. If ad-funded business effectively sew up the market, so that you have to turn to one of them for supply, then it isn't really a free exchange. It's an effect that happens as the market evolves due to competition: site A offers good content, with a small amount of advertising to survive; site B uses more advertising, then uses the increased revenue to produce better content than site A; site A loses visitors and disappears; then site C comes along and does the same, and site B has to compete; then sites B and C use large scale advertising to support their content production, and gradually move more and more to whatever will bring in visitors to see the ads. This squeezes sites that use less advertising out of the market.

      If the possible means of advertising were heavily restricted, then yes revenues and ad-funding would drop. But then there would be a market vacuum in which sites and services could develop. At present, those sites and services get out-competed by ad-funded sites, then use more and more intrusive advertising to bring in the money. If you offer competitors in a market the opportunity to use marketing techniques that increase their revenue, they will be pushed towards using them. A crash in advertising revenue caused by heavy and widespread ad--blocking may cause a seismic shift in the web in the short term, but then alternative revenue and business models would find a market to move into.

      --
      John_Chalisque
    25. Re:Fuck you. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      They are "providing" nothing. The money that we, subscribers, pay our ISP's and carriers pays for the internet. The content is provided by - surprise! - the CONTENT provider. Advertisers choose to sponsor the content provider, offering him some meager percentage of the money they expect to earn with their advertisements. If the advertisers weren't sponsoring the content provider, then the content would either go away, or the content provider could ask for donations, or sell subscriptions, or find some other way to finance his content. But, ultimately, advertisers provide NOTHING.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    26. Re:Fuck you. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Spot on, AC. I have redundant blocks in place, and MVPS is part of that redundancy. And, yes, putting the hosts file on your DNS server, your modem, or your router makes it work for all the traffic on your network.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    27. Re:Fuck you. by jythie · · Score: 1

      I think the person's point was that the person who wrote the original piece was treating it like theft, them viewing people's actions in terms of how much money they should be making and accusing people who negatively impact that prediction as thieves.

    28. Re:Fuck you. by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      In any medium, a modus vivendi develops between consumers and advertisers. Nobody objects to ads in a magazine or online advertising that works like ads in a magazine.It's when popups start planting themselves over what you are reading that people reach for their ad-blocker plugins. When you encounter the kind of popups that won't go away, people start calling their legislators.

    29. Re: Fuck you. by jythie · · Score: 2

      Ahm, actually, it is a form of magic mind control. While yes, people have free will, people tend to underestimate just how much advertising affects us, with people who believe that it does no being especially vulnerable.

    30. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where did I sign the contract? Nowhere. Therefore I can do as I want.

      One problem with advertisement: It is hard to know beforehard how much is coming. They don't tell you. So I cannot act on that. Nor are there legal limitations on that. Nor can I indicate in the browser how much (and of what type) advertising is allowed by me.

    31. Re:Fuck you. by Bengie · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do advertisements add enough value to my existence to compensate me for the time lost? Not rhetorical, I think it's a good question. Having some commercials while watching TV may be the only reason I have something to watch on TV, I can appreciate that. But in the paste decade or more, commercials have consumed such a large portion of the time of TV, that it was no longer worth the time investment to be constantly interrupted, taking 30 minutes of my time to watch a 15 minute show.

      I guess I would use that as an example. Another staggering fact that I learned while in school is that about 50% of the cost of enterprise software is marketing, If you pay $10k for some software, about $5k of that cost was convincing you to purchase it in the first place. I understand that to some degree that marketing is a necessary evil, but holy crap!

    32. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I agree with you that it sometimes exploits people psychologically in unfair ways.

      Sometimes? Advertising these days is all about exploiting people psychologically.

      They even hook people up and measure their responses to various exploits to find optimal exploitation.

      Are you saying that there are "fair" ways to exploit people psychologically?

    33. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly this. 95% of the infected machines I have to repair hot infected through drive-by downloads from ads.

    34. Re:Fuck you. by internetcode · · Score: 1

      I agree with you, i also dont like annoying ads from everywhere

    35. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have run a Windows instance without adblocking on some mainstream websites. Ten minutes later, the VM was infected.

      I'll continue to run adblocking software, because my security is at risk, and there are numerous examples of this.

    36. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is why much content is moving back to kickstarters and patreon types of crowdfunding as another revenue arm. If people are such sociopaths that they are blocking ad content on purpose, then they are in for an unwelcome surprise in a few years as most of the free entertainment gets seen by the internet's 1%'s and leeches like you have to wait days or years to see it.

      Adblock can't possibly deal with the 1.5million ads that doubleclick/adsense by itself has, let alone the numerous third parties.

      Install Ghostery and watch how many ads and tracking beacons are used by some sites, and ask yourself if you would be fine with the site folding because people proactively block ads.

    37. Re:Fuck you. by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I can sympathize that web sites need money, but if you're allowing ad services to serve scam ads then you've really lost your footing. If there's more ads than content by screen area, then you're not in the content business, you're merely an ad pusher.

      And most ad networks are trying to show me the same ads on every site. They also use photos that have nothing to do with the allegedly advertised service, like they picked a random viral photo and stuck their ad under it. Then there's so many ads for various kinds of woo that won't solve the problem they claim to solve. Then there's the ad that "people from your nearby town(s) are scandalized by this one web site". "Don't eat this one food" showing a banana, which is false. Video ads on a site only offering static content is also wildly out of place.

    38. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you gave consumers a choice: (1) cable TV with commercials, or (2) cable TV with no ads, but you have to pay for all your programming, I'd bet very few people would be willing to pay the exorbitant cost to take choice (2).

      You mean like how cable TV started out? People paying money, an exorbitant cost over free TV for an ad free experience?

      Yeah, no one would go for Cable when TV is free, right?

    39. Re:Fuck you. by WillyWanker · · Score: 1

      I pretty much agree with your sentiments, and that other people may not think the way I do, and that's cool. Obviously a lot of sites rely on advertising to survive, and since they are surviving *someone* is seeing/watching those ads. It's just not me. And honestly, not to sound like an ass, but as long as I don't need to see them I'm good.

      And I'll even admit there are a few (VERY few) sites where I don't block the ads because I want to support the site and the ads are extremely unobtrusive, so I can live with that. I use a lot of ad-supported apps on my phone/tablet, and I'm generally ok with that too so long as the ad is unobtrusive (I remember trying to play Angry Birds and the ads popped up in such a way that made the game impossible to play; deleted that shit real quick and never looked back). I have a buddy who sells a few basic Android apps and originally went with a 99 cent price with no ads. He wasn't getting a lot of purchases and then decided to offer a free version with ads and he makes over 10x the amount of money just from those small little popup ads. So, hey, more power to him.

      For now most of the app ads are unobtrusive, but the web was once like that too. When things start to change and get out of control that's when it's going to be time to look into adblockers for my phone and tablet.

    40. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Me, I don't use Adblock software. I use uBlock, which strips out any embedded content that comes from another domain. It just turns out that there's a 99.999% correlation between that content and ads.

    41. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called theft of services, with "them" being the thieves.

    42. Re:Fuck you. by AthanasiusKircher · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think the person's point was that the person who wrote the original piece was treating it like theft, them viewing people's actions in terms of how much money they should be making and accusing people who negatively impact that prediction as thieves.

      That's nice. But I don't see any evidence of such a perspective in the parent's original post. Here's what was said again:

      Yes, by the end of your advert I might "want" your product that I'd never heard of, but as the OP says, "fuck you". You are taking money out of my pocket that I did not plan to allow its removal. In some circles, that's theft.

      Let's first try reading this in the literal way where "you" consistently means "some company doing advertising" and "I" means the parent who wrote this post. In other words: (1) I read your advert, (2) afterward, I might want your product, (3) I didn't ask for your ad, (4) but you "took money out of my pocket that I didn't plan for" because I end up wanting and thus buying your product, and thus (5) that's theft.

      I believe you're trying to re-read parent's post as though the last two sentences were magically written from the point of view of the author of TFA. But (a) there's no evidence of that (e.g., quotation marks, and (b) it doesn't relate in GP's argument to what came immediately before it.

    43. Re:Fuck you. by taustin · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Active advertising is literally coercion,

      If you find advertising that does not involve a realistic threat of physical violence against your person to be coercive, then advertising isn't the problem, your broken mind is.

    44. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My sentiments precisely. And I'd add that it's the advertisers that are the sociopaths!

      I used to have a number of webpages up with NO, zero, advertising. They stayed that way for years until the domain hosting them went away, and I didn't care to put the time in to move them elsewhere. The web did just fine before ads. I'd say it did better in many ways. Now one needs adblocking software to make things tolerable.

      Yes, to make corporations wealthy, we need ads. To have content on the web, we need some manpower, and that can return to being mostly volunteer, thankyou very much. And deliberately making clickbait pageviews would not rule, as nobody would be making money off the pageviews. Now THAT's an advance in content.

    45. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree with you, and I want to add that in the days of big data, and advanced data analytics, your exaggerations are more true that we may realize, or even possible to realize (ie, "literally coercion, enticing, manipulating, and encouraging")

      I think with these advanced algorithms and massive collections of data, the forms of manipulation are going to work at a subconscious level that will be impossible to avoid. The only way to participate in society and things in society that we want, will be to subject ourselves to this manipulation, and the only way to avoid the manipulation will be to withdraw from society in a long term way.

      I worry that we are headed to a post-apocalyptic future on the subconscious level, enslaved by Big Data's algorithms and data sets and whoever is controlling the big data companies.

    46. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No! Don't ban advertising, all of those MBA's left without a job would infest the rest of the world... well the few places that are left.

    47. Re: Fuck you. by frdmfghtr · · Score: 1

      I think an important distinction is being missed here. The author is calling out the ISPs, not the end user. I'd prefer my ISP not inject their own ad blocking into the stream (or worse...their own substitute ads) and leave the blocking up to the user.

      Now, if the author extends that moral judgement to the end user, that's another story.

      --
      Government's idea of a balanced budget: take money from the right pocket to balance...oh who am I kidding?
    48. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How did I beat you? Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? Do you think that's air you're breathing now? Huh.

      Not effective coercion? So you are not part of the Matrix anymore? You think AdBlock somehow has unplugged you?

      There is probably nothing that you have bought in the last half century that is not the result of advertising. Just as vaccines have "herd immunity", advertising induces "herd consumerism." You are no more proof against that than you are against any other manifestation of late twentieth-century psychological manipulation. You don't have to like it; you do not have to embrace it; you may rebel, continuously, resentfully, as do I; but we both swim in the culture created by advertising--fish in the Madison Avenue aquarium.

      That is why advertising is evil, in the Manichean sense of evil: it is a force that works continuously against your better judgment and your higher desires, and if you think you can fight, you will be speared and eaten, in Act 5 of the Tragedy of the Commons.

    49. Re:Fuck you. by samkass · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm of the opinion that advertising is immoral.

      Do you like the existence of Google? Should the Internet be purely pay-to-play like in the old AOL or GEnie days? For that instance, should Slashdot exist?

      Yes, by the end of your advert I might "want" your product that I'd never heard of, but as the OP says, "fuck you". You are taking money out of my pocket that I did not plan to allow its removal. In some circles, that's theft.

      You know what ACTUAL theft is? Consuming someone's product (ie. visiting an ad-supported web site) and then refusing to pay (ie. allow the ads to be shown). If you want a moral and ethical ad-blocker, implement a plug-in that refuses to let you visit any site whose ads you don't want displayed, or which allows you to pay micro-payments per visit.

      --
      E pluribus unum
    50. Re:Fuck you. by LVSlushdat · · Score: 2

      Install Ghostery and watch how many ads and tracking beacons are used by some sites, and ask yourself if you would be fine with the site folding because people proactively block ads.

      Yeah.. *right* here, right now, on /. Ghostery is blocking 7 trackers and uBlock is blocking 2 ads, DESPITE my having ads turned OFF... Ever since "slice and DICE" got their claws into this website its gone to the dogs... Oh well...

      --
      THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
    51. Re:Fuck you. by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I will not risk the safety and security of my systems by allowing them to display potentially (frequently) harmful ads.

      Let's tally the bad things some ads, do:

      - Play audio without permission
      - Play video without permission
      - Provide intentionally misleading guidance about what a click will do (i.e. "DOWNLOAD HERE!")
      - Pop-ups
      - Pop-overs
      - Obscure material
      - Render improperly/force remaining web page to render improperly
      - Look really, really ugly
      - Frequently provides a strong incentive for copy-cat content, 0 content websites, click-bait, plagiarized content websites to exist, and to be profitable

      Let's then look at the upside:
      - Provide income stream to site owner

      I've got an obvious solution:
      - Learn from Wall St. Journal. Paywall your content, groom it to ensure it is top quality and worth payment. Have a secure order form that is not compromised and willing to spill your CC details to everyone, ask for no more personal information than is strictly required to authorize a purchase.

      Of course most of us aren't going to deal with the paywall, but if you are a site owner, and you want guaranteed revenue from your site, then that is your only option. Otherwise the arms race will continue. As far as I'm concerned the internet was far more useful before people tried to monetize it. There was 90% less content, to be sure, but the content that exists came from people who had something useful to say.

    52. Re:Fuck you. by coastwalker · · Score: 1

      Advertising should be either sought after or relatively invisible. I quit watching television in the 80's and I allowed advertising on websites whilst it was apparent that they paid for the service I was using. These days advertising kills people http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-e... So fuck the bastards.

      --
      Facts are history now plebs have politics for religion on social media.
    53. Re:Fuck you. by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      No thanks to Adblock Plus. That thing is a giant resource hog.

      I've switched to uBlock now; it's much better than ABP ever was.

    54. Re:Fuck you. by sudon't · · Score: 1

      Better yet, they can get the fuck off of my internet. We were better off without all of this commercial shit clogging everything up.

      I'm with you. Some people act as if they have a right to make money off the internet. I'd prefer that most of them disappear. If anything is immoral, it is advertising.
      I would ask everybody to install ad-blocking software - not only for a better experience for yourself, but to stop feeding the the bastards.

      --
      -- sudon't

      Air-ride Equipped

    55. Re:Fuck you. by Grishnakh · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This is why I actually don't have a problem with Google's text ads. You do a search on some terms, and alongside your search results you also get some ads based on those terms. This can be really helpful if you're looking for a product to solve a problem you have, and the ad shows you something which is exactly what you're looking for. I guess this is called "targeted advertisement".

      The mass-spam advertisement is the stuff that sucks, because I have to see it even when I'm not looking to buy something, and it can be for anything, not something that I specifically need.

    56. Re:Fuck you. by gnupun · · Score: 1

      But, ultimately, advertisers provide NOTHING.

      Except advertising dollars, so content creators can create and offer you FREE CONTENT, since you are too cheap to pay for it otherwise.

    57. Re:Fuck you. by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 1

      You read something, then you decide to buy something. "In some circles, that's theft." Umm, no, it's not. You made a choice to spend money. That's not "theft" by any stretch of the imagination.

      Did I? Did I make the choice or was that choice made for me? You know why you see signs saying "limit 10 per customer" over a stack of crap? Because the way the human mind works, you deviate off the most recent number you've seen to make estimates. So, if you see a stack of crap at a "good" price, you'll start asking yourself "how many do I want", and you'll get the answer right. But if you see that sign, you'll start at 10 and work your way down to a number you can settle for, which is almost always higher than the number you actually want. That's how marketing and advertisement works. Massive studies have been undertaken to figure out how to manipulate buyers. This is not news. The choice is not mine.

      See, all of those words mean different things. "Coercion" is generally immoral and often illegal. "Enticing" or "encouraging" are not. "Manipulating" is usually immoral, but whether it's illegal depends on context.

      Difference without a distinction. When your target goal in coercion, enticement, or manipulation is to cause a person to act against their benefit, it's wrong. Enticing a suicide off a ledge isn't because it's in their best interest to be convinced not to jump. Encouraging a person to spend more than they want to is wrong. That's my premise.

      I hate advertising probably as much as you do. And I agree with you that it sometimes exploits people psychologically in unfair ways. I wish there were less of it. But as long as you don't have a significant mental deficit and the advertising is basically true (not false or misleading), I cannot possibly see how you say that someone choosing to spend money is "theft."

      One: hyperbole makes a point.
      Two: as you mentioned in your post, there's significant grey-area in what "theft" means. If it's applied to copyright infringement (and it is, linguistic purist desires be damned), then it can be applied to purchases influenced by active advertising. While yes, I get something for my money, it's not what I really want, which is my money, which I would still have were I not advertised to. You can steal a house out from under the nose of an unwary elderly person, yes? Just because someone agrees to a purchase/sale contract doesn't preclude it being theft.

      --
      "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
    58. Re:Fuck you. by Attila+Dimedici · · Score: 1

      I think you take the point to far, but I agree with you in principle. I did not get an adblocker until ads started to get so intrusive that I had to interact with the ad before I could read the content I had visited the site for in the first place. I do not object to ads which are on the side of the page, or even in the middle of the page, as long as they do not obscure the content. Even magazines now all come with intrusive ads. They have ads throughout them on different paper than the rest of the magazine so that when you try to flip through the magazine it always opens on an ad. To find an specific article you have to turn page by page from the closest ad (it used to be you could flip the magazine open to the somewhere close, then flip through the pages til you got there, or at least to within a page or two).

      --
      The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted. James Madison
    59. Re: Fuck you. by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 2

      Advertising isn't some form of magic mind control

      You're right; it's not magic. It's a very, very well understood science.

      --
      "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
    60. Re:Fuck you. by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

      Enforce too much ads and people will go elsewhere, but now we have the adblockers so people will go wherever they like. That's the reason why people no longer watch TV - they can't avoid the ads that spams them with perceived higher audio volume, stroboscopic effects causing epilepsy and doubling the time a show goes on.

      Ever considered why some sports are more available on TV than others? Baseball and American Football - you can inject ads often. The long full course yellows on motorsports are great for ads - and they are a lot longer and more frequent today than a few years ago.

      Also look at magazines that have died over time. A magazine that was once popular and thin grew fatter and fatter with ads while a lot of the content became watered down and suddenly people stopped buying that magazine.

      That said - I can live with ads if they aren't impacting on the stuff I want to access. Often a text ad of around 10 words is enough to catch the attention of anyone that's interested. Throwing up a full page ad covering the content alienates the visitor completely and will result in people looking for a belt-fed shotgun to clean out the company behind the ad.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    61. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      That sounds great, except that excessive advertizing alienates users, no matter how good the content. If you put up too much, people won't come (or will use ad-blockers, decreasing your revenue while using your bandwidth).

      You shouldn't try to use theory to disprove empirical facts. That is something that the Communists did, and wound up killing millions because of it.

    62. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      You just said in your own post that they provide money to the content provider, which they do.

      Do you also want to ban commercials from appearing on television? Literally the same principle.

    63. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      Yes, you can do what you want. A sentiment I expressed in the second paragraph of my post.

    64. Re:Fuck you. by itzly · · Score: 1

      Do you also want to ban commercials from appearing on television? Literally the same principle.

      I record everything I would like to watch, and then skip through the commercials.

    65. Re:Fuck you. by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I'm of the opinion that advertising is immoral.

      Do you like the existence of Google? Should the Internet be purely pay-to-play like in the old AOL or GEnie days? For that instance, should Slashdot exist

      Yes, by the end of your advert I might "want" your product that I'd never heard of, but as the OP says, "fuck you". You are taking money out of my pocket that I did not plan to allow its removal. In some circles, that's theft.

      You know what ACTUAL theft is? Consuming someone's product (ie. visiting an ad-supported web site) and then refusing to pay (ie. allow the ads to be shown). If you want a moral and ethical ad-blocker, implement a plug-in that refuses to let you visit any site whose ads you don't want displayed, or which allows you to pay micro-payments per visit.

      That might be the case but when any of those ad could be carrying a malicious payload and attack my system there is no way in hell I am going to allow any arbitrary code from a third party to execute on my system.

      I trust Slashdot not to attack me. Slashdot is paid by "acme ad company" to insert their ads. Acme will pipe through whatever code crackers and malicious operators gives them as long as they get their money. I don't trust acme because of this and I certainly don't trust the person placing the ad. But here is the problem acme doesn't care as, I am a product not a customer. They only have to appease Slashdot and who ever is placing the ad. In fact their is a disincentive to scrutinize the content on the ads they are selling as they get paid either no matter the content and passing up bad operators is lost money. They can get away with it because if Slashdot viewer complain then they can say they will look into it opps one got through our system and nothing happens. So the only way to be safe is to block ads.

      If Caveat lector (reader beware) is the way the internet is to be then get used to me being aware and responding appropriately.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
    66. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 2

      And you are free to do that. That doesn't stop the advertisers from giving money to the content producers (though if EVERYONE did that, it sure would, something that you should take into account when you do that).

    67. Re:Fuck you. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Providing content, and providing monetary incentives for providing content are not one and the same.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    68. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who does EXACTLY this ! ;)

    69. Re:Fuck you. by itzly · · Score: 2

      if EVERYONE did that, it sure would, something that you should take into account when you do that).

      That makes no sense. My actions have no influence on anybody else's.

      Besides, I watch very little TV anyway. But I still pay the advertising budget through the products I buy, and I support public broadcasting through my taxes. I pay more than my fair share, for the amount I'm actually watching.

    70. Re:Fuck you. by multimediavt · · Score: 2

      This. I don't want to see ads, I'm sick to death of seeing ads, and I'll do everything in my power not to. [...]

      Fuck them.

      Here's the thing that gets me. These idiots in ad agencies think that the end of something is when there are no ads. Tell that to HBO, Netflix and any number of other subscription based content providers that don't use advertisements as a revenue stream to shore up their work. If the content on the web page is good enough to attract people to view it, then it might be good enough to supply on a subscription basis and forgo any ads. Now, I know there are things like news and other live or current events related content that is stupid to paywall off, but there are plenty of prime examples of subscriptions--and not ads--supporting good content without pissing off the community that consumes that content. I have lived without cable or satellite TV for 16 years, relying mostly on subscription content sites like Netflix and I haven't missed the ads one bit. With DVRs, most cable and satellite subscribers are also skipping ads, so to say that ad blocking is sociopathic is to not know what the word sociopathic means or be living in a world that's opposite to reality where society isn't skipping and blocking ads wherever they can.

    71. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      I'm not making value judgements here. I'm just stating fact. Content providers are paid via ads. If everyone blocks ads, free content goes away.

      It doesn't matter whether or not you care, or how you justify your actions. What is, is.

    72. Re:Fuck you. by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      Many little snowflakes nowadays make the accusation that they've been "coerced" once they make a bad decision that is freely theirs to make.

      coerce: persuade (an unwilling person) to do something by using force or threats.

      I do believe you're calling it coercion because you fell for their clever manipulations and encouragements that enticed you to open your wallet and freely draw out your reserves to make an adult exchange. All without using any force or threats.

      By the way that free adult exchange thingie doesn't qualify as theft.

      Some parting adult advice to those delicate snowflakes - learn delayed gratification. It works wonders for preventing you from accumulating piles of unwanted crap.

    73. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's tell them there is a giant space goat set to devour the planet or something, pack em all onto a giant spaceship and send em off?

    74. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree except for the theft part. And in some ways that is true too. The ads are stealing my limited (capped) bandwidth that I PAID FOR! Furthermore, the more annoying the ads get, the more self-defeating they are! The more annoying the ads, the more motivated people are to install ad-blockers.The advertisers have gone way too far, tracking peoples internet usage, using data mining to get what should be private information, not to mention that the Internet of Things is all about data mining for advertising purposes! So no, ad-blocking is NOT immoral, its just self defence against the highly immoral actions of greedy corporate advertisers who will do anything to push people to buy crap that they neither need nor want!

    75. Re:Fuck you. by itzly · · Score: 1

      But there's nothing for me to take into account. Me skipping the ads has no consequences for the TV show, because nobody knows I'm doing it.

    76. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Exactly. Most of these companies get TB uploads for pennies subsidized by the advertising industry. My phone gets maybe 4GB/month for downloads and I have to pay a considerable amount of money for that in the US. Insisting that I watch 100MB of video advert before I get to see a 200KB webpage is frankly ridiculous - they're eating up >75% of my data cap. My _very expensive_ data cap.

      We're at war with the advertising companies. This is almost like a DoS attack on the mobile data infrastructure at this point.

    77. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dammit LISP, thanks for making me see parentheses issues!

      Here parent: )

      There, now this page opens and closes correctly.

    78. Re:Fuck you. by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Also I don't like being advertised to in general and fuck you anyways.

      Then you shouldn't visit the site. Then you avoid harmful ads and there's no moral debate.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    79. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. I will not risk the safety and security of my systems by allowing them to display potentially (frequently) harmful ads. Also I don't like being advertised to in general and fuck you anyways.

      Shut the fuck up or join Adblock Plus' unobtrusive ads program.

      +1 junk the adverts all of em ..

    80. Re:Fuck you. by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      I use noscript instead of an ad-blocker. I don't mind seeing ads to some extent. I even choose not to disable slashdot advertising. But there is ZERO reason to allow a third-party advertising ad to run executable code on my machine. Screw that. If they want to show an unobtrusive image-based ad off to the side, that's fine. It's when they start getting obnoxious that they get the ban-hammer.

      I'm also getting mildly irritated at Amazon showing external advertisements on their pages. So my shopping dollars aren't good enough for you? You have to squeeze a few more bucks off of my eyeballs, and trick me into accidentally clicking on those ads because they look like Amazon-sold products?

      Advertisers, take note. If people are blocking your ads, it's because you're being way too obnoxious about shoving them in people's faces. Also, remember this: once an ad-blocker is installed, it's probably unlikely to get removed. It's in your best interest not to push people too far.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    81. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lieutenant James Norrington: "You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of"
      Captain Jack Sparrow: "But you have heard of me"

      You took note of the advertisement and that's all they care about. Studies on the brain show you'll eventually forget the "not" part of "remember to not buy something from ZYX". Brand recognition is extremely important because when impulse buying you'll buy the brand you recognize the most. The best way to deal with it is block everything you can and being aware of the physiology they use to trick you. By making note of that annoying brand, you've thought about them longer than if the ad wasn't annoying and that's exactly what they wanted. If you can't block something, at least make yourself feel bad for viewing the ad, especially when the page content makes you feel good. Your brain will remember the feeling associated with the brand long after a mental note to do or not do something.

    82. Re:Fuck you. by Pinkfud · · Score: 1

      I don't really object to ads on a page as long as they are not obnoxious. My definition of obnoxious includes autostarting video ads that cannot be stopped, especially if the page contains more than one such video so that you get a blast of overlapping gabble that can't even be understood. There is also a truly evil small square box that plays a list of ads one after the other - and loads them constantly at a rate that causes the page to hang and jerk. (Remember the good old days of huge GIF animations that bogged down a page? Yeah, these are worse). And finally, I truly hate the trick of letting you read halfway through the first paragraph of a page, then turning the page dark and throwing an ad up. If you must do a popup, at least have the courtesy to DO it and let the user close it without blowing his whole train of thought. And for the edification of advertisers, I usually at least glance at a passive ad. The obnoxious popup types I close instantly. So in my case at least, that technique is not effective at getting your message across. On the contrary, if I notice the product at all, I'm inclined NOT to buy it just because they deliberately annoyed me.

      --
      The world is my oyster. That's why it's always in a stew.
    83. Re:Fuck you. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Agreed. Ad blocking is not about denying revenue. Instead, ad blocking is about preserving our own systems and network. These advertisements are NOT free to us, they cost the viewers real money! They introduce malware, they slow down computer performance, they suck up amazing amounts of our bandwidth that we pay for. If they want to show us ads then they should pay for it!

      What's next, they're going to blame us for throwing away the weekly snail mail advertiser without reading it?

    84. Re: Fuck you. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      True. We have the right to not listen. This is an old old story, advertisers and spammers have long argued that we MUST listen to them. They're so concerned about losing their low cost and high reward business model that they want to restrict our freedom to stick our fingers in our ears.

      With television I leave the room if a commercial comes on. With radio in the car, I change the channel when commercials come on. Or better yet, I listen mostly to NPR on the radio, no commercials, all voluntary contributions, no blacklisting of people who fail to contribute. With newspapers I toss the advertising sections or use them for compost. Only on the internet do the advertisers think we should be required to view their junk.

    85. Re:Fuck you. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      I don't care what their business model is. It is not my responsibility. Let them go out of business if they can't figure it out.

      The thing is, the advertisers are the ones getting the bargain here; it costs them a very low amount of money to present the ads. They don't have to pay the postage. They don't even have to pay the full cost of sending out the ads, instead piggybacking on the ad viewer's ISP accounts. If they sent the ads out with no cost to the viewers, no degraded system performance, and cut back on the utterly obnoxious crap they send out, then there would be no need for adblock!

    86. Re:Fuck you. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Except that the ads on the internet ARE impacting on stuff I want to access. Slowing things down. When I had relatives using dialup they'd spend half that time slowly waiting for ads to load before they could see the stuff they really wanted, it was not a negligeable impact.

    87. Re: Fuck you. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      Go watch The Century of the Self , and prepare to have your eyes opened.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    88. Re:Fuck you. by DescX · · Score: 1

      Settle down? I'm pretty sure this post you replied to was stating that enough blocked ads would eventually force new revenue streams to develop. I'm outraged by the use of "sociopath" here. That's the real offense. Ads will never go away, and there will always be resistance from both sides. But to think of people who want control over their content as "sociopaths"? This Martin guy isn't worth the air he breathes if he feels its appropriate to broadcast such crap. Sadly, I'm starting to realize (late in the game!) that IT is full of utterly crazy people like this that actually believe the idiotic equivalencies they drum up... so idiots like Martin probably won't go away any time soon, much like ads. My thinking here is that if we correct the behaviour of the fools that perpetuate this economic model for the web, we might actually attack the cancer at its source and solve a problem. It's not the ads causing problems - it's the jerks who think they're entitled to passive revenue streams causing problems. "They give it away free, so suck up the ads!", haha. If I told a VC that my product was to be ad supported I would expect to be laughed out of the room. It's 2015. The real issue here is the entitlement complex a lot of web business owners have. They give stuff away knowing fully how users will customize their browsers, in a market where the consumer rightly has the choice to filter content at "the last foot" (screen to eye), and only complain about it when financial pain settles in. Sympathy? None.

    89. Re:Fuck you. by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      In any medium, a modus vivendi develops between consumers and advertisers.

      this is BULL crap. I don't need advertising to tell me that I need to buy food or clothing or a car or a place to live. The only businesses that needs advertising are the ones that are selling things that people do not actually need.

      Nobody objects to ads in a magazine or online advertising that works like ads in a magazine.

      more bull crap, I object strongly to a magazine where 90% of the pages are advertisements

    90. Re:Fuck you. by Mandrel · · Score: 1

      This is why I actually don't have a problem with Google's text ads. You do a search on some terms, and alongside your search results you also get some ads based on those terms. This can be really helpful if you're looking for a product to solve a problem you have, and the ad shows you something which is exactly what you're looking for.

      While such search engine ads are less of a problem because they're often relevant to both your current motivation (finding things) and your topic of interest, they're still presenting you with information that's biased both in presentation (pay for prominence) and content (spin), as well as being distracting when you're not in a buying or curious mode. Sure, organic results aren't perfect, with SEO manipulating rankings, and company websites that spin natively. But at least you've got a chance of seeing some independent sources of advice. So I can understand those who block search engine ads.

    91. Re:Fuck you. by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      For some reason, most people actually seem to pay at least some attention to ads..

      I'm curious which of your orifices did you pull this statistic out of?

    92. Re:Fuck you. by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      I think a more appropriate term would be "entrapment"?

      As in, to borrow the official definition of "entrapment"; to entice a person to do something he would not normally think of doing.

      As an example, would you think to buy a branded painkiller for those tense, nervous headaches because they promise to work in ten minutes according to the ad? Or would you instead just run to the convenience store and buy the blue brand because it's one fifth the price and made of exactly the same chemicals? Plain white packaging with a blue stripe, or solid bright yellow with image of hot woman on the front next to big red letters spelling out "ANADIN"?

      Would you run to McDonald's for a Happy Meal when you're hungry? Or do you run to the local indie sandwich bar and buy something that's fresh, made in front of you and doesn't taste of cardboard and rat piss?

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    93. Re:Fuck you. by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      I consider myself a right thinking individual, if I feel I'm getting spammed with ads I will a: kill them and/or b: go elsewhere for my content.

      If I wanted to get spammed with ads, I'd watch network television.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    94. Re:Fuck you. by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      "sociopath"/ic hasn't been in legitimate use since the collapse of the Bell defence in 1968.

      Jussayin'.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    95. Re:Fuck you. by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      Good tip. Be nice to see if I can get my Chrome memory usage back below 2GB...

      "+1, Informative", please.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    96. Re:Fuck you. by old_kennyp · · Score: 1

      Totally agree.
      If I cannot block them on a site then I avoid that completely.
      There is no site that supports ads that I cannot do without.

    97. Re:Fuck you. by trewornan · · Score: 1

      Really scared that I won't get their content if I don't put up with their ads - not. These ad slinging bastards can take their "content" and shove it up their "channel".

    98. Re:Fuck you. by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      How much more would that magazine subscription cost you if there were no advertising? Would you pay extra for all your over-the-air TV programming to see it ad-free? Would you pay $100 a month for an ad-free Google that doesn't collect your data for marketers?

      I can see your trust fund depleting fast.

    99. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "If only you knew about our great product" does not justify the psychological arm-twisting advertisers undertake. Yes, by the end of your advert I might "want" your product that I'd never heard of, but as the OP says, "fuck you". You are taking money out of my pocket that I did not plan to allow its removal. In some circles, that's theft.

      Oh have some self-control and take responsibility for your own actions for fuck sake! What the hell is with this generation of mental defectives intent on blaming all their ills on somebody else?!

    100. Re:Fuck you. by exomondo · · Score: 1

      While yes, I get something for my money, it's not what I really want, which is my money, which I would still have were I not advertised to.

      Seriously? It's actually that easy to part you from your money? It's pretty clear the problem here is you, not the people trying to sell stuff. You make the decision, if what you really want is your money then why are you trading it? You already have what you want.

      What are some actual examples of when this has happened to you?

    101. Re:Fuck you. by PsychoSlashDot · · Score: 1

      Seriously? It's actually that easy to part you from your money? It's pretty clear the problem here is you, not the people trying to sell stuff. You make the decision, if what you really want is your money then why are you trading it? You already have what you want.

      What are some actual examples of when this has happened to you?

      Seriously.

      It is exactly as easy to part me from my money as it is. No more, no less. When advertising doesn't work, there's no issue. It's when it does - and you KNOW it does, else it wouldn't exist - that something has gone wrong.

      Are you trying to pretend that (all) the debt-load people in developed nations have is because they've just fallen behind temporarily? Or do you actually get it that people buy crap they don't need? Specific itemized examples from my life aren't useful... they're just anecdotal evidence. That advertising exists, and has existed for a long time, is empirical evidence that the practice is profitable on average. And that's not acceptable to me.

      It doesn't matter who is, or is not "too weak-willed to spend wisely". What does matter is that active advertising is an inherently predatory act. You know it, I know it, and the rest of the people asking "really? WTF's wrong with you. I just save my money, you sub-human schlup!" know it.

      Finally, yes, I get it that there are shades of grey here and that we're not talking about human sacrifice or something 10/10 for evil. But some guy with a vested interest in advertising has decided to spout off on the morality of ad-blocking, which makes looking at the morality of advertising itself fair game. So while this isn't a huge deal, it's on-topic.

      --
      "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
    102. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      exactly. ditto. someone got the idea somewhere that its better to annoy and be noticed than not annoy and be noticed

      its latant advertising. theyre betting that per dollar spent advertising, if they get 100 times as many people to see their message and half remember the message, and half of them remember the ad was so annoying that they wont buy or pateonize out of spite, then a quarter will be annoyed, forget the annoyance and remember the product or service. as a result, instead of 10% buying, the original number likely to buy using traditional advertising, a quarter of the HUNDRED times as many (25x) will buy ultimately and so it makes way more sense to advertise ANNOYINGLY as long as people will ACTUALLY see the message.

      thats why i keep a list of functionally unblockable and annoying and or offensive ads. i consult the list before buying anything. its the list of people, companies or organizations i will not under any circumstances buy anything from ever again. its getting to be rather a long list.

      if its immoral for me to block ads, then logically its immoal to fail to buy whatever is being advertised to me. how much am i morally obligated to buy?

      does anyone else notice how to an asshole, anyone doing anything that denies him whatever the fuck he wants and imagines hes entitled to is MORALLY wrong?

    103. Re:Fuck you. by exomondo · · Score: 1

      It is exactly as easy to part me from my money as it is. No more, no less.

      That's a completely redundant statement that says nothing.

      When advertising doesn't work, there's no issue. It's when it does - and you KNOW it does, else it wouldn't exist - that something has gone wrong.

      What exactly has "gone wrong"?

      Are you trying to pretend that (all) the debt-load people in developed nations have is because they've just fallen behind temporarily?

      No.

      Or do you actually get it that people buy crap they don't need?

      Yes of course, most people don't live a purely utilitarian existence consisting of nothing beyond the most basic needs. What's wrong with that?

      Specific itemized examples from my life aren't useful... they're just anecdotal evidence.

      Evidence of the extent of your inability to exercise self-control, just because you see an ad for something and buy it doesn't mean anybody else will.

      That advertising exists, and has existed for a long time, is empirical evidence that the practice is profitable on average.

      Yes it is hard to get people to know about your product or service if you rely purely on them seeking you out and asking if you offer such things.

      It doesn't matter who is, or is not "too weak-willed to spend wisely".

      Of course it does.

      What does matter is that active advertising is an inherently predatory act.

      Only if you're intent on simply existing. Advertising does indeed help to find things that make my life easier that I didn't know about before, I just have the ability to measure the value of the advantage, something you obviously do not have.

    104. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      "But to think of people who want control over their content as "sociopaths"?"

      A sociopath is someone who prioritizes his own self above society, or rather, someone who gets CAUGHT doing so. Those people, myself included, could be called sociopaths for using ad blockers while continuing to consume content, though more likely we simply dehumanize those on the other side of the screen because we can't see them to confirm on a subconscious level that they are human.

      But that is human nature, and it is the hand content producers are dealt. SO they can either deal with it, and keep ads unobtrusive/passive, or they can, as you suggest, create other revenue streams.

    105. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      You can say that, but there is a marginal effect on sales, so there IS an effect. Just because its small doesn't mean it isn't there. If you take that effect and multiply it across the entire user base, or a large fraction of it, you make the system unworkable, and find yourself at the point where you just might have to start directly paying for content.

      You can refuse to take the effect into account, but you can't refuse the effects of everyone refusing to take that effect into account.

    106. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      That's like saying working for pay and paying someone to work aren't the same. While technically correct, one still enables the other, and without that model, society collapses.

    107. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The shameful part is that these ad offences are frequently found on the paid pages of prestige journals like the New York Times and Globe&Mail. I can accept this sort of disruption for free media but it makes me crazy when I get it on paywalled services I am paying a stiff monthly fee to access. The pathetic part is that the most obstructive ads are for things I am never, ever going to buy -- like a Manhattan condo or a new BMW. At least the techie stuff on Slashdot is occasionally worth a look for sheer entertainment if nothing else.

    108. Re:Fuck you. by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Physical violence is not a requisite for coercion. You can be coerced by the threat of a lawsuit, for one example.

      That said, GP went stupid. Ads may be manipulative, but they are rarely coercive. Although, some have implied that you will never know the love of a [preferred gender] again unless you purchase. Which, if they could follow through on it, would be coercive.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    109. Re:Fuck you. by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      should Slashdot exist?

      I am spending time here, so obviously I would prefer if it did. But then again, it's 99.99% user generated content, so I don't see the high costs. I mean, correct me where I'm wrong, but the cost of maintaining Slashdot seems to be where hobbists can throw up a competing site with spare change and can maintain it for a hosting plan covering, what, maybe $50/mo?? I'm really unsure of the costs of a scaled solution, so would love some actual numbers.

      But if I can get Buzzfeed to die in a fire, I'll be quite happy.

      You know what ACTUAL theft is? Consuming someone's product (ie. visiting an ad-supported web site) and then refusing to pay (ie. allow the ads to be shown).

      Well, I'll grant that I'm consuming resources on their server. I leave the whole semantic "can you steal informational content man" thing aside. But, there was no agreement that I would load their page to the entire degree they wanted. I mean, is it bad wrong if I use a translation service? If I use a screenreader to read the words outloud? If I decide I want every page to render in a fixed width font of at least a certain size?

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    110. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let's tally the bad things some ads, do:

      You forgot:

      - Flashing, spinning, jumping, epileptic fit causing graphics (GIF variety, not flash).
      - The web site operator splitting his information over many multiple pages (most with a single short paragraph of content) just so more ads can be displayed (review sites are really notorious for this).
      - Pushing malware to unsuspecting systems.
      - Advertising quasi-legal goods/services or outright scams (questionable financial advice, pump and dump stock scams, web sites offering "free" genealogy info that actually costs a $19.95 a month subscription fee to receive, etc.)
      - Displaying inappropriate sexually explicit ads to minors.
      - Blocking access to a web site while a long multiple minute "infomercial" plays, and if you don't "click here" every thirty seconds the video jumps back to the beginning.
      - Self-important ass-hats that think I'm somehow "robbing them" because I don't allow the above to happen on my machine. I'm paying for my bandwidth, I should have some say as to what has access to my machine. IMHO If I go to a porn site and get a virus, that's my fault. If I go to a Google site and get a virus because of a malicious ad, that's clearly Google's fault and there should be criminal penalties for such.

    111. Re:Fuck you. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      I call bullshit. The people who represent your point of view are busy bribing legally elected representatives in Washington, rather than allowing the free market to settle the issue.

      If every third advertising agency in America were to go bankrupt tonight, society wouldn't collapse. If along with those agencies, 1/2 of all the corporations doing the collection and correlation of data also collapsed, society wouldn't collapse. If, as a result of all those bankruptcies, advertising dropped off by 95%, society wouldn't collapse.

      If the working class notified congress that they would no longer tolerate the shit forced on them by advertisers, and congress passed meaningful laws restricting what advertisers can do, society wouldn't collapse either. In fact, society would be much better off.

      And, if you personally are put out of a job because of it, well, tough shit. You can go compete with all the Mexicans for a job digging ditches, or picking avacados.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    112. Re:Fuck you. by Wycliffe · · Score: 1

      Agree 100%. I installed adblock plus when slashdot started throwing URL blocks from the ad rotator. How do I know the next ad rotation won't be a driveby? The industry provides zero guarantees and relies too much on upstream ad providers to vouch for safety.

      This is a valid excuse but what percentage of adblock users do you think still allow static images?
      My guess is that this is just an excuse to make people feel better and people would still block ads even if they were all static.

    113. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I for one would happily sacrifice both Google and Slashdot, if it could mean an internet without ads. If only 1% of sites survive, and that 1% is randomly sampled from all sites currently in existence, I'd think the shakeout well worth doing in itself - getting rid of ads would be a bonus.

      And yes, I'd happily pay to play on such an internet. Sounds like the late 90s to me - does anyone seriously dispute that the WWW then was a thousand times more interesting and productive than it is today?

    114. Re:Fuck you. by robbo · · Score: 1

      Everyone has their reasons. In my case I had no real interest in ad blockers until dice.com's ad partners started serving exploits.

      --
      So long, and thanks for all the Phish
    115. Re:Fuck you. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 2

      Browsers need to support safe adverts. A single off-site image or text content. No scripts, no animation, no noise. Heavily sandboxed.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    116. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You know what ACTUAL theft is? Consuming someone's product (ie. visiting an ad-supported web site) and then refusing to pay (ie. allow the ads to be shown). If you want a moral and ethical ad-blocker, implement a plug-in that refuses to let you visit any site whose ads you don't want displayed, or which allows you to pay micro-payments per visit.

      If the content is available, and no measures are taken to prevent viewing of the content without the ads, then too bad. There are several websites doing this, and I do not visit them anymore.

      Unless the web site will take 100% responsibility for the contents of their ad network (same as their own website), I'm not viewing the ads. I see no websites giving that guarantee; in fact, I see disclaimers all around regarding ad network content. Smarter operators are selling ads sourced from their own servers -- those ads mostly get through blockers.

      If a website directly serves malicious content, they are publicly shamed into fixing it -- but ad networks get a pass, because it's "hard." Small websites are so desperate for funding, they sign up with rotten networks because the payout is higher, irregardless of the security of their users.

    117. Re:Fuck you. by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I don't think subscriptions would sustain a site like Slashdot. Especially because they actually downgrade your experience in some ways (ads enabled, even if you have good karma), but also because other news sites that went subscription became ghost towns very quickly. They survived because they were mostly about the stories, but Slashdot is about comments so would effectively be dead.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    118. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      All of the arguments for adblocking are just self-rationalizations made by people who just plain old hate ads.

    119. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      THis is a ridiculous argument. Do you have any idea how much extra weight is added to pages from invisible non-advertising sources?

    120. Re:Fuck you. by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      Somebody stole your willpower?

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    121. Re:Fuck you. by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

      Agreed, some people in this thread seem to equate "immoral" with "annoying". Advertising is simply a glorified way of shouting "hey, look at this" for personal gain, annoying but harmless. False advertising is simply lying for personal gain and clearly immoral.

      --
      And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    122. Re:Fuck you. by Arkan · · Score: 1

      It's quite interesting that after all this time, and given the popularity of this little thing called Internet, some have still can't grasp the "My computer, my rules" concept.

    123. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, I too miss the 90s. Sure for some things there is now more information online, but in many cases the reverse seems to be true. For example, I remember browsing amazingly detailed pages on electronics put up by technically minded people. Ugly as sin, often complete with hideous animated gifs, but the content was top notch. These days all I can find half the time I are some book summaries and a link to a book seller, or some much prettier but massively dumbed down beginners stuff... with adds.

      I guess the modern net is great if you love shopping and broadcasting the inanities of your every move but as an unreconstructed geek that's just not my scene.

    124. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, this. As someone who had to deal with ads through the early 2000s("YOU WON","*random music blasting in hidden frame on website* good luck going through all 10 of your tabs/windows to find it", ect.) Fuck you. I'll admit they've for the most part became less annoying over the years, but they still waste resources better spent else where and effect page loading times.

      THEY(and people before them) have created this user backlash against ads and adblock is here to stay.

    125. Re: Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dilbert + "crazy frog" = me installing Adblock for the first time back in the day.

      I'd been annoyed by animations and distracted by popups, but that noise was the final straw. So, in a weird sort of way, thank you crazy frog.

    126. Re:Fuck you. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      You mean from cross site scripting? Yeah - I do have an idea. And, I block it unless I actually decide that I want to see what is on those other sites.

      But, even with most cross site scripting, the total content of the page is often only a fraction of the advertising content, in terms of bandwidth.

      You try it. Wander the web for some hours, or a day, or a week, and keep track of your bandwidth usage. Then install something like uBlock, and wander the web. You bandwidth usage will drop significantly. At the same time, if you kept track of your CPU and memory usage, those will drop as well, although less significantly.

      Advertisers put your equipment as well as your bandwidth usage to full use, and all for something that I have no desire to see.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    127. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      'Conventional' media such as TV, newspapers and magazines have to take responsibility for the ads they deliver. So web sites should also be responsible for the ads served on their pages.

    128. Re:Fuck you. by Ulric · · Score: 1

      You know what ACTUAL theft is? Consuming someone's product (ie. visiting an ad-supported web site) and then refusing to pay (ie. allow the ads to be shown). If you want a moral and ethical ad-blocker, implement a plug-in that refuses to let you visit any site whose ads you don't want displayed, or which allows you to pay micro-payments per visit.

      When you visit an ad-supported web site, the web site is not the product, you are. Refusing to be the product is not theft.

    129. Re:Fuck you. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      >and the advertising is basically true

      Which is true of about one in ever 5000 ads in the world. If we actually legislated that as a requirement and enforced that legislation actively - then it would be a different story. Frankly the penalty for a false add should be to go to jail - for fraud, because a false ad is doing business using deceptive practices - the very definition of fraud. No, free speech does not enter into the discussion - no definition of free speech every covered fraud.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    130. Re:Fuck you. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      >If it's applied to copyright infringement (and it is, linguistic purist desires be damned),
      It's not linguistic purists - it's legal purists, copyright violation isn't theft because the law specifically says it's not theft. Theft is prosecuted by the government, a prosecution that can happen without the consent of the victim (even if you "drop charges" for a theft - the government can still choose to prosecute) - copyright violation is a civil matter, where the plaintif has to bring a case themselves, in civil court, and you can't go to jail for it.

      >Just because someone agrees to a purchase/sale contract doesn't preclude it being theft.
      I absolutely agree with you but the /. libertarian crowd just got their hackles raised - because if they admit that, then their whole world collapses. If they recognize even the most remote possibility of that - then their defense of sweatshops for example falls apart. Their denial of the possibility of exploiting workers becomes logically unsupportable.
      If they ever acknowledge the (bleeding obvious) conclusion that somebody can be deceived into making a decision against their own best interest - their entire world and economic philosphy is shattered to bits.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    131. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I hope you're still in school, so you can still have access to the 'non-commercial' internet you're so much better off with.

      In all media with advertising the unsolicited advertising just keeps increasing until the net value to the consumer is just marginally above zero. He's right; the net value of a site personal site is usually far higher than the average advertising infested "commercial" web site.

    132. Re:Fuck you. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      >Not very effective coercion, then, since I have NEVER found myself buying something based on an ad. Not once in the last half century....

      That's what you think. You are almost definitely wrong. Studies have found that the vast majority of people sincerely believe they make rational purchasing decisions - based on considering price and value, but when you observe their actual behavior they invariably buy the things with the prettiest packaging even if it costs a ton more to offer no additional value.
      You aren't AWARE of how manipulated you are by ads, that's exactly why they work.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    133. Re:Fuck you. by houghi · · Score: 1

      If companies have the right to show ads. I have the right not to see them. The moment they force me to see them means they are forcing things upon me, or as Bansy says it best:

      âoePeople are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply youâ(TM)re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

      âoeYou, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

      âoeFuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. Itâ(TM)s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

      âoeYou owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially donâ(TM)t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, donâ(TM)t even start asking for theirs.â

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    134. Re:Fuck you. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      >You know what ACTUAL theft is? Consuming someone's product (ie. visiting an ad-supported web site) and then refusing to pay (ie. allow the ads to be shown). If you want a moral and ethical ad-blocker, implement a plug-in that refuses to let you visit any site whose ads you don't want displayed, or which allows you to pay micro-payments per visit.

      This may have been true once when most ads were shown on a pay-per-view basis, but nobody does that anymore because it's to easy to cheat and it costs too much. These days ads are shown on a pay-per-click basis - which is a lot more realistic in terms of value gained by the advertiser, it also means that adblockers in fact represent ZERO lost revenue or theft since those who enable them has an almost 100% overlap with "people who wouldn't have clicked on the ad anyway". If you put "people with adblockers" and "people who don't click on ads" as a red and blue circle on a VENN diagram what you get is a giant purple blob with maybe a tiny red and blue line on either side.
      It's very much the same as the reason the do-not-call list hasn't significantly impact the profitability of telemarketing, if anything it made it slightly more profitable as they can avoid wasting time and money phoning people who would never buy something from a telemarketer anyway.

      The illusion that you would make more money if people didn't have adblockers is based on a completely false assumption about human behavior. Ads can be very effective at creating want - but not when their mere existence has already created dislike. Those who hate ads, are the ones least likely to buy anything based on that type of advertising - simply because the negative emotions associated with seeing the add overwhelms whatever emotional effect the ad was intended to produce.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    135. Re:Fuck you. by silentcoder · · Score: 1

      It's similar to why I refuse, as a matter of principle, to ever buy name-brand clothes.
      If Calvin Klein wants to advertise his jeans on MY ass - he'll damn well pay me for the right to use my ass as advertising space, I refuse to pay HIM a premium for the privilege of LETTING him advertise on my ass.

      --
      Unicode killed the ASCII-art *
    136. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While reading this article, Ghostery is listing 7 sites, but not blocking any. AdblockPlus is blocking one site and Privacy Badger blocking all 4 that it lists.

    137. Re:Fuck you. by tmosley · · Score: 1

      "The people who represent your point of view"

      Please spell out what exactly you think my point of view is. It looks to me like you have it completely wrong, as I am advocating that people do as I do use ad blockers on sites with obnoxious ads, while allowing those with passive or unobtrusive advertizing to make a little money off your or my eyeballs.

      "If every third advertising agency in America were to go bankrupt tonight, society wouldn't collapse."

      No, because all the ad business would be redistributed to the other 2/3rds. If they ALL collapsed because ad blockers were MANDATED at the ISP level (as some governments are now pushing for), then the FREE CONTENT CREATION industry would, in fact, collapse. I'm sorry if it hurts your feelings that people need money to live.

      "If the working class notified congress that they would no longer tolerate the shit forced on them by advertisers, and congress passed meaningful laws restricting what advertisers can do, society wouldn't collapse either. In fact, society would be much better off."

      I'm afraid you are completely delusional on multiple levels.

      "And, if you personally are put out of a job because of it, well, tough shit. You can go compete with all the Mexicans for a job digging ditches, or picking avacados."

      Oh, and evil, hateful, and spiteful as well I see. If you hate ads so much, might I suggest that you simply call up your ISP and cancel your service? You know, rather than destroying something that other people like (ie the free internet).

    138. Re:Fuck you. by Grishnakh · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but aren't the search engine ads also less obtrusive, like usually on the side where they're obvious that they're ads? That makes them easy to ignore (and doubly so, since they aren't graphical with flashing colors and shit like that which draws your eye to it).

      I'm not saying they're perfect by any means, but compared to most advertising these days, it's a giant step up IMO.

    139. Re:Fuck you. by Mandrel · · Score: 1

      As well as being on the side, there are also several search engine ads placed at the top of the main result list, forcing you to scan past them to read the first organic result. They're also coloured, which draws your eye to them.

      But my main thrust was that even if they're out of the way, they're still ads with agendas to relieve you of your cash.

      Search engines should provide "view all relevant ads" link that even those using ad-blockers can see. This would allow such people to see what's on offer when they are in a buying mode, without having to disable their blockers, refresh and page to see a good selection of ads, then re-enable their blockers.

    140. Re:Fuck you. by dave420 · · Score: 1

      Bullshit. You are costing the website money, as they have to pay to send every byte to you. Refusing to pay for that by blocking ads is far closer to theft than simply declaring yourself the product like some precious little flower and running off scared of your newly-found self-importance. I use an AdBlocker, but at least I'm honest about what's happening and why I'm doing it. I'm absolutely fed up with adverts all over the web - there must be a better way of covering costs than potentially unleashing insecurities and drive-bys on peoples' computers. Websites might start looking into the more sensible methods of paying for content if they realise the advertising path is not recouping their losses.

    141. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't mind non-intrusive advertisement, but those full-screen "click to continue" ad's or the banner-ad's, with animations just to trick the eye into looking, are just bad..

      For television i don't watch advertisement.. I subscribe to a couple of (legal) streaming services for 90% of the content and 10% is recorded, where i can ffw, or at the cinema..

      The big question is how tv-channels could afford content before with less advertisement..
      - Is it that the cost of content has spiked?
      - Is it that less people watch content so less ad-revenue per view?
      - Is it that we just have so many more sources of content that there are fewer viewers now?

      I will continue using ad-blockers for all ad-networks with privacy-implications (tracking-cookies and/or tracking-widgets) and all sites that use flash-based ad's or popup-ad's..

    142. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      - Learn from Wall St. Journal. Paywall your content, groom it to ensure it is top quality and worth payment. Have a secure order form that is not compromised and willing to spill your CC details to everyone, ask for no more personal information than is strictly required to authorize a purchase.

      This is actually one of the things bitcoins, or some other type of cryptocurrency, would be great... Money goes straight from the consumer to content-owner without any middleman taking a chunk of the profits..
      Lets say 1-5 cents per read article on a news site..
      Say the average user reads 10 articles per day on average.. A news-site with 100000 visitors per day could then earn something like 10000-50000 per day..
      If we look from the users point of view.
      10 articles per day would be somewhere between 10 and 50 cents per day.. Not too much for the average consumer..
      And hosting a news-site that gets 100000 users per day is not that hard or would require much bandwith (if the ad's where removed)

    143. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      " If you want a moral and ethical ad-blocker, implement a plug-in that refuses to let you visit any site whose ads you don't want displayed, or which allows you to pay micro-payments per visit."

      Now that would make for an awesome Internet! Driven by the people, for the people, without Corporations controlling it. So, from you're point of view, I better not get up to go to the bathroom during commercial breaks or I'm immorally stealing TV shows. Guess I'll have to go with bladder problems then. ;-)

    144. Re:Fuck you. by Ulric · · Score: 1

      You are costing the website money, as they have to pay to send every byte to you.

      Sure, and it costs money to broadcast commercials to TV viewers. That doesn't in any way change the fact that it is the viewers that are the product. A simple solution for web sites who want to display content only to visitors who also view ads is to use an ad wall that the visitors are forced to endure before they are allowed inside.

    145. Re:Fuck you. by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      There is no good micropayment system, and there isn't going to be, because people really don't like micropayments. This means that, to access a pay site, I'm going to have to do a minimum of a $1 credit card transaction. For a site I like and spend time on, this isn't a problem for me, but it will effectively prevent me from poking at the site for a few minutes. It will flat-out stop people without credit cards, or who can't be spending random dollars while surfing.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    146. Re:Fuck you. by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Advertisers, take note. If people are blocking your ads, it's because you're being way too obnoxious about shoving them in people's faces

      That's because they're coming from the ideal world of broadcast television, where 1/4 to 1/3 of the time is spent forcing you to watch commercials. And yeah, they would ban commercial skippers if it was technologically feasible.

    147. Re: Fuck you. by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      its latant advertising. theyre betting that per dollar spent advertising, if they get 100 times as many people to see their message and half remember the message, and half of them remember the ad was so annoying that they wont buy or pateonize out of spite, then a quarter will be annoyed, forget the annoyance and remember the product or service

      APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD! APPLY DIRECTLY TO THE FOREHEAD!

    148. Re:Fuck you. by redlemming · · Score: 1

      Do advertisements add enough value to my existence to compensate me for the time lost? Not rhetorical, I think it's a good question.

      It depends on whether or not you have opted in, but even then there are limits.

      If you opt-in, then clearly you are willing to see some sort of ad. You've indicated that you value being exposed to an ad, even if you don't know what it will be. That's probably the only value measure we can make here.

      But it is an entirely different manner when one obscures the landscape with over-sized billboards, puts flashing signs next to a road (or people waving signs), goes door to door (or calls somebody) to sell a product or religion or political candidate, sends somebody junk mail, and so forth (assuming one hasn't given the recipient of the marketing the chance to opt-in).

      Drivers along a road do not have the chance to opt-in, and it is often very difficult even for people in their homes to prevent this kind of activity. Not everybody has the option to fence out the world, and no fence is perfect.

      There are a number of potential rights in play here, but the most fundamental is that civilized societies shouldn't allow people to steal portions of another's life. The human lifespan is finite, and time lost is precious and irreplaceable and hence extremely valuable: not allowing others to steal a portion of our lives is simply a rational recognition of this universal truth. This is why we categorize things such as kidnapping, murder, or robbery as crimes. In the last case, the robbery steals a portions of a person's life because it steals money or goods which took time to accumulate (and will take time to replace, if they can be replaced). This is why only opt-in approaches to marketing make sense: anything else effectively involves stealing a portion of a person's life.

      Further, as a society, we don't necessarily allow people to opt-in themselves (or their dependents) to some things. Hence, even an opt-in system will have limits.

      For example, raising the volume on a commercial during a video (to attract the attention of the audience, as a marketing technique) could result in pain or hearing damage to the audience, especially if they are elderly and have to up the volume due to hearing loss just to make out words from the non-commercial content. This could and should be regulated (perhaps even requiring voice and non-voice audio on different "channels" that are defined such that AV equipment can apply different levels of volume to them), even if one has opted-in.

      Only the sociopaths don't see this. By definition, a sociopath is a person to whom other people aren't real. By attempting to steal a portion of other people's lives, the people who try to force ads on others are demonstrating their contempt for others, and thus their belief that others are not real.

      All the people who engage in the list of activities above, and many other variants, are sociopaths.

      Having some commercials while watching TV may be the only reason I have something to watch on TV, I can appreciate that. But in the past decade or more, commercials have consumed such a large portion of the time of TV, that it was no longer worth the time investment to be constantly interrupted, taking 30 minutes of my time to watch a 15 minute show.

      Even here, there is a critical issue that is often not acknowledged, namely that society is choosing to give some entity associated with the TV show an exclusive monopoly (possibly excepting fair use or other rights). Since this is an entirely artificial right -- a privilege really -- it is entirely reasonable to limit what can be done with that monopoly.

      With today's technology we (society) could easily require these shows be released in two formats, with one ad-free, allowing that version to be at a higher price to make up for the loss of advertising revenue (perhaps according to some formula determined by law), as a condition for granting copyright. We might e

    149. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are costing the website money, as they have to pay to send every byte to you. Refusing to pay for that by blocking ads is far closer to theft than simply declaring yourself the product like some precious little flower and running off scared of your newly-found self-importance.

      That is a pretty warped perspective. Advertising and loss-leader content are things a business pays for in order to drum up more business, but there is not nor has ever been a guarantee that anyone will see it or buy anything if they do see it. It's part of the cost of doing business.

      If they can't make money that way, they need to switch to another strategy. You owe them nothing for accepting what they put out there.

    150. Re:Fuck you. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Remember the start of cable ? The attraction was no commercials. So when the antennea disappeared off the roofs, the commercials showed up on cable. Why would the internet be any different ? I would love owning a business that allowed me to collect from both ends.

    151. Re:Fuck you. by RyoShin · · Score: 1

      I think that, should we ever see the death of advertising revenue at large (one can only hope), surviving sites will maintain in one four categories:

      1) Paywall, as you mention
      2) Branded, as we see with Buzzfeed and sponsored articles
      3) Fandom, where the site is mainly a labor of love and paid for out of pocket, soliciting donations to help now and then (some webcomics used to do this)
      4) Patreon writ smaller

      For those who don't know, Patreon is a combination of DeviantArt and Kickstarter: artists, content creators, etc. can get an account, and users can be patrons to that account/artists/whatever for as little as $1/mo. This is usually for more direct interaction with the artist in question than the general viewership might get. I imagine either Patreon itself, or a new, competing service, going into smaller amounts (say, starting at 25c/mo) for supporting websites or groups at large with fewer/smaller patron rewards. What is lost in large monthly donations is made up for with volume. So someone pays Patreon $5/mo, and then can divide that up between their favorite sites. I'm not aware of any sites using Patreon this way, but it would not surprise me at all if some already do.

      - Frequently provides a strong incentive for copy-cat content, 0 content websites, click-bait, plagiarized content websites to exist, and to be profitable

      I hate these so much. They spam StumbleUpon, and there is one particular site that uses over a dozen different domain names just to get around site blocks on StumbleUpon. I will cackle with glee when they die in flames.

  2. Customers dont want obnoxious ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Examples include ads that occupy the entire page, video ads that automatically play and hog mobile data, or broken/inoperable links to ad servers that prevent access to content.

    Make ads unobtrusive (think about the way Google delivers ads), and customers won't block them.

    1. Re:Customers dont want obnoxious ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "(think about the way Google delivers ads)" minus the spying. I don't want targeted ads. I don't mind seeing ads that are of the same topic as the web page i'm seeing.

      Frankly i think that's even better way of showing ads than targeting individuals, since many people complain the targeted ads really show stuff you've already looked at or have purchased. What's the point in showing ads of that stuff? Target the ads at the web page topic, not what people have already looked at. The point of ads is to bring awareness of new stuff to customers, not show old stuff.

    2. Re:Customers dont want obnoxious ads by sqlrob · · Score: 1

      The point of ads is to bring awareness of new stuff to customers, not show old stuff.

      No. The point of ads is to sell you stuff. If that's selling different stuff by showing new, well and good, but selling something "hey, I forgot I was going to get that" works too.

    3. Re:Customers dont want obnoxious ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It works, but that's a pretty marginal use for ads, don't you think? Besides, showing ads based on the contents of the web page includes that situation too.

  3. His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    While he has a point that ads do fuel much of the content on the Internet, where he goes horribly wrong is to think that it is advertisers RIGHT (instead of PRIVILEGE) to beam their messages into our brains. He probably also thinks you shouldn't go to the bathroom during commercials on TV.

    1. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by thunderclap · · Score: 5, Interesting

      While he has a point that ads do fuel much of the content on the Internet, where he goes horribly wrong is to think that it is advertisers RIGHT (instead of PRIVILEGE) to beam their messages into our brains. He probably also thinks you shouldn't go to the bathroom during commercials on TV.

      No, where he goes horribly wrong is using a violent mental disorder as an illusion to people rejecting an ad. That makes him not just misguided but dangerous.
      Yes the internet needs to be paid for. Ads were never the way. They always have been intrusive. Google has been the best of the worst.
      What he's truly angry about is that we aren't forced to see them.
      I will close this piece with a truth. "For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web. Cut them out and you're strangling the diversity of online publishers – I think users really want that. Users want to restore the internet to what is was in the beginning. A resource of communication, knowledge and entertainment unencumbered by intrusive, unneeded, bandwidth eating bits of useless info."

    2. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by plover · · Score: 1

      I think adblockers are great - for the end user to own and maintain. I've been running filtering proxies of one type or another since the last millennium. (And nothing will teach you the nuances of regex like the challenge of stripping out unwanted HTML tags.) It's for me to decide what I want my browser to display.

      But just as it's wrong for my ISP to inject their own ads, it's also not the place of my ISP to censor them out of my data stream. That's my decision, not theirs.

      --
      John
    3. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by Xest · · Score: 1

      "I will close this piece with a truth. "For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web. Cut them out and you're strangling the diversity of online publishers â" I think users really want that."

      I think this is exactly right, you are indeed strangling diversity of publishers, but the problem is, I'm not convinced it matters.

      The problem as I see it, is that monetisation of information on the web via ads has simply led to a rush for psychological "you should click this and see what happens next" type bullshit, as well as incredibly inflammatory and often false headlines in a desperate rush to further increase ad revenue.

      As such, whilst it may increase diversity of publishers, I do not believe it's a useful increase in diversity of publishers.

    4. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by taustin · · Score: 1

      No, he understands exactly what he advocates. He's not ignorant at all. His viewpoint isn't ignorant, it's . . . sociopathic.

    5. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FYI, the notion of a "violent mental disorder" is a form of bigotry against people with mental illness, one that regularly causes them to be killed because people (including cops) are so afraid of interacting with a "violent psychopath" that they become willing to use violence themselves. Violent behavior is correlated with a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (the formal diagnosis describing sociopaths), but it is neither necessary nor sufficient for that diagnosis. The big thing is reckless disregard for the well-being of others, which can manifest in many non-violent ways. In general, people with serious mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators.

    6. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      You do realise that you are being fairly pendantic about that.
      American Heritage dictionary defines antisocial as:
      antisocial antisocial (nt-sshl, nt-) adj. Shunning the society of others; not sociable. Hostile to or disruptive of the established social order; marked by or engaging in behavior that violates accepted mores: gangs engaging in vandalism and other antisocial behavior. Antagonistic toward or disrespectful of others; rude.
      Violent is defined:
      1: marked by extreme force or sudden intense activity
      2
      a : notably furious or vehement
      b : extreme, intense
      3: caused by force : not natural
      4
      a : emotionally agitated to the point of loss of self-control
      b : prone to commit acts of violence
      and antisocial is:
      http://www.merriam-webster.com...
      violent and harmful to people.
      Even Oxford English dictionary defines it as harmful or annoying to other people, or to society in general

      All of this to show you I'm not incorrect, society's handing of it is. http://www.oxforddictionaries....

    7. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by sudon't · · Score: 1

      Oh yeah, I'd love to go back to playing whack-a-mole with advertisers. I can't tell you how grateful I was when someone finally came out with ad-blocking software with regularly updated lists. Thing is, it's much more complicated nowadays, what with beacons, trackers, analytics, evercookies, etc., than when you were blocking banner ads on simple HTML pages. I actually know how to write a regex, unlike the vast majority of mankind, but I sure as hell don't want to spend all my time trying to block all this crap. You might as well tell everybody to develop all their own software. Do you really think anyone who can't write a regex should be stuck seeing ads?

      I agree, though, that ISPs shouldn't be involved in deciding what content you receive. After all, aside from the slippery slope, there may be some perverted individual who loves ads.

      --
      -- sudon't

      Air-ride Equipped

    8. Re:His viewpoint is staggeringly ignorant by AFCArchvile · · Score: 1

      The psychological predatorial practices are exactly why we need the US equivalent of an "Advertising Standards Authority". It's a better alternative than "cutting out all ads", though the likes of Boris and Martin will still wail in horror at the very idea of ads being regulated. But we're already at the point where most ads have crossed the line of decency. Which is why I already took steps on my side, and blocked out almost all Javascript (but not necessarily targeting ads; there's a notable difference there).

      That said, I think there's going to be a crash in websites once this ad ridiculousness reaches some sort of threshold. I don't know what it will look like, but I'm guessing it will be something out of Idiocracy.

      --
      "Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
  4. As a psychologist by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

    In other news, a psychologist said that idblockers are amoral.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    1. Re:As a psychologist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Source? You are a LIAR!!!!

    2. Re:As a psychologist by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welp, you made my day. Good on ya

  5. Which European carriers are these? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Last time I was in Europe each country had multiple carriers, and very few carriers operated in more than one or just a few countries. So which carriers are we talking about here?

    1. Re:Which European carriers are these? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Either Vodafone or T-Mobile, those are the ones that go in multiple countries by the same name. Ignoring al the others that operate under different names in different countries.

  6. Keep the ads simple by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the ads were not obnoxious, I would not block them. Anything ad above about 6kb or that takes the full screen is obnoxious in my opinion.

  7. Time delayed video and audio ads by maliqua · · Score: 5, Insightful

    are the reason i started using ad blockers, i will continue to do so until i'm confident the web has removed 100% of these

    1. Re:Time delayed video and audio ads by Selur · · Score: 1

      for me it were those animated flash ads, which sometimes overlay stuff or simply build an animated border around a page

    2. Re:Time delayed video and audio ads by frankenpc510 · · Score: 1

      Agree. I was 100% OK with passive ad banners on sites until the video/audio ads started. I can't abide by those. Executing javascript is a whole order of magnitude worse than that. Ad blockers (and Privacy Badger) weren't created because people don't want to see a GIF banner.

  8. What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There is no right to make a profit. http protocol is displayed by a backend interpretation. I can do what I want with the data I fetch.

    In addition I want the concept of ad revenue generated content to die.

    1. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Agreed.

      I remember the first usenet spam, long before the web existed. I also remember the 10 years before that spam, when the internet was ad-free.

      It was much better. I'd like to return to those days. So if this clown and all his "ad-fueled click-bait" content were to up and disappear tomorrow, I would not shed a tear. The actual useful content will continue to exist. I'm even willing to directly kick a few dollars to my favorite small-time interest-specific sites I read.

      But ads and the masses of "here's page 1, click through our 200 word story spread out over the next 50 pages to bump our page impressions" shit? No. They need to die.

    2. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      There is no right to make a profit.

      And you have no right to someone else's hard work while ignoring the terms under which they're offering it to you.

      In addition I want the concept of ad revenue generated content to die.

      What color unicorn ponies would like, to go with your new information economy that does everything for you for free? Or are you just expecting people to run datacenters for free, so that it doesn't cost your favorite content people anything (except their own time, and the cost to produce the content you want) to host the servers you want to access? Do you really want every web site that isn't being run by a foundation (which you're hoping OTHER people will fund), someone's tax dollars (not yours, obviously), and high-overhead subscription transactions, to go away? How about this: since you don't care about those web sites, you don't have to visit them and the whole issue goes away. I'm sure you can find an army of like-minded people who produce and fund the delivery of everything you want at no cost to you. Have fun with that.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    3. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdotters - the least desireable demographic for businessmen everywhere.

      "STFU and give me free stuff, and I've got plenty of things to do so it had better be worthwhile this time!!!"

    4. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      And you have no right to someone else's hard work while ignoring the terms under which they're offering it to you.

      So arrest me.

    5. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      So arrest me.

      Just pointing out that you're a whiny douchebag leach, and a hypocrite. You're the one who has to live with yourself. Everyone else just has to work a little harder to make up for your sense of entitlement, that's all. Please don't vote or reproduce. Thanks.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    6. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by DogDude · · Score: 1

      Oh, and here are the "terms" for getting information from a web server: HTTP. I can do whatever I want with the data. Thank god, the web is not structured in a way that requires "terms" to request a document from a web server. What you're describing was attempted by a few companies called "Compuserve" and "AOL".

      Dude, web hosting is like $5.month. Setting up a web site and typing some shit isn't all that complicated or expensive. You can just run a web site on any old PC, too. If you need a fortune to run a web site, then maybe you should get into another line of work...

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    7. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In addition I want the concept of ad revenue generated content to die.

      You do realize advertising makes the world far far more afforable, right?

      If you were to instantly remove all advertising from the world, right now, the amount of money you would pay for EVERYTHING would be considerably higher.
      Food suppliers would now be banned from advertising themselves to restaurants, meaning less food suppliers, meaning less restaurants and higher prices.
      That computer you have there? Holy SHIT you don't even know. Good luck paying for it with that job you have. Through the roof.
      Car? ahahaha.
      Medical? You're already dead.

      Yes. These all class as content at all levels.

    8. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      Just pointing out that you're a whiny douchebag leach, and a hypocrite

      Not a hypocrite, but an opportunist. And I don't whine.

      Everyone else just has to work a little harder to make up for your sense of entitlement

      I don't feel entitled. I'm well aware that all ad-supported content could disappear tomorrow, and if that happens, I won't complain. But please work as hard as you can, and watch all the ads for me. Thanks. Your sacrifice won't be forgotten.

    9. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      So, when you watch an ad for Pepsi do you go out and buy some, even if you prefer Coca-Cola ? I mean, PepsiCo just paid for the ad, and if you don't buy their products, then you're a leach too. Everyone else now has to buy a little more Pepsi products to make up for your sense of entitlement.

    10. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Setting up a web site and typing some shit isn't all that complicated or expensive.

      Really. That's what you think is involved in running a business? In producing enough content for the people who do so to actually earn a living? Nobody's entitled to a living, but that doesn't mean you should deliberately kid yourself that the overhead involved in running a high profile web presence is ... $5.

      You can just run a web site on any old PC, too.

      Really? I run web sites. For a living. One of them involves two rack cabinets full of equipment, and more that's mirrored a thousand miles away. There are about 40 servers involved (some physical, some virtual), redundant storage, physical security, substantial redundant power and network operations, and people involved who absolutely do not want the back end databases to live on "the cloud" or operate in a massive multi-tenant platform like AWS or Azure. Let me guess ... you think that all probably costs something really high, like $20 a month, right?

      And no, a browser/server protocol like HTTP doesn't trump copyright considerations, trademarks, or other terms of use. Just like the protocol for opening the door to a retail store ("push, with hand, walk in") doesn't grant you license to walk out with whatever you like once you've done so.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    11. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      What the hell are you talking about? The mutual decision by Pepsi and the web site's operator to include some of Pepsi's material doesn't obligate you in any way to buy Pepsi products. If Pepsi does, or doesn't sell some more of their products because of their ad, that's a matter for their internal marketing people to weigh and live with. But the person who runs the ad-carrying web site has already completed their business with Pepsi. Not that you don't already understand this (surely), and you're just trolling. Not sure who you think you're fooling, really.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    12. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      What is the difference between not watching a Pepsi ad, and watching it, but not responding to it ?

      Given the choice, Pepsi would probably prefer that you didn't watch the ad, because it saves them from having to pay out money.

      On the other hand, if I buy Pepsi products, and don't watch the ad, that's even better. I still contribute to the advertising money with my purchase, but I don't incur any cost for them.

    13. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      And no, a browser/server protocol like HTTP doesn't trump copyright considerations, trademarks, or other terms of use.

      If you feel that I'm violating your rights by skipping ads, I guess I'll see you in court.

    14. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      If you feel that I'm violating your rights by skipping ads, I guess I'll see you in court.

      Not worth the trouble. But it is worth pointing out that you're a whiny leech. In my experience, people who conduct themselves that way in one area do so in other areas, as well. Which is why this sort of thing especially matters. People with a sense of entitlement tend to want others to do everything for them, not just create and host web content. I can tell you're one of those people.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    15. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Just with other things on which you're commenting, it's clear you've never actually been party to any sort of actual, real business activity.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    16. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      So - shut up and get to work. BTW - WTF have you produced that I might be interested in? Anything? Gimme a link, and I'll tell you what I think it is worth.

      Oh - the voting and reproducing? Please don't. Your attitude need not be passed on. YOU are the one with a sense of entitlement.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    17. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      Funny, I run my own business.

    18. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      I may be a leech, but I'm not whiny or entitled.

      People with a sense of entitlement tend to want others to do everything for them

      Not really, no. I actually prefer to do things myself whenever I can. But fantasize away, if that makes you feel better.

    19. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Funny, I run my own business.

      Hilarious.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    20. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      So - shut up and get to work. BTW - WTF have you produced that I might be interested in? Anything? Gimme a link, and I'll tell you what I think it is worth.

      If I thought you were part of my audience, or (more importantly, for me) the audience that my clients' customers intend to cultivate, and you weren't already aware of their content, products, or services, then I'd have something to think about. This isn't the venue for that, even if you were the slightest bit sincere.

      Your attitude need not be passed on. YOU are the one with a sense of entitlement.

      What? I'm the who foots the bill if I want something, want to risk resources to make something, or make poor choices. The people with whom I'm debating here want what I and/or my clients do for free, but also think that the source of money that provides it to them should be cut off, all because they think - among other things - that it costs "$5 to run a web site." It's possible you don't actually know what "entitled" means, especially in this context.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    21. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      . . . clients . . . customers . . . cultivate . . .

      So, it appears that you are just one link in the chain intended to bind "consumers" into acting as you wish them to act - that is, to provide you with ever more money.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    22. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      I'm glad you like it. So, we're both having a good laugh.

    23. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by itzly · · Score: 1

      The people with whom I'm debating here want what I and/or my clients do for free

      Not at all. Go ahead and put everything behind a paywall. If it's serious information I need, I'll pay for it.

    24. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      So, it appears that you are just one link in the chain intended to bind "consumers" into acting as you wish them to act - that is, to provide you with ever more money.

      Since you don't actually do anything for a living, how do you bind other people into being your slaves and giving you food, housing, and the rest? Genuinely curious. Please be specific.

      In the meantime, what is your specific problem with someone playing the roll of tending to the hosting environment that supports other people's web sites? You seem to think it's sinister to charge people for the professional service of managing that part of their IT landscape ... but if everyone did it for themselves (exactly the same thing, and paid for it in having less time to do other things, instead), then that would be noble, and OK with you? Right.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    25. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      And if I don't? If I find it's a far simpler business model to just let everyone wander up, and use (or ignore) web content without having to handle account management and transaction fees (and fraud, etc) per visitor, and just deal instead with a much smaller universe of ad agencies to fund the site ... so? All you have to do is walk away. You don't have to see it. You don't have to care about it, and you don't have to wish that it would die. You can just stick with the web sites you prefer. Still not clear on what your problem is with that.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    26. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Well - open mouth, insert foot. How does it taste?

      I've been working for a living for more than forty years now. Real work, too, not sitting on my ass, playing mind games, and expecting working people to support me. I don't do a day's work, or a week's work, or even a year's worth of work, then collect wages for the rest of my life.

      As I said earlier, you are the one with the entitlement issues.

      "playing the roll" as you put it. On the one hand, you seem to suggest that anyone can do it, if they just spend the time - on the other hand, you seem to think that it's a major industry, deserving of high wages. You're confusing me, which is it?

      Are you an advertiser, or do you work for advertising, or are you a web designer, an IT guy, or what? What is your stake in this issue?

      I'll tell you flat out, I have nothing but contempt for the advertising industry as a whole, with even greater contempt for those portions of the industry responsible for all this invasive advertising.

      Advertising presumes to have some kind of ownership over the web, and it presumes to have some authority over how the web should be regulated. Presumptuous cocksuckers are deserving of no respect whatsoever.

      Always remember - business - ALL BUSINESSES - exist on sufference. The public tolerates a busienss so long as that business benefits the public more than it pisses the public off. When you overstep your bounds, you WILL be put out of business.

      IMHO, you have overstepped your bounds. Keep watching, and wait for it. More and more people are beginning to think like me. The evidence is available in the download counts for all the ad blockers.

      Keep running at the mouth - you cannot justify the worthless shit being forced on the people who finance the web - the very customers that the advertisers are milking.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    27. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by gnupun · · Score: 1

      I mean, PepsiCo just paid for the ad, and if you don't buy their products, then you're a leach too.

      Funny, I run my own business.

      The above two statements made by you don't make sense. Even a non-business person knows how ads work. Surely a businessman would know exactly how they work unless your business is just a hobby, not making much income.

    28. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by rsborg · · Score: 1

      There is no right to make a profit. http protocol is displayed by a backend interpretation. I can do what I want with the data I fetch.

      In addition I want the concept of ad revenue generated content to die.

      Well then you better be concerned because according to TFA, they're going after ad networks but not ads within social networks. How logical is that? All this means is that Google's monopoly will be diverted to Facebook, and the same shit continues, except Zuck gets all the $$.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    29. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Twinbee · · Score: 1

      Even though I don't block ads personally, I think I understand where he's coming from. Basically, he thinks he's not affected by advertising, so showing him ads is a waste of the publisher's/advertiser's money. Indeed, logically if that's true, then it is a waste of resources showing that advert to him, and obviously it's bad for him too, so lose-lose.

      Indeed it could be argued that only 'less techie' people respond to ads, and that 'intelligent' people aren't vulnerable to them. I don't 100% agree with that notion, though I can sympathize with those who think that way.

      --
      Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
    30. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, no! You're supposed to be a passive consumer. You are not supposed to have any preferences except those given to you.

      Note the sarcasm.

      Regardless of how you feel about advertising you have to admit that it's a "push" i.e. you get the garbage that they feed you.

      Of course, everyone is talking "customer engagement" these days in an effort to improve the quality of the garbage but frankly that's the last thing I want.

      I don't want to be "engaged".

      I want my vendors to provide the serivce or product that I purchased with a minimum use of my time.

      I have so many things I'd rather be doing than filling in forms and answering surveys for my presumptive 'friends'.

      I don't want to be your 'friend'.

      I want you to do a job without requiring constant supervision..

    31. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by bhagwad · · Score: 1

      Ads pay for my web hosting. Everyone wins. I win, the readers of my blog win, and the advertisers win. What's the problem here?

    32. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      What HTTP does is ask the server for a web page. The server can then do whatever with the request, the most common reaction being to supply it. This means there's no copyright considerations, trademarks, or other terms of use. In real life, if you're a copyright holder I can ask you for a copy of the material, and you can give it to me or not, as you please (in my experience, offering money makes people more willing to give me copyrighted stuff).

      If a retail store is open, I have implicit permission to walk in and look at things all I like. If a server is accepting HTTP requests, I can presumably look at things there. If the server has some restrictions on HTTP requests it responds to, that's cool, but most don't.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    33. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Windwraith · · Score: 1

      I don't think it has anything to do with intelligence, but personal needs and values.

      Say if I see an advertising for a delicious snack when I am hungry I might consider trying it out next time I am buying my groceries, but if you advertise a car, I'm not going to give a damn or even pay attention.

      The problem is that 99% of internet ads are for things that are either expensive, not available in your country, or mere noise. I am not going to buy server space just because some little ad told me to when I have no use for it. And absolutely no single ad I've seen on the internet offers me a product I can just go buy at my supermarket/store/city in general.
      Summer is almost here, where are ads for soft drinks, ice cream, sunblock, clothes and assorted things? All ads I see right now are offering me cloud services or telling me that I can win a free something I don't really want if I click there. They also look dubious most of the time.

      So, yes, I don't see any correlation with intelligence about not being influenced by internet ads. Few internet ads offer anything of immediate value or importance, and it doesn't really get you to know new brands or products. In other words, it's pretty much useless noise few people has interest into.

      When was the last time you learned of something you liked through an internet ad? After a couple decades of internet usage I haven't found a single thing. Not to mention TV ads are far more interesting, showing products you can buy locally and using catchy jingles and other tricks which make them far more endearing than "shoot monkey to win iphone" or "download free emoticons!"

      In fact, where are the stablished brands? Where are the ads for music, food, videogames and such? Not even in related sites I can find anything like that, just...server space. I am not even a webdev for crying out loud.

    34. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Morgon · · Score: 1

      The focus of the discussion is on the website/content provider you're visiting. From that point of view, the difference between you not allowing the Pepsi ad (via adblock) and you allowing it and not responding to it is HUGE.

      Pepsi - and the vast majority of advertisers -are simply paying to get their message out. By allowing the ad, you allow the website to count that as an ad impression, which collectively fulfills whatever business agreement they have with Pepsi (or their ad broker).

      Since your responses seem to favor the small picture: Once the ad impression happens, your 'obligations' (for lack of a better term) as the visitor to the website are done. Whether you care about Pepsi's side of things is completely up to you. Most website owners would, to a small degree (ensuring that the ads are effective enough for them to keep paying out), but anyone that requires resources beyond a simple shared-hosting Wordpress blog just want to ensure their monthly hosting bills can be paid (not to mention any contributors, depending on the nature of the website).

      The concept is really, really easy to understand once you let go of the notion that you're the center of the universe.

      --
      [DISCLAIMER: This post is a work of satire and should not be misconstrued as a holy text upon which to base a religion.]
    35. Re:What if I want the ad fueled web to die? by Morgon · · Score: 1

      Are you aware there are more types of websites than the random rants of someone on a Wordpress blog? Right now, as you read this, there are hundreds of thousands of websites out there that are neither backed by corporate interests (who can write off their expenses as a cost of doing business), nor small enough to be hosted within the confines of "$5" platforms.

      It's a big world out there. One size does not fit all.

      --
      [DISCLAIMER: This post is a work of satire and should not be misconstrued as a holy text upon which to base a religion.]
  9. Add that to the growing list by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

    Add that to the growing list of things surrounding marketing that are immoral. As immoral as it may be though, it's also very obtuse, self-serving, and irresponsible.

  10. Third party tracking is immoral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ad blockers should be called third-party tracking blockers. That kind of stuff is immoral.

  11. Keep calling me a "consumer" by Fruit · · Score: 4, Insightful

    and I'll keep blocking your ads.

    1. Re:Keep calling me a "consumer" by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      Damn straight.

      When did "customer" become "consumer"?

      --
      Eat the rich.
    2. Re:Keep calling me a "consumer" by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      Keep calling me a consumer and I'll keep blocking your ads

      So you're not consuming their content? If you're their "customer" instead, are you writing them a check every month to help defray their hosting and content creation costs? No. Their customers are the people who pay them (advertisers), and you are a consumer of the content that's presented.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    3. Re:Keep calling me a "consumer" by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      When did "customer" become "consumer"?

      It didn't. You're just oddly confused (or pretending to be) over who is consuming a web site's content, and who is writing checks to the web site's operator. If you just visit and slurp up content, you're consuming that content. If you're doing business with that web site's operator (say, buying some ad space from them), you're a customer. You know, the one who foots the bill for the service you in turn get.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    4. Re:Keep calling me a "consumer" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When did "customer" become "consumer"?

      When they stopped paying up front for the content.

    5. Re:Keep calling me a "consumer" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If he had said "customer" then his statement would have been even more obviously false and ridiculous. The people who would use a service provider that blocks these ads are clearly customers who want that particular feature. The word "consumer" was used because if is more disconnected and abstract. Considering people who would use this service to be customers makes it blatantly obvious that this fellow is lying. People want ad blocking. If people want web pages and services then those things will flourish if allowed. They just may not be as commercialized or overrun with fleas in suits.

    6. Re:Keep calling me a "consumer" by taustin · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If the service is free - and ad supported web sites generally are - you're not the customer, you're the product.

  12. Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Culture20 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ad networks have lately been the largest vector for remote exploits. Some very ordinary and mainstream websites have been using ad networks that offer up images/flash with embedded exploits. I will block all ad networks due to this. You want to provide ads? Download the ads locally, vet and display them from your own server like we used to do in the good ol' days of the web. Then I can't block them.

    Using an ad network as a webmaster is laziness and immoral.

    1. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by tepples · · Score: 1

      You want to provide ads? Download the ads locally, vet and display them from your own server like we used to do in the good ol' days of the web.

      How would you recommend that a small web site attract advertisers under this sort of model?

    2. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by itzly · · Score: 1

      Small web sites don't cost a lot to host. Maybe just pay for it yourself ?

    3. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      This is exactly the model newspapers and magazines use. TV and radio also use it when they aren't rebroadcasting national broadcast as a local affiliate. These media, no matter how small the companies involved, seem to have a way to communicate with advertisers. This is also the way we did web business 20 years ago. One of my jobs as a webmaster back then was to switch banner ads with a directory of images from the graphics guy. Five seconds with a script, complete with image renames. Easily automate-able. Of course vetting the images for security vulnerabilities might take slightly longer these days. Might be easier to process and resave them with imagemagick than run them through various security software (as long as imagemagick doesn't have a known exploit).

    4. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by gnupun · · Score: 1

      Maybe just pay for it yourself ?

      Right, but what about the profit that you used to get from ads? Or do you think websites are created and operated for charity? Many sites would not exist if its creators couldn't monetize it from google ads or some other ad network.

    5. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      Ad networks have lately been the largest vector for remote exploits. Some very ordinary and mainstream websites have been using ad networks that offer up images/flash with embedded exploits. I will block all ad networks due to this.

      Especially ordinary and mainstream sites. Too many people think that viruses come from porn sites and stuff like that.. Worst virus I ever got on a Windows machine was from a site about comparing garage door openers.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    6. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or do you think websites are created and operated for charity?

      The good ones are.

    7. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by gnupun · · Score: 1

      Even wikipedia rakes in millions more than it needs from donations to operate. No one works for free, except the good and the suckers.

    8. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by DogDude · · Score: 1

      Many sites would not exist if its creators couldn't monetize it from google ads or some other ad network.

      So what? Fuck 'em. Those aren't sites that I, at least, am interested in seeing. If you have to get *paid* to write something interesting or informative, then fuck you. I'll pay for people to do actual work (journalists).

      --
      I don't respond to AC's.
    9. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Small web sites don't cost a lot to host. Maybe just pay for it yourself ?

      Such a great idea. Your ISP probably provides hosting as part of your service. You can get a website with virtually unlimited bandwidth, CGI, and database with more storage than you're likely to need for $5/month. If you really think you've got something to contribute, hosting is not a barrier. If you think you have something people are willing to pay to hear or see, you're probably wrong. The fact that it's more effort for most people to figure out how to block ads than to ignore them does not mean they're happy to support your delusion.

    10. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by gnupun · · Score: 1

      Those aren't sites that I, at least, am interested in seeing.

      So don't see them. You can't infringe on other people's freedom and right to make money off their work. The problem is your kind is hypocritical: you complain you don't like ads and you complain you don't like sites with ads. And then you right ahead and visit those sites when want or need their information, except you don't to pay for the content by viewing ads -- it's practically shoplifting.

      Maybe google should place a little icon (for eg: "AS" meaning ad-supported) next to links stating the site is ad-supported, so users who don't like ads need not click the link to view the site.

    11. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by itzly · · Score: 1

      Many sites would not exist if its creators couldn't monetize it from google ads or some other ad network.

      I would stop visiting many sites if they had annoying ads that I couldn't block. Either way, they're fucked, right ?

    12. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by itzly · · Score: 1

      the problem is your kind is hypocritical

      You keep using that word, I don't think it means what you think it means. The word you're looking for is opportunist.

    13. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is only one small business that I know that uses advertisments. Other businesses do not use advertisment services. As itzly alluded to, small web sites don't need a large revenue. Some of my favorite art galleries rely on donations and their online store for funds instead of banner and flash advertisements. This art gallery pays about one thousand Euros every three months to cover the cost of hosting the site. Creating an account is free. I remember creating one account when I was 16. I didn't need to use a prepaid debit card.

    14. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by itzly · · Score: 2

      Such a great idea. Your ISP probably provides hosting as part of your service. You can get a website with virtually unlimited bandwidth, CGI, and database with more storage than you're likely to need for $5/month.

      My ISP allows me to run a server at home. The bandwidth is limited to 5.5 Mbps upstream, but it's not capped, and I can run everything I want. It's not $5 a month, but $40. Even for hosting a small hobby/personal blog, that's not that much money. I know plenty of people who spend more on cigarettes or their dog.

      I can also upload stuff on the ISP server, which much higher bandwidth, no caps, but I don't think I can run databases or CGI. Still, I could put static pages and images there.

    15. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And they are doing it without ads. But I believe the discussion was about small sites. Among those, the good ones are usually made by people with a passion for some topic. They aren't doing it for the money.

    16. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Runaway1956 · · Score: 1

      Funny thing - despite the fact that I don't see a single ad on your website, I'm not "infringing" upon your ability to milk the advertisers of revenue. So, you missed out on .003 cents because I blocked the ads. The millions of sheeples who didn't block your ads still gave you a nice payday, didn't they?

      You can call it shoplifting if/when I figure out how to intercept those people clicking your ads. When I actually cash a check paying for those millions of clicks, thereby preventing you from cashing the same check, then you can whine, snivel, and cry about me depriving you of income.

      Of course, at that point in time, I will have the cash necessary to retain some shyster lawyer, and you'll be up shit creek without a paddle, LMAO!

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
    17. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by sjames · · Score: 1

      If that's the only model available to advertisers, they will accept it.

      Ad companies have had the chance from day 1 to make sure they don't serve malware (and to take responsability if they do), don't serve seizure inducing ads, and don't tag people like bears to track them, but they have failed to do so. The one time they said they would make concessions on tracking, they promptly reneged when they saw how many people set DNT.

      Big surprise, behave like an ass all the time and nobody wants to hang out with you.

    18. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You want to provide ads? Download the ads locally, vet and display them from your own server like we used to do in the good ol' days of the web.

      How would you recommend that a small web site attract advertisers under this sort of model?

      Depends, are you primarily an advertising platform which only generates content to get viewers, or are you a useful source of content that happens to seek ad dollars? In the first case, F off and die. If you are in the latter... Disclosed product placement. See penny-arcade for an example of how to do it right once they finally got control of their brand. Short version: They get free shit they like and give it away (or not) and they make the art for the ads they serve. No ad network needed.

      99% of web sites have hosting costs of under $20/yr and "make" under $20 a YEAR in ads (usually $0), so I'd suggest that you don't advertise at all. Some people get ripped off, so I suggest they find a better provider. If you are just looking for nickels, do Amazon referral links or youtube channel ads instead.

      Let's suppose I run an aquarium related web site. It's an amazing site that tens of thousands of people check out every day for some reason, and I've outgrown my $1/mo hosting plan and need to pony up $10/mo. Oh. My. God. $10 /month! Where will I get it? Or my webcam is dying and I can't update my pic of the day anymore if it fails. What would I do? I'd point to the tens of thousands of hits a day I get, showing them a copy of my provider's logs to verify it, numerous third party link references as me having the "Wrasse Cleaning Station of the Year Webcam!" award from Salty Parasite magazine and ask Logitech/Axis/Etc if they have a new model they'd like to send me, and put a disclosure/thanks to them in a caption under it with the model number, maybe an amazon referral link too. They'll all jump at a chance to get a million "impressions" a year for a $100 webcam. If I have a great site, I can probably get another hosting provider to host it for free in exchange for a "hosted by these guys" link.

      I'm sure aquarium bubbler makers or filter vendors have similar options. Might even get a new tank out of it if you have a quality site - turn your expensive hobby into a $0 cost hobby - your labor is a sunk cost either way. But if you are an advertiser who hates aquariums, then you need to hire an aquarium guy, it gets expensive, and you need more ads and complex systems and.. you are not an aquarium site, you are an ad network and can F off.

      If I had something completely unmonetizable directly, like say, philosophy related stuff, I'd just put a beggar link to an amazon wishlist, or a request for tax-deductible donations to be made in my name to charities X, Y and Z. I can then get that as a deduction to offset my hosting costs.

      Now, if all YOU have is a shitty link farm that is a bad version of craigslist or whatever, then you don't have a real site with genuinely useful /entertaining content, so no, they rightfully don't care about you. You don't have a real site. Get a real site and try again. Bill boards in the everglades accessible only by airboat don't get premium ad bucks either.

    19. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How would you recommend that a small web site attract advertisers under this sort of model?

      Sounds a lot like "not my problem". You don't have a right to make money the way you want it.

      I don't care how you make your money, if you want to run arbitrary code on my computer you will have to pay me for it or at least make sure that a third party that I trust have verified the code to be non-malicious.
      If you can't do you thing under those circumstances then that is your problem, not mine.
      If you want me to care, a good start would be to not call me immoral.

    20. Re:Ad networks that "hack" are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Depending on where you live you have a different situation.
      I pay about $36 for 30Mbps uncapped upstream with a similar deal regarding servers.
      Covering the costs is a non-issue. If the userbase becomes large enough to be a problem then a $0.99 subscription fee will be more than enough.
      The time when it starts to become a problem is when you set up unrealistic profit goals.

  13. And I don't give a fuck about that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Being immoral is cool, that's why I use ad-blocking software. And if you lose your job, I don't give a shit either. I want the WWW of the early '90s back: anarchist, unregulated, capitalism-free.

    1. Re:And I don't give a fuck about that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Me too. I don't give the slightest fuck about any companies or services on the Net that live off advertisement. If they perish because they don't have a viable business model, that's totally fine for me.

  14. Tab Closed; Didn't Read by tepples · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Customers hate them so much that one person started a blog called Tab Closed; Didn't Read highlighting the worst offenders. This has inspired a hashtag #tcdr in microblog posts like this.

    1. Re:Tab Closed; Didn't Read by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When confronted with a screen covering piece of crap like that you can always right-click on the offending part, select 'Inspect element' (In Chrome), wait for the Developer Tools to show up and hit DELETE. And read on. Especially handy when facing the kind that doesn't offer a nice 'close' button in the UI.

  15. "Sinners" calling others "Immoral" by l0ungeb0y · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web. Cut them out and you're strangling the diversity of online voices and publishers – and I don't think consumers really want that."

    So for all their sins, which include abuses such as embedding malware, unlawful tracking and spying as well as browse hijacking, plus the sheer annoyance of embedded video and flashing content -- the users who have opted out by installing Ad Blockers are the immoral ones. Then again -- rapists often blame their victims.

    1. Re:"Sinners" calling others "Immoral" by MrL0G1C · · Score: 1

      Indeed, I don't block ads, I use Ghostery to stop all of the corporate stalking, if ads are collateral damage then so be it.

      --
      Waterfox - a Firefox fork with legacy extension support, security updates and better privacy by default.
    2. Re:"Sinners" calling others "Immoral" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So for all their sins, which include abuses such as embedding malware, unlawful tracking and spying as well as browse hijacking, plus the sheer annoyance of embedded video and flashing content -- the users who have opted out by installing Ad Blockers are the immoral ones.

      Hm. I failed to set up working flash & video playback on this linux machine. Can't get porn or youtube. Can't get video ads even if I wanted them - am I immoral now?

    3. Re:"Sinners" calling others "Immoral" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can Ghostery do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

      1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
      2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
      3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
      4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
      5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
      6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
      7.) Protect vs. trackers
      8.) Protect vs. spam
      9.) Protect vs. phishing
      10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
      11.) Get you past a dnsbl
      12.) Keep you off dns request logs
      13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
      14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
      15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
      16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

      * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on Ghostery doing it as well or at all!

      APK

      P.S.=> Ghostery does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

      Ghostery (Advertiser owned) - "Fox guards henhouse" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...

      Ghostery adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

      For the BEST hosts file?

      APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

      MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

      ... apk

  16. Ads that assault my computer are immoral by Qzukk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ad blockers would not have been necessary if we didn't have ad networks distributing malware.

    --
    If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    1. Re:Ads that assault my computer are immoral by houghi · · Score: 1

      It started much sooner. Before Internet there were ads. The differende we now have the ability to block them. This was not possible before with billboards and other media.

      Yes, you could go to the kitchen when adds came on tv. You could change the channel when they came on on the radio. Now we have t he ability to really block them.

      The reason this is done is because people do not want them. I do not want them on the Internet. I do not want them on TV. I do not want them in the streets. I do not want them on my clothes, not on my car, not on anything.

      I ... DO ... NOT ... WANT ... ADS.

      "but then companies won't be able to do this and that." So? That does not change the fact that i do not want them.

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  17. Immoral? by Razed+By+TV · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The war began in earnest when ads became intrusive and disruptive.

    I appreciate that someone has to pay for all of the sites that I visit for free. Some are payed entirely out of pocket, a labor of love by the host. And some are fueled by ad revenue. But those that utilize pop-ups, pop-unders, full screen ads, ads that autoplay voice and sound, malicious ads with fake security warnings and fake buttons... I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about denying ad revenue to those sites.

    1. Re:Immoral? by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      Some are payed entirely out of pocket, a labor of love by the host.

      And it's cheap. Like, I've never had a webpage the gets hundreds of thousands of visitors, but it seems like the costs of hosting are really low even in that case. Of course, I would love to know if I'm really offbase.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
  18. I am not against advertisement. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    What I am against is the current advertisement industry.

    Why do 30 other domains need to know that I visit a site?
    Why is profit before security? My security.
    Why is there no accountability when malicious is software distributed by the ad networks?
    Why are you ruining my browsing experience?

    And last but not least: ad-networks: why do you think I am a women in my 30s? Please don't show me another tampax or chanel commercial again.

    1. Re:I am not against advertisement. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      1) Money
      2) Money
      3) Because you don't own politicians
      4) Money

      5) The "Ellen fanclub" page in your favorites file gave it the impression.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  19. He has a point by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If web sites can't find a way to pay for the content and hosting then they eventually will go away. The consensus on /. seems to be "paywalls and ads are bad and screw those that use them I have a right to ad free and free access to content..." The problem isn't so much ads as the intrusive nature of some and their increasing use as malware delivery mechanisms. pop ups, self starting, animated ads are a real nuisance and worthy of blocking, as are tracking cookies etc. The advertising industry needs to find a way around that that doesn't annoy users because, while ad blocking users are probably a small fraction of all users currently, as things get worse more and more users will block ads. Whisk they are at it, they need to fix the problem that if I do see an ad I am interested in if I leave the page and come back the ad is no longer there.

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    1. Re:He has a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Case in point: It took me three tries to load the Slashdot (front) page that linked to this story because the video ads on that page crashed my Chrome browser twice.

    2. Re:He has a point by aaaaaaargh! · · Score: 1

      If web sites can't find a way to pay for the content and hosting then they eventually will go away.

      No problem for me. They can all go to hell, as far as I'm concerned. The web did just fine without them.

    3. Re:He has a point by taustin · · Score: 1

      If web sites can't find a way to pay for the content and hosting then they eventually will go away.

      Since the overwhelming majority of the web is useless trash, that would be called "improving the signal to noise ratio."

    4. Re:He has a point by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      First of all, there were web pages before the onset of ads. There are still big pages that can exist without ads. Some would perish, but I doubt that something we deem valuable would be unavailable for long. I could currently not think of a single page that I would honestly miss dearly should it perish due to a lack of ad revenue.

      Blocking ads is a rather recent development, and mostly due to increasingly obnoxious ads. Of course you had the hardcore anti-ad people who would block ads on principle, who went out of their way to block them, rewriting DNS entries in their servers and even developing their own page-manipulating plugins. But they were few. They existed for a long time and they hardly mattered.

      When it started to matter was when "normal" people started reaching for ad blockers, and they would not have done it if ads hadn't evolved into something that is SO obnoxious that people who accept ads in their TV shows. Can you remotely imagine how much you have to piss someone off to go out of his way to find a remedy who is used to having his TV series interrupted every 10 minutes for a 2 minute commercial break? How much you have to piss someone off who puts up with THIS?

      But the genie is out of the bottle now. The ad industry slaughtered the goose that lays the golden eggs. People are not going to uninstall their adblockers, even if the ads went back to a saner form.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    5. Re:He has a point by penguinoid · · Score: 1

      The consensus on /. seems to be "paywalls and ads are bad and screw those that use them I have a right to ad free and free access to content..."

      No, the consensus on /. is that paywalls for free content available elsewhere but linked to because some jerk wants to make money by inconveniencing us are bad. And ads that are intrusive, fraudulent, and/or malware-ridden (ie, the vast majority of them) are also bad. And content specifically written so as to maximize ad revenue (eg a short story spread over multiple pages, or click-baiting) is also trash.

      Basically, when someone is trying to screw us they won't be very popular.

      --
      Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  20. Click to play Flash by tepples · · Score: 1, Interesting

    How do I know the next ad rotation won't be a driveby?

    Because you've set the the Java applet and Flash Player plug-ins to "click to play" mode. It's sort of hard to catch a drive-by when you've disabled the tech through which drive-bys enter your machine. This used to be a separate extension called Flashblock, but browser publishers have recently started to incorporate this functionality directly into the browser. In Firefox, in Hamburger > Add-ons > Plugins, set "Shockwave Flash" to "Ask to Activate" instead of "Always Activate". This way, you can block Flash unless you're on Newgrounds, Kongregate, Dagobah, Albino Blacksheep, Weebl's Stuff, Homestar Runner, or one of the few other sites that legitimately need Flash functionality.

    1. Re: Click to play Flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Doesn't work. Most ads these days use HTML 5 (thanks Apple). And since browsers always have vulnerabilities (none has ever survived Pwn2own) you're left with blocking ads entirely if you want to remain safe.

    2. Re:Click to play Flash by sqlrob · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You're assuming the browser doesn't have vulnerabilities as well. Bad assumption.

    3. Re:Click to play Flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because you've set the the Java applet and Flash Player plug-ins to "click to play" mode.

      As if JavaScript was inherently safe. Browsers are adding more and more "web" APIs and better optimizations, the attack surface is growing. If you want "secure" then JavaScript has to join the others in "click to play" mode. Bonus: the most annoying adds are also silenced.

    4. Re:Click to play Flash by Hognoxious · · Score: 2

      > You're assuming the browser doesn't have vulnerabilities
      > as well

      I use lynx, you insensitive clod!

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    5. Re:Click to play Flash by The+MAZZTer · · Score: 1

      If you want "secure" then JavaScript has to join the others in "click to play" mode.

      Otherwise known as... an ad blocker!

    6. Re:Click to play Flash by sqlrob · · Score: 2
    7. Re:Click to play Flash by multimediavt · · Score: 1

      If you want "secure" then JavaScript has to join the others in "click to play" mode.

      Otherwise known as... an ad blocker!

      Actually, otherwise known as NoScript.

    8. Re:Click to play Flash by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      It's sort of hard to catch a drive-by when you've disabled the tech through which drive-bys enter your machine.

      Quoted for truth!

      And that's what the guy in TFS apparently doesn't get. The bottom line is that if you're sending me something I didn't explicitly ask for -- and at this point, all ads qualify -- then I am forced to assume that you are attacking my machine and will defend myself accordingly.

      If you want to advertize to me, you can put static text directly on the page (not text generated by Javascript, and not text served from a third-party domain). These are my terms; you can accept them or go fuck yourself.

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    9. Re:Click to play Flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Fortunately some site owners agree with you!

      See the counter argument presented at Sclog: http://www.sclog.org/story/2015/5/18/92223/8228/.

  21. Slashdotters should agree with that. by AqD · · Score: 2

    He has a point. Ads are used to support many free services such as hobbyist forums which would otherwise be unable to run.

    That being said, none of us here would be affected by banning of ad-blockers since we all know basic CSS and other ad-blocking techniques. We don't need it, and we can all benefit from others' lack of it.

    1. Re:Slashdotters should agree with that. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a hobbyist website (related to a game I backed at Kickstarter and now passionately play). No ads, free for the users.
      I pay for the hosting myself, because it is my hobby.

    2. Re:Slashdotters should agree with that. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A simple hosting account does not cost so much. Hobbyist forums are therefore not that expensive. If you are talking 1000's of visitors every day: Maybe you can collect the money necessary now and then from frequent users.

    3. Re:Slashdotters should agree with that. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      So... we let the 99% suffer so we can live in luxury?

      But hey, I'm an immoral, antisocial anti-ad person, what would I know about fairness?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    4. Re:Slashdotters should agree with that. by AqD · · Score: 1

      So... we let the 99% suffer so we can live in luxury?

      I'd definitely love that!

      But suffering would be an inappropriate term here. They're merely forced to watch ads while willingly visiting free websites which rely on ads income to keep running.

      We're just taking advantage of this inevitable situation.

    5. Re:Slashdotters should agree with that. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I've just recently seen what the web is like without adblockers. Trust me. Suffering IS the appropriate term!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    6. Re:Slashdotters should agree with that. by AqD · · Score: 1

      I know they don't like it, but they like the websites enough and decide the annoyance of ads is worth the pain.

      It's their choice. We should respect that!

  22. You're not a subscriber by tepples · · Score: 4, Insightful

    In addition I want the concept of ad revenue generated content to die.

    Slashdot is advertising-supported, and I can see that you aren't posting from a subscriber account. Would you prefer that Slashdot operated like Something Awful, requiring payment up front to see anything past the front page? If you read an article on 20 different web sites, good luck paying for 20 different $5 per month subscriptions.

    1. Re:You're not a subscriber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Before the concept of ads infested the internet, there were (arguably superior) discussion forums on the internet for everything from technology to cooking.

      Ads are not necessary for online discussion forums. Your premise is invalid.

    2. Re:You're not a subscriber by tepples · · Score: 1

      Before the concept of ads infested the internet, there were (arguably superior) discussion forums on the internet for everything from technology to cooking.

      And a lot of these were paywalled, such as the 30-year-old BBS The WELL (Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link) which is still in operation.

      Ads are not necessary for online discussion forums. Your premise is invalid.

      That was not my premise. My premise was that either ads or paywalls are necessary. Without a paywall, who would pay for the hosting of these forums?

    3. Re:You're not a subscriber by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      SA doesn't require payment to read the forums, up to a limited number of views, after which you will have to wait or pay a one-time fee for a login. If you want to participate, you'll have to pay, but you can read a lot of threads without logging in, before you're locked out temporarily.

      The forums also has the best revenue-generating feature ever: You can buy avatars and title text for other users, and it's obviously more expensive than changing your own.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    4. Re:You're not a subscriber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And a lot of these were paywalled, such as the 30-year-old BBS

      I wasn't talking BBSs, I was talking the 1980's internet. But even on BBSs, most that i remember were never paywalled. You'd just dial them up, and use them.

      Without a paywall, who would pay for the hosting of these forums?

      A text-only medium consumes very little bandwidth, even with tens or hundreds of thousands of users. Interest-specific sites would not be expensive to run over a compressed-text protocol without all the graphical ads infesting them. I, and others, would pay out of pocket to run our own such forums. Also, even today, I use ad-free creative commons sites for podcast and so on, and I contribute to those voluntarily using their donation buttons. They obtain voluntary donations from people who appreciate and enjoy their services. Does everyone contribute? Certainly not. But enough to keep them viable.

      The corporatized internet needs to die.

    5. Re:You're not a subscriber by tepples · · Score: 1

      SA doesn't require payment to read the forums

      It did when I checked. I clicked into one page and I got that video with audio stating that subscription is required. How long should I have waited?

    6. Re:You're not a subscriber by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      I think there's also a random factor involved. I remember when I was a lurker, there would periods of up to a week where I couldn't browse the forums, and then it would be open again for a while.

      Either way, it's only a $10 one-time fee. However I think the general forums aren't really worth it, and most of the specific ones are a bit so-so. The signal/noise-ratio in GBS in particular is horrendous, and most of the more specific forums tend to move rather slowly, but they're pretty good other than that.

      However, the automotive forums (Automotive Insanity and Cycle Asylum) are the best damn car/bike-related forums I have ever used. Very little bullshit, some very knowledgeable users (one guy is like a Jeep whisperer, he knows EVERYTHING about them), and interesting projects. There's no muscle car/import hate, no EV hate, no macho street race posturing etc., and there is absolutely no common thread in which cars/bikes are represented, apart from the fact they all have wheels (a couple may have tracks, though).

      --
      Eat the rich.
    7. Re:You're not a subscriber by Anna+Merikin · · Score: 1

      Last time I checked, internet banner ads were going for about $2.20 per thousand impressions (views). That means your loading a page with ten ads brings the site $0.022. Do that every day for a month and the revenue gained from advertisers for your visits is $0.66. This does not equal your stated $5 per month per site.

      Of course, the ad companies consolidate the bills and pay in one check, so collection costs are less than from individuals....

      Even so, some ad-free subscription sites (like The Well http://www.well.com/) seem to survive.

    8. Re:You're not a subscriber by gnupun · · Score: 1

      Do that every day for a month and the revenue gained from advertisers for your visits is $0.66. This does not equal your stated $5 per month per site.

      That's assuming you visit exactly ONE PAGE / day, which never happens. Suppose you visited 200 web pages / day with 2 ads / webpage:

      monthly ad cost = 200 x 2 x 30 x 2.2 / 1000 = $26.40

    9. Re:You're not a subscriber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In addition I want the concept of ad revenue generated content to die.

      Slashdot is advertising-supported, and I can see that you aren't posting from a subscriber account. Would you prefer that Slashdot operated like Something Awful, requiring payment up front to see anything past the front page? If you read an article on 20 different web sites, good luck paying for 20 different $5 per month subscriptions.

      you realize that Slashdot is just content aggregator?

    10. Re:You're not a subscriber by tepples · · Score: 1

      If a site's revenue is $0.66 per user per month, it might try to charge $4.95 for a month or $9.95 for a year. It would rationalize this deep discount with the collection costs you mentioned.

    11. Re:You're not a subscriber by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ads are not necessary for online discussion forums. Your premise is invalid.

      That was not my premise. My premise was that either ads or paywalls are necessary. Without a paywall, who would pay for the hosting of these forums?

      I pay to maintain my sites, including those with forums. I don't serve ads, certainly not 3rd party networked ads. I have friends that maintain their own sites without ads too/ You can do a "please donate" pledge drive too if you can't scratch together $40 to host a cheap site on godaddy or whoever for a year.

      Our secret? We don't have bloated ad tracking systems and flash banners on the site so the cost to host it is less than a month of premium coffee or cable tv. CNN's home page is way over 100k, without any news photos. People are interested in less than 1k of that as text. The other 99% is bloat to handle advertising. It's an anathema.

  23. Consumers want everything and want it for free. by west · · Score: 1

    For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web. Cut them out and you're strangling the diversity of online voices and publishers – and I don't think consumers really want that.

    Actually, consumers want everything, and they want it for free.

    Plus a pony.

    Consumers are going to go for the absolute cheapest venue right now, and then they're going to complain about the long-term consequences of their behavior. That's just how humans work.

    And producers are going to try to maximize the amount they make right now, and then they're going to complain about the long-term consequences of their behavior. That's just how humans work.

    Rather than complain about ad-blockers, we're just going to have to accept that much of the content we enjoy nowadays isn't sustainable when your audience is composed of human beings.

    1. Re:Consumers want everything and want it for free. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > Rather than complain about ad-blockers, we're just going to have to accept that much of the content we enjoy nowadays isn't sustainable when your audience is composed of human beings.

      The critical business models are those for one of the biggest bandwidth and viewing time applications on the planet: pornography The advertising on porn sites tend to be quite specific to the porn market, the advertising revenue helps sustain many smaller sites, and the website owners seem to realize that if the advertising is too badly published or too intrusive that the viewers will go elsewhere.

  24. I didn't block ads for a long time... by sirwired · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For many years, I didn't block ads, viewing them as a necessary part of all the free content on the internet. But starting with pages of animated ads that really slowed down browsers of old, and progressing to ads that play audio by default, ads that play video (with audio!) on even a momentary mouseover, etc.,, not to mention ads containing or linking to malicious content, I have no choice but to block them.

    1. Re:I didn't block ads for a long time... by Trogre · · Score: 1

      YouTube's inline videos is what did it for me.

      Nothing spoils a good playlist like a frickin Toyota ad before each video.

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  25. This article is heresy by Guy+From+V · · Score: 1

    The Church of the Invisible Hand's doctrine on annoying ads are that they are all manifestations of Xiombarg, god-queen of Chaos.

  26. A poorly made point, but still a point by dbrueck · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I hate ads, I use an ad blocker, but I'm posting because so far all of the comments have chastised sites for using ads, without providing an alternative.

    The summary has some truth when it says, "for all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web". It costs real money to host a website, it costs real money to run a website, it costs real money to produce the content for a website.

    So my question to all of those infuriated by those content producers who would "dare" to try to protect their ads is this: what viable alternative do you suggest? Ads work because (a) they generate revenue to cover all of those costs and (b) they don't require any sort of opt-in, and (c) apart from a few places where they are overdone, they generally don't get in the way of the content you're seeking.

    (a) is what helps the bulk of websites you frequent stay afloat, (b) is important because the websites don't have to spend considerable resources trying to get you to enter into some sort of financial arrangement with them, and (c) provides a bit of a standard so that a marketplace of ad buyers and sellers can exist.

    So again, if we were to get rid of ads, what would we replace them with? Paywalled sites don't get much love on /. so if that's your answer, I'd love to hear how you'd make them tolerable and how you'd get people to sign up.

    I hate ads, and I use an ad blocker, but I do so knowing full well I'm being somewhat of a hypocrite and that I'm also relying on the vast majority of people /not/ using an ad blocker, because if a lot more people starting using them then the economics for most websites would fall apart. I don't like ads, but I have to admit that in many ways they seem like the least bad option. It's seems that many people who scream about their "right" to not have ads are being disingenuous or ignorant or both.

    1. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by Z80a · · Score: 1

      Ads that don't try to install something like alureon on your machine?

    2. Re: A poorly made point, but still a point by lq_x_pl · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I feel like the overarching sentiment isn't hostile towards ads in general, but towards disruptive ad tech. Pop unders, pop ups, ads that cover the entire screen, ads that auto play videos or sounds. These ads make the 'internet experience' miserable. Ad blockers were created in response to those nuisances. This is an arms race started by advertisers. Yes, ads help keep sites running, but the internet is not just for ad distribution. When an ad seizes control of my browsing experience, or delivers malware (because the ad mechanism has facilitated exploitation), it has ceased to be 'the thing that pays for content' and become the central feature of the browsing experience. Website owners are welcome to run their websites like that, but I am also welcome to determine what data is welcome on my machine. Since we peasant consumers have no way of knowing, beforehand, what the ad delivery mechanism is going to be, the emergence and embrace of ad blockers is to be expected. These days, I will stop browsing a site immediately if the ads become annoying. I would not have clinked on the link in the first place if I knew ahead of time that I would be interrupted by a full-page antacid advert.

      --
      An internal system operation returned the error "The operation completed successfully.".
    3. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If a lot of sites suddenly went dark, people would complain but in the end, not enough that they would pay next time to prevent it from happening again. If NYT wants a paywall, let them do it. I'll go somewhere else for my news. If they all do it, I guess maybe I'll pay for one locally or just record the local news on TV. Does it really matter to me that I can read about a lady in Seattle that defrauded her landlord and she was arrested or a doctor in Dallas was committing insurance fraud? Nope.

      Maybe usenet will pick back up. It wouldn't bother me a bit.

    4. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by itzly · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So again, if we were to get rid of ads, what would we replace them with?

      Frankly, I don't give a shit. I'll continue to block the ads on my browser, and the content hosting company can figure out how to get their money.

    5. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by spauldo · · Score: 1

      What we're seeing here is akin to evolution.

      If you've been around for a while, you've seen how ads have gotten consistently worse since the beginning. Adblocking is a normal response.

      Remember, spam is a type of advertisement. You don't see very many people advocating it. Telemarketing is another. Hardly anyone cries about the do not call list.

      Google's approach (tracking aside) is the right one. Their ads generally don't bother people. Contrast that with the last few years of video ads (with sound!) or the "darken the page and load some stupid thing in the middle" thing that's getting so popular.

      Advertisers have to deal with the fact that being annoying is going to lose them customers. This is a good thing. Without people adblocking to keep them in check, the internet would be unusable.

      --
      Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach either, do tech support.
    6. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I first got on the internet commercial use wasn't allowed. Companies realized what a gold mine it was and lobbied hard to get on there and start selling. Now they believe that they own it, rather then the Defense Dept. that paid for it or the academics who developed it. If a lot of commercial sites would go broke unless they can force ads on me whenever I get on the net, then I won't be too sorry.

    7. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by slaker · · Score: 1

      It's not my responsibility as an end user to uphold someone else's broken revenue model. I'm responsible for the safety and security of several hundred PCs, not the salaries and expenses of advertising companies.

      --
      -- I wanna decide who lives and who dies - Crow T. Robot, MST3K
    8. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by AFCArchvile · · Score: 1

      I don't want to get rid of all ads, just ads that don't have standards of decency. One of the points you made about "why ads work" is "they don't require any sort of opt-in". Okay, that's sort of like an uninvited guest to a party; using that analogy, an "uninvited guest" who makes a good entrance and contributes something positive is a pleasant surprise, but a disruptive, patronizing, or malicious uninvited guest needs to be seized by the bouncers, hauled out of the premises, and forbidden from ever returning.

      In short, we need better web advertising standards. What we have now is the foxes watching the henhouse, insisting that nothing is ever wrong, which has resulted in the constant arms race of ad frequency, ad pervasiveness, and ad disruptiveness. Additionally, we also have hackers and organized crime using third-party ad services as a conduit to launching malware and viruses. Therefore, this system has completely and utterly failed to serve the public interest.

      I hesitate to say it, but YouTube's ad curation has been rather good, in terms of limiting the damage to the first 30 seconds in most video loads, and they've done a better job post-Christmas of choosing relevant content. (Those awful nationwide Nissan ad purchases seem to have lapsed; when those hit, I would just cover the browser with another browser window of another article I was reading at the time; that's probably the next target in the ad arms race, to pause ads when they're not the top window). Whereas what TNW is doing is a new nadir in static webpage advertising, to the point where I almost universally forbid Javascript, and fear that every other web designer is going to go that route because the "disruptive trendsetter I read for all my web news" is doing it.

      That said, I doubt we're going to get closer to any kind of standards to ratchet the annoyance factor back, because the website owners are so far vested on the side of ceaselessly defending ads, the source of most of their revenue. I've already stopped visiting most of these websites anyway, and despite their protests, I've had no problems reading articles from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and even some newspapers whose "faux-paywall" relies entirely on Javascript to obscure content already sent to the browser ("Oh, I'm sorry, my browser doesn't support Javascript... wait, no, I'm not sorry.").

      --
      "Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
    9. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by Mandrel · · Score: 1

      So my question to all of those infuriated by those content producers who would "dare" to try to protect their ads is this: what viable alternative do you suggest?

      Here's the alternative to advertising on which I've been working. Advantages: no cost to users, publishers earn money from their content rather than the stuff around it, and allows monetization of unbiased content (that unlike ads tries to tell the whole truth).

      Yes, this is an ad. But because it's on-topic and in some way solicited, I think it's acceptable, and shouldn't be equated to something intrusive.

    10. Re: A poorly made point, but still a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, but this point (which is made here repeatedly) doesn't hold water when the default setting of blockers is to block all ads.

    11. Re:A poorly made point, but still a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The summary has some truth when it says, "for all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web".

      No they don't. Unsolicited advertising is just a way to pay twice over, once in time and attention to watch/avoid the ad and second a higher priced product to pay for the advertising. Ad's pay for nothing, just hide the costs so people end up making making irrational decisions.

    12. Re: A poorly made point, but still a point by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If six-pack joe could reliably configure an adblocker, that would not be the default behavior. He can't, and shouldn't be expected to - he has other things to worry about.
      Like others have posted, some ad tech is hostile. As soon As my grandma can reliably protect herself from drive-by installs without ad blocking, gp's post holds plenty of water

  27. Immoral? by Feadin · · Score: 1

    ...that's because he's an idiot.

  28. The paywalling of the Internet by tepples · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm even willing to directly kick a few dollars to my favorite small-time interest-specific sites I read.

    If anti-ad sentiment grows, you'll end up having to create an account and "directly kick a few dollars" for a month's subscription to read the full text of even one article whose abstract you found through a search engine. Look at newspapers' trends toward making more money from the paywall than they had from advertisers, look at major scholarly journal publishers that continue to resist open access, and look at musicians pulling their recordings off Spotify in favor of subscription-only services like Tidal.

    1. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Curiously, I never had to do that before online advertising.

      Somehow I'm not too worried. The people in it for the $ (in other words, the ones who are ruining the net for everybody else for their own personal benefit) will die off. The rest of us will be better off for it.

    2. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 2

      I have no problem paying for a subscription (or forums account) for sites which matter to me. All of the truly important information I have found on the Internet has come from small enthusiast-run sites with no advertising, so I'm not too fussed if a majority of ad-sponsored sites either go subscription-only or simply die out.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    3. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by tepples · · Score: 2

      Before online advertising, were there effective web search engines? I seem to remember search engines having ads all the way back to WebCrawler.

    4. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by itzly · · Score: 2

      you'll end up having to create an account and "directly kick a few dollars" for a month's subscription to read the full text of even one article whose abstract you found through a search engine

      I'll just read the Slashdot summary.

    5. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't have any problem paying for add-free access to content I want. Zero, zip, nadda.

    6. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      I have no problem paying for a subscription (or forums account) for sites which matter to me. All of the truly important information I have found on the Internet has come from small enthusiast-run sites with no advertising, so I'm not too fussed if a majority of ad-sponsored sites either go subscription-only or simply die out.

      Shockingly, a whole lot of people are more engaged than you with the wider world, and with subject matter that might newly interest them - perhaps even by the hour - because they aren't laser-focused on one or two topics in life.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    7. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by tepples · · Score: 1

      Even if a site charges $36 for access to the article, as many scholarly journals do?

    8. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by gnupun · · Score: 1

      The problem is 90% or more internet users are unwilling to pay for content. So... ads. However, there should be limits on how obnoxious ads can be. For eg, no animations or slowind down the page with flash ads. Ads should be text, png or jpg (non-animated).

    9. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Khyber · · Score: 0

      "Before online advertising, were there effective web search engines?"

      Yep, it was called webring listings.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    10. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      I'm even willing to directly kick a few dollars to my favorite small-time interest-specific sites I read.

      If anti-ad sentiment grows, you'll end up having to create an account and "directly kick a few dollars" for a month's subscription to read the full text of even one article whose abstract you found through a search engine.

      So what? - if I want that info, I'd pay.

      But even aside from that non-issue, The problem I have with ads is not the concept of the advertisment. It's obvious that revenue pays for the page. It's the delivery mechanism. Click on an ad choices ad, and you end up being blessed with more ad choices ads. I tried running without a blocker or hosts file for a short time just to check the state of the web. After a while, I went to a site to look fro somthing I thought I might want to buy. The entire day after that, they inserted ads for what I was looking at in every goddamned webpage I went to.

      Sorry, I do not consider stalking to be some right of advertisers. Adblock, hosts file and persistent cookie killer went right back on.

      Now an ad placed on a webpage that doesn't hijack the page, or hide the page content until you dismiss it, or scream for your attention so badly it distracts you from reading the page is perfectly fine.

      but advertisers trying to deep throat us and gobble up my badndwidth and stalk me and make web pages damn near unreadable? That's their god given right? I don't think so.

      I'll be happy to disable adblock and persistent cookie deletion and my hosts file once the advertisers learn how to play better with people. The ball is in their court.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    11. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by tepples · · Score: 1

      Webring was a directory, not full-text search.

    12. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by 0123456 · · Score: 2

      The problem is 90% or more internet users are unwilling to pay for content.

      The problem is that 99% of the content on the Internet isn't worth paying for.

      And finding actual, useful information on the Internet was much easier in the days when there were no ads to fund web sites that exist solely to grab search engine queries to sell advertising.

    13. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by smoot123 · · Score: 1

      Here's my idea for a company. Who wants to invest?

      You sign up with me and give me a few dollars a month. I'll then outbid every other advertiser for the right to place ads in your browser. My ads will be just blanks. You're happy, I'm happy, Google is happy, Spammer Megacorp is pissed. What's not to like?

    14. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't think that's a terrible thing. If there's a cost to provide content and it's worth something people will pay. There's not much I could do without. I check slashdot because it's free. If I had to pay for it I probably wouldn't. There are a few sites I'll pay for: Netflix, Gaiam... Advert free movies, tv shows and documentaries and exercise vids etc. They price isn't too high. I don't like to see the balkanization of the web and networks but I also hate all the shitty web 2.0 web apps and the way things have been going. So if half the web dies in a fire I don't really care. I almost think I'd like it more if we went back towards static HTML without all the extra BS and go back to applications run on my computer. Advertising and a lot of other hands in the cookie jar has tried to pervert the original intent of HTML IMO. Yes there's a lot of useful extensions and there's probably a lot of reasons within context. But I think if they want an application running in their website it should run on the server side. Making it all run client side raises the attack footprint like others have noted.

    15. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

      Before online advertising, were there effective web search engines? I seem to remember search engines having ads all the way back to WebCrawler.

      I wonder if we could just replace modern search engines that need to be monetized with a free distributed peer to peer system like YaCy.

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
    16. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shockingly, a whole lot of people are more engaged than you with the wider world, and with subject matter that might newly interest them - perhaps even by the hour - because they aren't laser-focused on one or two topics in life.

      Their problem - not mine. Fortunately, things already works my way. Even the non-nerds who like ad-sponsored pages, like getting something for free. They too want pages to load faster and less clutter getting in the way. Show them an ad-blocker, or make the ad-blocker easy to install for noobs - and they will use it. Perhaps they eventually kill some sites they like that way - the web will get better for me though.

      Content providers and advertiser has no particular right to profit. ISPs that offer "ad-stripped faster web connections" might get popular in some parts of the world - not much the advertisers can do about that. Of course, an ISP can put more effort into ad blocking and do better than the current hobbyist blockers.

    17. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thing is, when people actually pay for content the quality of that content improves or the users stop paying and go elsewhere.

      I pay for Netflix, no Ads, content is better than local TV, I can watch what I want when I want (of their content).
      If netflix starts showing ads, they loose me as a customer, or if the quality of their programming drops, again I am gone.

      If lowering the quantity of the internet means loosing all the quack medical sites (anti vaxers I am looking at you), the moron chat sites where like minded idiots get affirmation they are not weird because they are 99 other weirdos with the same idiocy they can chat to over the intawebs , then that too is a plus.

      Now if Google/Bing/Yahoo/Baidu/etc etc etc all make their money by searching the web and providing imrpoved ranking based on how much money they get, no problems here because when they start showing bullshit results, I switch search engine. If they want to charge me a small sum of money well we will see but if the quality of the search goes up (fewer paid shills per page), it may be worth doing.

      But in the meantime, I will stick to my ad blockers, my extensive hosts file, etc etc etc.

      If the rest of the dumb bunnies want to have ads thrown at them that is their free choice, I made mine.

    18. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Khyber · · Score: 1

      What? You don't know how to grep? Don't know how to CTRL+F to search a page/listing?

      Damn, it's like you expect everything to be handed to you on a silver platter.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    19. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by tepples · · Score: 1

      Ctrl+F in a directory page searches only the titles of entire sites, not the titles of documents/pages within a site, and certainly not text within the documents on each site.

    20. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Replacing centralized, proprietary services in general -- including, but not limited to search engines -- with peer-to-peer services is long overdue. Google Search, Facebook, Twitter, Skype -- they all deserve to die!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    21. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Khyber · · Score: 1

      Yea, it's called 'search' for a reason, you know. Automated or not.

      And good sites have an index so searching SHOULD get you what you're after.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
    22. Re:The paywalling of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm even willing to directly kick a few dollars to my favorite small-time interest-specific sites I read.

      If anti-ad sentiment grows, you'll end up having to create an account and "directly kick a few dollars" for a month's subscription to read the full text of even one article whose abstract you found through a search engine. Look at newspapers' trends toward making more money from the paywall than they had from advertisers, look at major scholarly journal publishers that continue to resist open access, and look at musicians pulling their recordings off Spotify in favor of subscription-only services like Tidal.

      Then its probably "no longer my favorite small-time interest-specific sites", fuck em, i was doing fine without them before.

  29. Agreed BUT by Andy+Smith · · Score: 1, Interesting

    In very black-and-white terms I agree with Martin Bryant.

    BUT... to give one example, a lot of web sites (including Slashdot) are unusable on my iPhone nowadays because of ads that either (1) automatically redirect me to a product on the App Store as soon as the ad loads, or (2) try to do that, but do it badly so Safari closes the web page and reloads it.

    Maybe if advertisers didn't behave so aggressively, people wouldn't aggressively block them. I block ads on my Mac, and if it was possible (maybe it is?) then I'd block them on my iPhone too. Not because I object to adverts, or even because I want to avoid seeing them, but because they make browsing the web an obnoxious, frustrating and potentially dangerous experience. (The only virus I've ever had was from an advert force-loading a malformed PDF document.)

  30. Yes and no, mostly no. by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

    While I find his preaching about the moral rightness of what he does, and our duty to endure whatever shit he wishes to shove in our faces to be deeply obnoxious; it would not entirely surprise me if this little experiment by the carriers ends up going...badly.

    Ad-blocking at the client end('client end' includes routers, filtering appliances, etc. under user control, if the applicable network is large or geeky enough) is simply the right of the individual to run the software of their choice on their hardware, to best serve their interests, in action. Running a public HTTP server doesn't give you some special right to dictate how the output is formatted for display.

    Ad-blocking at the carrier level, though, gets risky fast. Whenever an ISP starts deviating from 'dumb pipe' operation, you have to start worrying about whose interests are going to win out, and how dramatically. Especially risky if (as is the case with quite a few cellular companies and ISPs) they also have a side interest in advertising, consumer analytics, a media arm, or other properties that could benefit from a little traffic meddling. We've already seen some of the more obscure WISPs provide 'ad blocking', then inject their own ads over the originals, worst of both worlds.

    Ad blocking is well and good(and, frankly, until the advertisers can clean up the ghastly security situation, they have no justification for whining. Ads are easily the most dangerous part of most parts of the web you'd admit to visiting in polite company); but anything that gives ISPs more control over traffic is to be watched with considerable concern. You don't think that a plan to stick it to google is going to stop at blocking google's ads, do you? Not when they could use their privileged position on the wire to achieve the same tracking and advertising that google actually has to offer attractive services to achieve...

  31. Meanwhile, closer to home by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In September 2012, we purchased certain assets of Geeknet, Inc.’s online media business (now known as “Slashdot Media”), including the Slashdot, SourceForge and Freecode websites. The purchase price consisted of $20.0 million in cash. The acquisition resulted in recording intangible assets of $9.7 million and goodwill of $6.2 million. The unamortized intangible assets of $7.2 million and goodwill of $6.2 million were written off during the fourth quarter of 2013 due to a decline in the financial performance of the business and expectations of future performance in line with 2013 results. ...

    Slashdot Media was acquired to provide content and services that are important to technology professionals in their everyday work lives and to leverage that reach into the global technology community benefiting user engagement on the Dice.com site. The expected benefits have started to be realized at Dice.com. However, advertising revenue has declined over the past year and there is no improvement expected in the future financial performance of Slashdot Media’s underlying advertising business. Therefore, $7.2 million of intangible assets and $6.3 million of goodwill related to Slashdot Media were reduced to zero.

    - Dice Holdings Form 10K, 2014 (for fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2013)

    1. Re:Meanwhile, closer to home by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This happens so often. The goodwill of Slashdot was miscalculated on the prospect that it was ok to spam visitors with ads. The more tech savvy visitors of Slashdot are people that have a higher chance to have installed ad blocking software. Everyone who runs businesses and buys other businesses has to deal with goodwill, and every time goodwill has to be written of. Sometimes faster than expected, but that is not because of the immoral ad blocking visitors, but of bad business decisions.

    2. Re:Meanwhile, closer to home by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Well, I've been here the past 10 or so years. And allow me to tell you what made /. so relevant, interesting, insightful and informative. It was not that anything here was "breaking news". C'mon. /. was something like the Reader's Digest of the tech world. That it was devoid of obnoxious ads was certainly a bonus. As was the "old school look". I think we still remember the backlash when you tried to "modernize" it (aka "Beta").

      What made this site great was two things: Interesting, thought provoking articles and, even more so, the awesome, insightful comments from various experts in various fields of IT. That was basically what drove /. and what made it an interesting place to stop by and catch up on IT topics. You'd get a quick overview of what's going on, and more important you'd get valuable information from different people who actually know what they're talking about. With a moderation system to boot that managed to keep the quality standard pretty high.

      Now, let's take a look at the current "headlines", shall we?

      Men's Rights Activists Call For Boycott of Mad Max: Fury Road
      Harvard Hit With Racial Bias Complaint
      Report: Google To Add 'Buy' Buttons To Mobile Search Results
      The Economic Consequences of Self-Driving Trucks
      How MMO Design Has Improved Bar Trivia
      A Look At GTA V PC Performance and Image Quality At 4K
      Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Gets Death Penalty In Boston Marathon Bombing
      Mechanical 'Clicky' Keyboards Still Have Followers (Video)

      News for nerds? Stuff that matters? Really? What I see here is PC bullshit mixed with politics, an opinion piece or two, general news I could get anywhere and stuff of such insignificance that I can only wonder why the FUCK it is on the front page in the first place.

      And it's amazing that there's neither astroturfing going on, nor some shamless plug for someone's blog or some new product on there. But I'm pretty sure we'll get plenty thereof again come Fall, it's time for some campaigning!

      If you're looking for the reason why /.'s goodwill is in free fall, I think looking at ad blockers might be looking the wrong way. Just saying.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Meanwhile, closer to home by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      if you can stand the masturbation over node.js (and every other newfangled js library under the sun) hackernews is pretty good.

  32. Need the pop up ad revenue? Doing it wrong.... by King_TJ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'll be honest.... I won't shed a tear if a good 50 or 60% of the existing web sites die off, due to lack of revenue generation.

    Maybe then we'll get back to something more sane? Look, I get that a lot of special interest blog sites would die if they didn't receive ad revenue. I used to write for one of them myself. (And guess what? It died, because they couldn't generate enough page hits to impress enough advertisers to spend a lot of money on it.)

    But ultimately, it's survival of the fittest like anything else. I think it would be in the best interest of a lot of businesses to host and pay for sites related in some way to products or services they sell, so that would theoretically keep quite a few of them afloat. (A few of the car related forums I'm on work like that.... They're partially funded by contributions by area car dealerships that want to sponsor them, and they charge annual fees for 3rd. parties to host a message base on the forum where they can advertise whatever they like with new message posts.) This model keeps out the spam/malware and ensures target marketing by default. The users LIKE the sponsors and their marketing because it typically includes discount coupon codes on various products of interest, and ensures good
    customer service when a forum "regular" also happens to be the owner of the company you bought your items from!

    In other cases, people should just learn to accept that hosting a web site is going to cost them something. It really shouldn't cost much, in most cases. If you're not streaming out a bunch of video content or hosting huge downloads, your blog site just isn't likely to generate massive amounts of bandwidth usage (what most hosting services really bill for, because storage space itself is dirt cheap). Every hobby I ever had cost me some money.... Deciding to run a special interest blog or message forum should be no different.

    1. Re:Need the pop up ad revenue? Doing it wrong.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The web would be a terrible place if people were forced to make websites because they loved things, not because they wanted to make a bunch of quick cash.

      And by "terrible" I mean "Glorious."

    2. Re:Need the pop up ad revenue? Doing it wrong.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have used some sort of ad blocking since the late 90s.

      It is amazing how much better my world is vs the advert laden world of the 'real web'. It is quite dramatic when I turn it off.

      Adverts are all over the place. It is the reason I got rid of cable. Not the price. Advertisements. I was paying to have something pitched to me. I literally can not watch TV anymore. This is from a serious former couch potato. I could tell you what was on 70+ stations at any time. I had memorized the tv guide.

      These companies have come to expect I will watch their advertisements. No, I will not. They spat them everywhere. In the real world and all over the virtual one.

      The 24/7 news cycle is bits of opinion pieces with a sandwich of selling you ... soap. Our news is literally trying to sell us soap. I used to joke it was that way. Until I visited my parents last Christmas. The top and bottom of the segment was soap adverts.

      The Olympics is especially bad. I think I watched the same car commercial at least 15 times every night. A car I am in no way interested in. Yet I had to sit to the pitch 15 times. After about a couple of days of that I dug up my old DVR.

      On the web many times the adverts are bigger than the content. Which means that site produces very little...

      These companies are actually *wasting* money. They have oversaturated all markets. The advert companies go and create a market. "pay for your website" then fill that niche. They are selling themselves to sell the websites a segment of their precious users time.

    3. Re:Need the pop up ad revenue? Doing it wrong.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yet I have a personal blog and don't give a damn how many hits it gets simply because it's my soap box. If anyone wants to read it, fine, if not, I wont shed a crocodile tear about it because I don't care.

      On the advertisement issue, I use the MPC Hosts file along with noscript (deny all setting) as that seems to catch 99.9 of the fucking ads I don't care for. I've hit a few websites that are so script/ad heavy that nothing comes up and I leave them for the same fucking reason. I'm not sorry for blocking ads but any website that can't provide a basic interface that works with either a mobile system of a screen reader is of absolutely no fucking use to me and I leave and I also recomend against anyone visiting them because of the script/ad heavy demands.

    4. Re:Need the pop up ad revenue? Doing it wrong.... by afgam28 · · Score: 1

      I don't particularly like advertising, but I do see it as a necessary evil on today's web. Obviously people dislike ads, but they dislike paywalls even more. I suspect that far more than 50-60% of sites would die without ads - I'd say it's more like 80-90%. When I look at the sites that I visit (including Slashdot) nearly everything is supported by ads, with only a few exceptions like Amazon and Netflix.

      One solution might be Google Contributor, which lets you buy ads from the pages you visit. The ads get removed from the page and the site owner gets money from you, rather than from an advertiser.

    5. Re:Need the pop up ad revenue? Doing it wrong.... by Weirsbaski · · Score: 1

      I'll be honest.... I won't shed a tear if a good 50 or 60% of the existing web sites die off, due to lack of revenue generation.

      Wouldn't your tear-sheding kind of depend on which 50-60% die off? Eg, I'd be pretty upset if slashdot disappeared...

      --

      I am not a sig.
  33. your crap gets in my way by swschrad · · Score: 5, Interesting

    and it gets worse forcing autoplay of that dancing singing crap, much of which gags my browser. take your Flash and HTML5 and go to hell.

    --
    if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
    1. Re:your crap gets in my way by dgatwood · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This. I don't mind static ads. Heck, I don't even mind analytics and tracking as long as it is anonymous and the raw data is not made available to anyone who could de-anonymize it.

      What I mind are the seizure-inducing flashing ads that tell me I'm broadcasting an IP address, the ads that take over my screen if my mouse happens to cross the edge of the ad as I go to click a link on the page or scroll it, the ads that make annoying sounds on my work computer, the ads that play video and audio on my work computer, etc.

      I know the advertisers think that they're going to get better results by being more annoying, but the reality is that it is an escalation in an arms race that can only result in that ad network getting blocked en masse.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:your crap gets in my way by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Exactly. For some years we've had a blissful interbellum between two loudness wars, when most site owners thought that simple, mostly static banner ads were fine. And they were fine: easily ignored, quick loading. But things have degenerated quite a bit; that Canvas ad thing is a good example of the next level of "loudness" to catch the viewer's attention.

      Back in the days of banner ads, I didn't know anyone who'd go out of their way to block them. Now, adblockers are common and they are increasingly being promoted and used not just to get rid of annoying ads, but also to make browsing a faster and safer experience. Advertisers (and indirectly site owners like Bryant) simply crapped the bed they sleep in.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    3. Re:your crap gets in my way by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      I don't mind static ads. Heck, I don't even mind analytics and tracking as long as it is anonymous and the raw data is not made available to anyone who could de-anonymize it.

      this is pretty much saying that you like blue unicorns better

    4. Re:your crap gets in my way by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Not at all. This is simply saying that the companies holding the analytics data for advertisement and using it to sell ads should be separate and distinct from the companies selling products, and that the companies selling the products should be providing info to them without providing any PII, tracked only by a persistent advertising identifier, and that a cookie nuke should reset that advertising identifier, destroying all prior history.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    5. Re:your crap gets in my way by ripvlan · · Score: 1

      Over the weekend I heard a different take on this (Reply All podcast). For Hasidic Jews - the internet contains immoral content. While they have their own websites that meet religious requirements, there is a company that builds special blocking software for accessing more public websites (Amazon was the example). For example it causes images of people to appear as blacked out - just in case it was a scantily-clad woman.

      It is like net-nanny on steroids. Except steroids are immoral so it would be - not that.

  34. Perverse incentive to use more data by tepples · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I smell a perverse incentive. The sender of traffic pays, but the last mile also pays for the connection. And in the case of a satellite or cellular last mile, the subscriber pays the most by far: usually $5 to $15 per gigabyte in the United States market. How many of these ad networks happen to own stock in satellite and cellular carriers or vice versa?

    1. Re:Perverse incentive to use more data by Runaway1956 · · Score: 2

      Never thought of it in that light. If a person had a genuine interest, he could probably find who sits on what boards, which corporate officers hold positions in seemingly unrelated companies, etc. I've been shown before how some corporations are entwined with each other - like a bunch of snakes copulating. That may well be the case here.

      --
      "Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
  35. Sociopaths? by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So the advertisers (or their mouthpieces) are calling the people that would block ads sociopathic? That's rich.

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
    1. Re:Sociopaths? by multimediavt · · Score: 1

      So the advertisers (or their mouthpieces) are calling the people that would block ads sociopathic? That's rich.

      No, it's genuinely sociopathic.

  36. We tried that once by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And you fuckers cannot be trusted. Get a real job and stop being a parasite on the ass of humanity.

    1. Re:We tried that once by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That website is their real job. If you don't like the ads, don't visit the website or is someone pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to visit the website?

    2. Re:We tried that once by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or, still go to the website and use Adblock Edge. After all, it's your choice what you display on your computer screen. You can thank me later.

  37. Why are they using adblockers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If consumers are using adblockers (as an app or as a service), they're already indicating what they want. Accept it.
    A sociopath hates society; I just hate pushy, obnoxious advertisers that prevent me from doing my own thing.
    Without advertising, the web would be much more efficient, faster, would allow society to communicate and exchange ideas and kitten videos, all without interruptions ... and I know which version of the internet I want. I don't think you'd ever be able to block it completely, but I don't think we need more of it.
    We'd still have paper, billboard, and TV advertising, so advertising hacks would still not have to do any real work for a living.

  38. It relies on four assumptions by tepples · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm assuming that Firefox and Chrome browsers are less likely to have vulnerabilities that are known and exploitable than those in Flash Player. And I'm also assuming that ad networks are going to continue to be as dumb as they currently are, serving up Flash as the preferred ad media type instead of HTML5 with a Flash fallback. So until some of these assumptions become no longer valid, such as if advertisers come to prefer HTML5 over Flash Player, browsers become more vulnerable than Flash Player, browser vulnerabilities become more serious, or zero-day browser vulnerabilities become more widely known to malware authors, blocking Flash will remain effective.

    1. Re:It relies on four assumptions by X0563511 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Stop assuming, because we're talking about security. Assumptions have no place in this discussion.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    2. Re:It relies on four assumptions by tepples · · Score: 2

      Without assumptions, there is no threat model. Without a threat model, there is no way to measure security.

    3. Re:It relies on four assumptions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Without assumptions, there is no threat model. Without a threat model, there is no way to measure security.

      If you know anything about this you would know that the exploit kits usually used also in the ad vector context are not one-trick ponies at all, but will try a spectrum of vulnerabilities. Your assumptions above are simply completely false.

    4. Re:It relies on four assumptions by tepples · · Score: 2

      If all exploits in a exploit kit are either patched (in the case of browser exploits targeting an older browser version) or disabled (in the case of Flash exploits), I am safe from that particular exploit kit.

    5. Re:It relies on four assumptions by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Then assume that the browsers all have security vulns that are available to anyone who is willing to look for them. Because they do. If you don't accept that, then your model is broken.

      The only reasonable thing is to block all ads if you don't want to get hit by an exploit.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re:It relies on four assumptions by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      I don't follow. You have known security vulnerabilities, and you have probabilities for unknown vulnerabilities. The first is fact, and the second is extrapolation (which is different than assumption).

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    7. Re:It relies on four assumptions by tepples · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Then assume that the browsers all have security vulns that are available to anyone who is willing to look for them. Because they do.

      If the assumption is that all Internet-facing applications have vulnerabilities that can be exploited to take full administrative control of a computer, what is the mitigation other than abstaining from the Internet?

      The only reasonable thing is to block all ads if you don't want to get hit by an exploit.

      Now define "all ads" in a way that allows a machine to correctly determine what is a non-ad. Is a can of Pepsi in a movie an "ad"?

    8. Re:It relies on four assumptions by tepples · · Score: 1

      The assumption is that the extrapolation is approximately correct, in other words that the difficulty of finding exploits for each component won't change dramatically over the course of a particular year. Even NoScript won't help if malware authors find a CSS vulnerability and begin to use it before Mozilla and Google can patch their browsers.

    9. Re:It relies on four assumptions by phantomfive · · Score: 5, Insightful

      If the assumption is that all Internet-facing applications have vulnerabilities that can be exploited to take full administrative control of a computer, what is the mitigation other than abstaining from the Internet?

      I don't think you're understanding something here. Usually, when I go to Yahoo.com, or to Microsoft.com, the content on the page is all generated by the company, and the chance of them trying to attack your computer is low.

      That is not the same with ads on a webpage. In the modern world, anyone can put an ad onto yahoo.com, all they have to do is pay. Yahoo doesn't closely examine the ads that are placed on the page. They don't even own the server that is serving the ads.

      So, when you visit Microsoft.com, you are essentially saying, "Microsoft, I trust you to run code on my computer." When you visit a page with ads, you are saying, "I trust any random person to run code on my computer." That is a bad idea, and exploits have been found in ads.

      In fact, I don't see any way you can look at that and say, "yeah, running unknown code on my computer? Great idea!" Furthermore, the ad networks really don't care.....the people paying are the customers, and when they try to stop malevolence, they are primarily focused on click-fraud, which hurts their customers, not malware.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    10. Re:It relies on four assumptions by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

      The only assumption you should be making is that nothing is secure.

    11. Re:It relies on four assumptions by epine · · Score: 1

      The only assumption you should be making is that nothing is secure.

      I'll file that right beside "In the beginning, God created the universe, and it was good."

    12. Re:It relies on four assumptions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The only assumption you should be making is that nothing is secure.

      Use a text-only web browser and stop visiting pornography websites. Damnit!

    13. Re:It relies on four assumptions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If all exploits in a exploit kit are either patched (in the case of browser exploits targeting an older browser version) or disabled (in the case of Flash exploits), I am safe from that particular exploit kit.

      yeah.. big if. The "assumptions" listed above downplay browser vulnerabilities so much that the person who wrote it can't have been following browser vulnerability reports (or exploit kit capabilities) especially closely or at all. And I don't understand the point about "as long as they serve up Flash as preferred over HTML5", that makes no difference if you hit a compromised ad.

    14. Re:It relies on four assumptions by multimediavt · · Score: 2

      Then assume that the browsers all have security vulns that are available to anyone who is willing to look for them. Because they do.

      If the assumption is that all Internet-facing applications have vulnerabilities that can be exploited to take full administrative control of a computer, what is the mitigation other than abstaining from the Internet?

      Correct. It's an old, old saying, "The only secure computer on the network is the one not on the network." Taken another way, "The only secure computer is the one not powered on!" It's an unfortunate truth that we all must come to grips with. We do our best to make the computer less desirable a target on the network, but the only way to be completely secure is to not be on the network. The CIA knows this, the NSA knows this, and I am sure that intelligence agencies the world over have two computers on their desks; one on the internal/secure network and one on the Internet. We as IT professionals know more about the hazards and pitfalls than the average netizen, but we're no match for a skilled intruder that desparately wants something on one of our systems. We accept that fact and is why we do everything we can to make the intruder's job more difficult, but we also have a schedule of regular backups and a plan to deal with the intrusion after the fact. That's one of the reasons why we're professionals.

      The only reasonable thing is to block all ads if you don't want to get hit by an exploit.

      Now define "all ads" in a way that allows a machine to correctly determine what is a non-ad. Is a can of Pepsi in a movie an "ad"?

      Now you're being silly in order to deflect a weak argument shored up with a false equivalency. A Pepsi can in a movie is NOT the same thing as a web page ad (the topic of discussion). If you didn't know that web page ads were what the GP meant, then you're either very slow or purposefully being an ass. I block ads with ABP and NoScript. I rarely--if ever these days--see ads on web pages unless I am browsing somewhere other than my desktop machine.

      As an aside, I'd bet there would be good money in developing a piece of software that would block product placements in video automatically. Right now it's done manually. Would require a lot of image recognition training, but could net someone a lot of money.

    15. Re:It relies on four assumptions by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      If all exploits in a exploit kit are either patched (in the case of browser exploits targeting an older browser version) or disabled (in the case of Flash exploits), I am safe from that particular exploit kit.

      this is kind of like saying that since the bullet embedded in the wall has already been shot, nobody will ever hit you with a bullet

    16. Re: It relies on four assumptions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      is a can of pepsi in a movie an ad?

      is it important to the film that it be there and that it must specifically be pepsi and not something else?

      did pepsico pay the film makers or otherwise compensate them for that can being there?

      use common sense, if any you possess.

    17. Re:It relies on four assumptions by arth1 · · Score: 1

      Without assumptions, there is no threat model. Without a threat model, there is no way to measure security.

      Security isn't a measurable commodity, It's a philosophy.

    18. Re:It relies on four assumptions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Agreed. The current setup where you can be getting content from anywhere just by visiting a normal sight is insane. It also totally trashes page load times. It would be better to require all content to be served from the source site, images, videos, etc and then have some obvious boarder around links that leave the sight. Sure that means more work for web content owners in that they have to verify ads and such, but it makes more sense than every user having to do so. They would also have to keep local copies of ads and have the bandwidth to serve them. I suppose you might have exceptions for a very small number of sites such as youtube and maybe discus or similar, but that list would have to be small. There could be no exceptions for generic companies that sell adds to literally anyone.

      Of course this idea would probably not work in the real world save at bigger sites and maybe not then. You would just get a lot of primary sites that directly serve malicious software via automated means.

      The only practical approach is probably to limit the attack surface as much as possible while have web browsers build sandboxes that look a bit like nuclear bunkers without doors. Flash must of course die. It was always buggy and they stopped updating new versions on linux ages ago. Perhaps we need some kind of security levels based on the source of content as well, where certain things just will not run unless they are properly signed and verified.

      Perhaps we will someday have enough bandwidth and enough power on remote servers for the client interface to be thin enough that it can actually be secured, but that seems like wishful thinking. Of course, even if you did that it wouldn't stop a lot of the problems such as fishing attacks and such. It might even make them easier.

      Security is hard. The web of trust starts at the first chip complex enough to hide something malicious and ends at the most trivial application/plug in/etc you can think of. Throw in CAs and such that may be of questionable nature and it gets harder still. Still, as I said before, the focus on minimizing the attack surface and hardening that is the key, and like it or not, ad blockers are a valuable tool in that arsenal, though I suppose they more or less hide part of the attack surface rather than minimizing it.

      I wonder if it would be worthwhile for mobile sites to just, somehow, send graphic versions of pages where different areas activate different links. You would only have one thing to download, so it would at least be quick, and even at a phone's native resolution you could still zoom and scroll a fair amount...

      Ah well, I still miss the early days of the internet when even with a bad internet connection things didn't load all that slow. Often times pages were just *gasp* text. Now even with 100Mbit sometimes things are slow.

    19. Re:It relies on four assumptions by stooo · · Score: 1

      >> what is the mitigation other than abstaining from the Internet?
      The mitigation is air gap : using Internet browsers on a dedicated machine with a throwaway system

      --
      aaaaaaa
    20. Re:It relies on four assumptions by dave420 · · Score: 1

      If you assume that all browsers have security vulnerabilities that are available to anyone who is willing to look for them, you can never use the web.

    21. Re:It relies on four assumptions by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Well it's true lol. All the browsers do have vulnerabilities. I hope we'll still see you on this site even after you realize that.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  39. The guy is killing the golden goose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Adds are a necessary part of the Internet funding model.
    Making them too obnoxious is a sure way to make them go away which will kill the funding.

    Things in this category include:
        1) Disabling the the content I'm there for.
        2) Taking more then 1/4 of the screen.
        3) Touching the audio.
        4) Using lots of b/w
        5) Putting my computer at risk

    This guy seems more likely to be the guy providing the technology to advertize with than the guy paying for the advertizing.
    The second guy should be smart enough to know that too much of a good thing is bad for business.
    The first guy appears to be cluelessly focused on pushing out more and more agressive adds without thinking about the resulting reaction from the viewer.
    Hopefully the second guy will calibrate the first before he kills the golden goose.

    Viewers can help this by never responding positively to an over the top add.

  40. It just means you'll have to work harder by HangingChad · · Score: 1

    I haven't found display ads a particularly effective marketing tool. Ad blockers are not the only reason their effectiveness is diminishing. Ads are so ubiquitous that we don't even see them anymore. We have several billboards within blocks of our house, I drive past them every day and couldn't tell you what's on them. It's just noise and we tune it out after a while.

    At least when it comes to books, paid reviews and blogs are more effective than display ads. Even if the reviews aren't positive, they're useful if they can explain why they didn't like your book.It's more work but better results. That's also life without display ads. More work.

    --
    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
  41. Microtransactions by EmperorOfCanada · · Score: 1

    Around 2000 I was playing with a Digital (the computer company) technology where you could do microtransactions on web pages. I forget the exact size but it was as low as something like 1/1000th of a cent. This was pretty cool in that you could charge customers to visit your website page by page or however you would like to structure the transaction. The idea was that an end user would have put, say, $10 in their wallet and each time they would go to a website it would pop up and say, "This site will charge x amount per page" you could also put limits on a given site or have it pop up every so many cents and so on. This way some site couldn't screw you with frames or some such scummery.

    I loved their implementation as it was beta but fundamentally clean. They also indicated that they had a handful of major banks onboard so it wasn't DOA. I think the death of Digital itself was what killed it.

    But I would love this and would have no problem paying a tiny bit for slashdot, NYT, The Economist, stack-overflow, even reddit. But I would say FO to sites like huffpo who you know would spread their articles out so thin that it would be pretty much one word per page.

    Plus it would be funny to watch great site after great site implode after the MBAs took over and just started to try to skin their customers by jacking up the prices over and over and over until the site collapsed. Which is sort of how many sites operate now as an ever higher percentage of their surface area is dedicated to ads and an ever growing percentage of their content becomes clickbait.

    But one of the greatest parts in the Digital plan was that they only took a tiny taste, a very tiny taste vs the massive cut that google takes on adsense and most others take on their ad platforms. So when you gave a penny to slashdot they would basically get that penny.

    What is even worse was that at this point paypal wasn't the domination machine that it was to become. Thus this platform could have become the defacto payment system for all transactions in that it didn't only do microtransactions but you could do ebay sized ones without any difficulty but at a much lower fee.

    1. Re:Microtransactions by Tyr07 · · Score: 1

      I like that you want me to pay for Internet so that I can pay for Internet while internetting. No.

      Not everyone gets to dig their hands into my pocket. Everyone wants only 5 to 10 dollars more, and act like it's not much. Except 20 other guys want 10 bucks more too. Now it's an extra 100 to 200. So no. I don't need Internet that bad.

    2. Re:Microtransactions by west · · Score: 1

      I know, it's so annoying. I pay for a taxi to the store, and then they expect me to pay for product in the store!.

      They want me to pay twice!

      Ridiculous, right?

    3. Re:Microtransactions by Tyr07 · · Score: 1

      That's entirely different, you're physically removing something from the store that has single use, or degrades after use. It does not retain it's integrity and multiple people cannot use the same product (E.G Eat the same carrot after it's been eaten)

      Let me equate this for you on an actual equal term.
      You purchase a used book from a book store. One that has been read many times, and when you're finished, you can let other people read it too.

      You are asked to pay additional fees per page you turn.

      Or advertisements about toothbrushes flip out over your entire page and you are required to read it before you can go back to reading your book.

      Here's another. You pay for a taxi to the store, then they charge you to read their prices for their products. Then if you want to purchase your product you pay more.

      Turning the internet into your little piggy bank of extra cash grab for everything you do is the dumbest idea yet. It sounds /FANTASTIC/ for your pocket, but no one wants it and very few will buy it.

      You know why it's not done? Because whomever implements that will have an unused site.
      Sites that advertise too much? I don't use them.

      Sites that OFFER SOMETHING OF VALUE. I likely already have a subscription to anything I'd be interested in or that provides me service. Like Netflix, or google music.

      Here's one last quote at your silly comparison.
      I pay for internet and go to Ebay, and /then/ they expect me to pay for the product I want!
      Guess what, it exists.

      Your they want me to pay twice is much similar to my statement to pay to read their price tags.

    4. Re:Microtransactions by Tyr07 · · Score: 1

      P.S It would certainly bring internet services down in price. People are only willing to pay so much for internet. You drop the value on it, providers are going to lose clients too. no one is going to pay 200$ bills for surfing the web at home or websites say 'Insert wallet, remove when empty'

    5. Re:Microtransactions by west · · Score: 1

      Tyr07, what I was making fun of was the assumption that your ISP *is* the Internet, or in fact has any relation whatsoever to the web sites you choose to patronize.

      The idea that paying Comcast should mean that the rest of the Internet world should be willing to work for free on your behalf so boggled me that I had to make fun of it. It has a sort of solipsistic quality that you don't find in most people over 16. "How could hundreds of thousands of individual parties who have no relation to each other NOT coordinate everything to provide a seamless experience for me!"

    6. Re:Microtransactions by Tyr07 · · Score: 1

      I dont think the rest of the 'Internet' should be free. I think sneaky deceptive tactics to gain clicks needs to die. Ads went too far, and if your business cannot succeed without a ton of garbage and absolutely has to have its shit everywhere to survive then it might not be as important to people as you think. Maybe your ad based business needs a better business model or to close down. You can't get mad if people are sick of your shit and aren't willing to pay the price you want.

      Like websites acting like they are some how protected from their old shifty business models from failing. You're not filling enough politicians pockets like major car companies to get a bail out. You don't get to change consumers, you get to change your business model.

      If people want to block ads because they are exhausted by them then let them. Move on.

      If people didn't get so ad garbage greedy this wouldn't be even a topic.

    7. Re:Microtransactions by west · · Score: 1

      Well, no disagreeing with you there. However, it is somewhat removed from your original point.

  42. Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by tepples · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm either going to [...] make note of the advertiser and NEVER patronize them simply because they forced me to sit thru an ad I had no interest in seeing.

    Good luck doing this when the ad is a public service announcement brought to you by your local electric monopoly. Care to join the Amish?

    1. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by WillyWanker · · Score: 1

      Um yeah, when exactly was the last time that happened? Like never. Google kindly sends me urgent updates via my phone and thru Chrome notifications. I'm good with that.

    2. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Why should the local electric monopoly spend money on advertising? Are they trying to convince the Amish?

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    3. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes.

      The number one reason in our household that Netflix rules is because it lets me watch TV, Movies, etc. without Ads. We have been "TV" free for three years now and every time we travel, I turn on the TV in the motel for about 15 minutes max until I remember just how much I HATE "TV".

      Tools like Google allow me to find everything I want, need and desire. Advertisers that choose to "advertise" in a way that allows me to find what I want win, I win, everyone is happy. Advertisers that insist that they have the "moral" right to force me to sit through their propaganda do no win. If ultimately the choice was to live in an add-free world or go Amish, then yes, I would go "Amish" and live off the grid. There are plenty of ways to make my own power and yes, if that meant also disabling contact with the Internet then I would do that too. What I will NOT tolerate is being forced against my will to consume Advertising. Thank you very much.

    4. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      Why should the local electric monopoly spend money on advertising? Are they trying to convince the Amish?

      They want voters to have a more positive image of them so they don't vote for local politicians that would trim the fat of their racket.

    5. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by tepples · · Score: 2

      Why should the local electric monopoly spend money on advertising?

      The electric company advertises heat pumps to try to take business away from the natural gas company. It advertises power-efficient heating, cooling, and lighting solutions because that reduces subscribers' peak power use, which allows it to delay investment in upgrading peak generation and distribution capacity. It runs safety awareness campaigns because that may decrease the chance that people interact unsafely with high-voltage wires. This in turn decreases both the cost of having to roll trucks to repair the damage and the cost of having to defend lawsuits from families of people injured or killed by their own unsafe acts.

    6. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by tepples · · Score: 1

      public service announcement brought to you by your local electric monopoly

      Um yeah, when exactly was the last time that happened?

      You appear to have forgotten Louie the Lightning Bug.

    7. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by WillyWanker · · Score: 1

      Never heard of the little critter.

    8. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by multimediavt · · Score: 1

      I'm either going to [...] make note of the advertiser and NEVER patronize them simply because they forced me to sit thru an ad I had no interest in seeing.

      Good luck doing this when the ad is a public service announcement brought to you by your local electric monopoly. Care to join the Amish?

      Careful. There are plenty of people moving to solar and wind power on premises that aren't Amish and can boycott their local electric monopoly quite easily.

    9. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by sjames · · Score: 1

      A few minutes ago.

    10. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by WillyWanker · · Score: 1

      Hmm. Never got one. Still alive. I think I'm good.

    11. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      They want voters to have a more positive image of them so they don't vote for local politicians that would trim the fat of their racket.

      interrupting my viewing experience is not exactly the right way to do this

    12. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      It runs safety awareness campaigns because that may decrease the chance that people interact unsafely with high-voltage wires.

      If my utility company is using this mechanism to promote safety then they are wasting my money because people who care about this should NOT be learning about it in an advertisement

    13. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by old_kennyp · · Score: 1

      then I would still not use their site!
      Snail mail and cheques still work to pay the bill and using bpay I do not have to visit their own website

       

    14. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by tepples · · Score: 1

      Even if you pay through Australia's BPAY system instead of through a utility's website, you're still buying the product (electric power) of a utility that advertised on the Internet.

    15. Re:Safety PSAs sponsored by local utilities by old_kennyp · · Score: 1

      The point was that as you have to use that company as it is in a monopoly situation you do not have a choice but t use them. At least by not using their site you are avoiding their advertising practices.
      Here I have no such issues and can select whichever supplier I desire, and I would certainly pick one that does not force advertising down my neck.

  43. "The next web" is a misleading name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    article is not about some web to replace our current web.

    it is just the name of a website whom you've just given a click.

    ads get blocked because ads suck. Sites can detect this and block views, yet this hardly ever happens. Because it doesn't really cost them enough to care.

    Maybe it costs them nothing as adfree users still share links with others and bring in more clicks?

  44. I *am* a sociopath. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also I like to take a dump whenever the TV starts showing ads.

    Take that.

    1. Re:I *am* a sociopath. by PPH · · Score: 1

      So do I. I'm just getting too lazy to walk to the toilet.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
  45. Let me fix that for you... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    Display ads are still an important bread-and-butter income stream.

    Display ads are still an important malware distribution mechanism..

  46. Compromise by Livius · · Score: 1

    How about they can advertise all they want as long as they can guarantee that the adverts are completely safe for my computer?

    Of course, the technology for such a guarantee is probably decades away (if it exists at all), so that would be a big leap forward.

    1. Re:Compromise by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Why guarantee? Just create a law that makes them liable for any damage done by ads they served.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  47. Someone needs to find a new job by einar.petersen · · Score: 2

    Martin Bryant, the Editor-in-Chief of The Next Web clearly needs to find himself a less public position that does not entail dealing with reality and actual people. What kind of moron goes out calling people they don't know snobs. And pertains to know that everything is fine because it works for him... there is a fantastic TED talk about that. If it is broken for me it is broken for me mister, period!!! I utterly resent your rant sir and all the deapicable thoughts it represents about other people that you do not know and cearly will never know as you have alienated them not just towards you but also towards the publication that you are dragging through the mud. I truly feel sorry for the so called editor in chief it must be hard for him that people don't feel the editors intrusive ads need to splatter on screen and suck away their bandwidth and CPU power if I could I would hand him a napkin to wipe away his tears and then tell him to get a grip... that guy has no shame whatsoever! I truly hope the publication gives him a big boot in his proverbial arse and tells him to go packing for such a display of disrespect is one you as a publisher cannot afford to leave unchallenged. Dear Martin Bryant, Editor-in-Chief of The Next Web go cry somwhere else you are hurting our ears with your high pitched wimpering!

    --
    MS, ALS, Aphasia ? http://globability.org - Me http://einarpetersen.com
    1. Re: Someone needs to find a new job by einar.petersen · · Score: 1

      Sorry for the typos the bus is rather unsteady

      --
      MS, ALS, Aphasia ? http://globability.org - Me http://einarpetersen.com
    2. Re: Someone needs to find a new job by west · · Score: 1

      Um, you realize that if you are browsing their site and using an ad-blocker, you are a net negative to them. So if you get all offended and stop visiting, he's done the business a favor...

      For safety reasons, I mooch as well, but I don't try and pretend that I'm doing them a favor while enjoying their content for nothing and letting them pay for the bandwidth I use.

  48. ads.die.die.die by macbeth66 · · Score: 1

    I was happy with the internet before ads and would welcome the return of an ads-free internet. The only commercial sites that I have any use for, are vendor sites whose products I already use and therefore need support.

    1. Re:ads.die.die.die by ScentCone · · Score: 1

      I was happy with the internet before ads and would welcome the return of an ads-free internet. The only commercial sites that I have any use for, are vendor sites whose products I already use and therefore need support.

      Which means you don't even visit web sites that rely on advertising to cover the content creation and hosting costs. Which means you really have nothing to complain about, right? Right.

      --
      Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
    2. Re:ads.die.die.die by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      I do. I use adblock. And I do allow ads on a few select pages that earned my trust not only by serving no obnoxious ads but also working with ad servers that make sure their customers are no crooks that try to install crap on your machine.

      If they disappoint me, they get back onto the blocked list. And if they perish due to it, I consider this a good thing.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  49. To avoid product placement, watch period pieces by tepples · · Score: 1

    What is the difference what beverage an actor is holding in his hand? It could be anything at all, or it could be somebody paying him for it. Movies are not reality.

    A flagrant anachronism, such as a bottle of Pepsi in a film set in the 14th century, destroys the film's believability. Only the very oldest brands can successfully push this sort of product placement.

    1. Re:To avoid product placement, watch period pieces by roman_mir · · Score: 0

      Sure, no disagreement, but that is not the advertiser who put that coke bottle into a 14th century person's hand, and unless the movie is of quality and type of National Lampoons the movie will pay with horrible reviews. Seriously, if the ad is out of place that is on the director and the movie production company. Considering what people watch today, the Marvell universe, seeing a bottle of coke in the hands of an alien somewhere off this planet and even in a different timezone would be a curiosity more than anything, probably generating hot topics and discussions around the plot twists and gotchas. But Citizen Kane remake with Samsung Android in it would be met with derision. Context and common sense still matter even today, no?

    2. Re:To avoid product placement, watch period pieces by tomhath · · Score: 1

      but that is not the advertiser who put that coke bottle into a 14th century person's hand

      Do you really think that? Product placement in movies is huge and has been there from the beginning.

    3. Re:To avoid product placement, watch period pieces by roman_mir · · Score: 1

      My point is that the advertiser can sell an ad but he cannot make the movie director or producer buy the ad and do something stupid with it. If you are shooting a movie you can decide to take the money and put an ad into the flick the wrong way, but how is it the advertiser's fault or problem if you make that decision?

    4. Re:To avoid product placement, watch period pieces by Oligonicella · · Score: 0

      The advertiser lobbied the movie production's responsible parties. Those are the people who decided to go ahead, they could have simply refused. Similar to an actor lobbying for the part, it's just that the money flows the opposite direction. Your scenario would have an advertiser sneaking into props and putting that coke bottle in the set item group. So yeah, the advertiser didn't put it in the shot.

    5. Re:To avoid product placement, watch period pieces by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A flagrant anachronism, such as a bottle of Pepsi in a film set in the 14th century, destroys the film's believability. Only the very oldest brands can successfully push this sort of product placement.

      So, no problem for wine & beer then.

    6. Re:To avoid product placement, watch period pieces by x0 · · Score: 1

      The advertiser lobbied the movie production's responsible parties.

      More likely, the movie's producers engaged multiple advertisers/agencies to obtain product placements - for the specific purpose of getting money to help make the movie.

      m

      --
      In the immortal words of Socrates, who said; 'I drank what?'
  50. DoubleClick, Google Fi, Motorola Mobility by tepples · · Score: 1

    For example, Google owns AdSense, DoubleClick, and Google Fi. It used to own Motorola's cell phone division before selling everything but the patent portfolio to Lenovo.

  51. Ads don't pay for my bandwidth. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ads use up my limited bandwidth and slow down page views.

    I'm literally paying money and using up my limited resources so that advertisers can make money off me.

    Fuck that. They can pay me for the use of my bandwidth and the wasting of my time.

    1. Re:Ads don't pay for my bandwidth. by west · · Score: 1

      Entitled much?

      After all, you are going to *them*.

      (I accept ad-blocking is a necessary safety measure, but the level of entitled-ness of "how dare they charge!" (in terms of ad-eyeballs) is eye-opening from anyone who is not 16.)

  52. I'm Emperor Secnod the Second by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'll bend over, you can kiss the imperial throne-warmer;

    1. Re:I'm Emperor Secnod the Second by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm King Frosty! How dare you to insult your royal King this way! On your knees and bid for forgiveness!

  53. Only immoral? by Lumpy · · Score: 1

    Damn it I was hoping they were going to be compared to TERRORISIM!

    Because I not only run adblockers on my PC's I run Site WIDE adblockers on entire networks. nobody at work sees any ad's.

    Until Advertisers and websites Stop serving any ad that is more than text or a jpeg, They are all getting blocked as they are an infection and attacK vector.

    Web administrators that allow anything but a safe and small Ad that is flash, Java, or Javascript based are internet TERRORISTS.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  54. ads are a waste of space by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm tired of seeing ridiculous clickbait ads. If it came down to it, some sites I would rather pay for if it meant no ads.

  55. It's immoral to make a sandwich? by rbrander · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Jon Stewart once signed off the Daily Show with "If you used a DVR to skip our ads, you're a thief" or some such - it was a sharp way to highlight the foolishness of these guys. We skipped ads when it was only broadcast TV all the time by stepping out to make a sandwich.
    The only thing we're doing is voting with our feet that content providers should find another way to fund their work. It's no more immoral than renting direct-to-video movies were immoral compared to watching broadcast TV.

    1. Re:It's immoral to make a sandwich? by Kardos · · Score: 1

      Source?

    2. Re:It's immoral to make a sandwich? by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      sounds like an Uncyclopedia thing.

      Here's a sample:

      http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/...

      It's actually pretty fuckin' funny. Honest.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  56. The unblockable ads are not intrusive enough. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Your advertisement can be text, it can be a jpeg hosted locally. Like advertisements and banners used to be.

    I literally cannot block an advertisement that is hosted locally with all the other image content for the page. I literally cannot block text that is within the body of the page I want to read.

    But these methods are not intrusive and obnoxious enough for advertisers, so they don't use them.

    That's their problem not mine.

  57. Immoral by drdoot · · Score: 1

    Big words coming from an industry full of click-bait to get views...

  58. Revenue... by scream+at+the+sky · · Score: 1

    Is a privilege, not a God given right. Find a better way to make money than trying to hijack my screen.

    --
    I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off...
  59. clickbait alert by boojumbadger · · Score: 1

    Slimy trick showing the full screen ad as the background of the landing page with a hidden side tab that holds the content.

  60. Computer virus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One of my computers got infected with a virus/malware via an advertisement. Yes, I was running Avast Antivirus. Now I use ad block with Firefox and Web of trust.

  61. General public doesn't care by stasike · · Score: 1

    You have to work really hard to piss the general public off enough to take the hassle of: learning about ways to block adds, implementing add blocking, using add blocking.
    Joe Public (or my Mother) is not your typical Slashdot crowd. They want just switch on the computer and use it to browse the web. They do not even want to know what is the name of the program they use, let alone the deep magic of add blocking. And it is difficult to incite them to change *anything*. Advertisement specialists worked very hard, using very obnoxious, audio AND video noisy, pop-over, pop-under, pretending-to-be-system-dialog, memory and processor hogging, data-heavy adds. In many cases they prevent people from reading the article at all and often they eat bandwidth like there is no tomorrow. So our dear Joe Public has no choice but to use add blocker.

  62. I don't blocks ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    flash or javascript on the other hand...

  63. It's not your internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The whole notion that the internet is some sort of Ad delivery platform first, and everything else second really takes some guts. I agree with pretty much everyone else here. Make and vet your ads so that they don't infect me, take responsibility for your mess if they do. I'm not risking my system so you can make a few bucks.

    I'm not against people making a buck, but I'll be damned if they are using my resources to do it. It's not a coincidence that I stopped having to visit friends on a weekly bases to clean machines as soon as I installed ad-blockers on every single one.

  64. TLDR: Condescending agreement with GPP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    TLDR: Condescending agreement with GPP

  65. mindset prevalent in certain circles??? yeah... by sribe · · Score: 1

    It takes a real sociopath to make that statement with a straight face.

  66. If ads were just annoying ... by MacTO · · Score: 1

    If ads were just annoying, he would have a point. The terms are you get the content at zero cost, but it is being funded by advertising. Violating those terms is a bit immoral.

    The flip side is the immoral behaviour of advertising: they track behaviour the reader's behaviour across multiple websites (which is dangerously close to stalking). They behave irresponsibly by not vetting their advertising clients (which can pose security risks). They also don't consider the bandwidth costs for the recipient of the advertising (which is especially relevant for users of mobile devices).

    I honestly don't think that they should be talking about morality given the nature of their behaviour.

  67. It's a myth by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    The idea that the Internet couldn't support itself with ads is a big lie. Would the Internet change if we all blocked ads, yes. Would the Internet go away, no. It was here, shuffling packets for scientists and engineers long before Google and Yahoo showed up. Can useful services be sustained free of charge without ads? Wikipedia is the biggest example of that, but there are other examples.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:It's a myth by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      How much (percentage will do) of the global bandwidth consumed is consumed by advertising?
      I reckon at least half.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    2. Re:It's a myth by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

      I'm sure advertising firms will pretend that they paid for that bandwidth and they can do anything they want with it. That you get to use the internet at all is entirely by the blessing of advertisers.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  68. Click to play scripts from other domains by tepples · · Score: 1

    Based on the threat model you have presented, the appropriate security model would be "click to play scripts from other domains." Or what am I missing?

    1. Re:Click to play scripts from other domains by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      the appropriate security model would be "click to play scripts from other domains."

      I'm not sure what you're saying here......

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    2. Re:Click to play scripts from other domains by tepples · · Score: 1

      I'm saying that in order to draft a security policy, you need to know what possible threats exist. Just saying "the Internet is insecure," with the implication being "everything on the Internet is equally unsafe," means you stop using the Internet. Under the threat model you described, resources whose URL has a different domain from that of the base document are considered less safe. An appropriate policy for that threat model would apply behaviors with less trust, such as click to play, to those resources.

    3. Re:Click to play scripts from other domains by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      resources whose URL has a different domain from that of the base document are considered less safe.

      Sort of, but we can get more fine-grained than that. For example, plenty of websites host things on AWS or Akamai, without being any more dangerous than loading the original page.

      Specifically we can say that things served by ad-servers are unlikely to be vetted, and that from time to time, they will server up malware.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    4. Re:Click to play scripts from other domains by ihtoit · · Score: 1

      colour me paranoid, but I disable third party embedded content as a rule.

      --
      Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
    5. Re:Click to play scripts from other domains by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      That's not a model, that's a mitigation (and would be a decent one - that's exactly what noscript does for the most part)

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
  69. Quite the contrary by Dunbal · · Score: 1

    Ads are immoral. In fact the whole advertising business is immoral, based on nothing but speculation, greed and lies. If what you are hawking over the internet is so devoid of value that you can charge for it and pay your bandwidth costs directly then I have no interest in what you offer. Besides that's a lie. No one has ads to "pay the bandwidth". The ads are "to make me money".

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  70. Ironicality by Eugriped3z · · Score: 1

    If there were moral standards applied to truth in advertising, itself, I might agree. Clearly this is not the case, so tough noogies! I use adblocking indiscriminately because my time and thoughts are mine, and the ecosystem of advertising is a swamp of daemons praying on my consciousness.

  71. I hate ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hate ads enough to have put a sticker with 'no ads/free news papers' on my mailbox.

    I hate ads enough to not watch regular television. I used to subscribe to some decoded pay for channel, but internet has enabled pay for content on demand. And that is what I use today.

    I hate ads enough to not buy magazines that have too many commercials or advertentions hidden as articles. I have subscribed to a few online magazines and news papers instead, I still get a paper version for some of them.
     
    .
    In the current world we have to use the internet and we are constantly 'vulnerable' to being spammed with unwanted information, and even worse, being tracked. I think it is time to think about new universal rights. Not only freedom of speech is important, but also freedom to not see or hear information you don't want. I've the power to slam the door for yet another evangelic Christian sect that tries to convert me, but advertisers think that should be forbidden when it are ads?.
     
    I do not understand why it is ok to censor things like a female breast because some people think it is inappropriate, but it is somehow immoral that somebody doesn't want to see an advertention? It could be a simple warning: attention this site is riddled with tracking tools and advertentions! Do you want to continue? I would happily close the tab so I don't see 'your valuable information' by accident for free... I could still change my mind for special information.

    I simply don't want to see ads. And when I'm searching for content that is worthwhile to be paid for, I pay for it. I only consume a handful of websites. Some are daily or weekly magazines, others are pay on demand (film/literature/music). But i do not want to endure all the tracking and advertising on my search to that content.

    I would be happy if I could simply do a search query as: spam me with all advertentions about the latest SciFi novel, without getting ads for SSD because I bought a new SSD a week ago. Last week when I searched for a SSD I was spammed with ads medication for diabetics because I happened to have searched for a condition my friends mother had.
     
    Advertising and tracking companies: Don't bother sending me advertentions about SSD's, I've already bought one at my regular shop, I just searched the internet to see what was new. I do not care about all the stores that sell the same. I wanted to search the pro's and con's of the different manufacturers/models, not a store. I didn't get what I wanted from google, I just got fake/untrustworthy review sites and a list of stores
     
    Also, I don't need medication for diabetes. I'm not fat, nor am I in risk to become obese. I was just looking for information about diabetics because I could not believe that someone (my friends mother I know very well from when we were still kids) could end up in a wheelchair and have problems with their sight just because they insisted on eating only junk food and insisted on using the car for everything, even for just a few hundreds meter. I do not need this medication.
     
    If only it were possible to install adblocking software on the iPhone ... hopefully my provider is among those who will offer to block ads.

  72. Blah, blah, blah by DewDude · · Score: 1

    I'm not going to trust the word of "editor in chief" of some magazine who probably sells advertising that's being blocked. If the advertisements weren't getting to the point there's more ad content than actual content; no one would run them. If the ad networks weren't allowing just anyone to buy ad space; and allowing hackers to insert malicious advertisements...less people would use them. If they didn't use flash that caused massive CPU usage spikes; less people would use them. They tend to forget, at least in America...we're almost at a tipping point of seeing more ad content than other content. 15 minutes of every hour of television in the US is advertising; and that number is going up. Newer shows are being produced a couple of minutes shorter to cram in more advertising; older shows are being edited to fit more advertising; TBS is time-compressing shows to fit another advertisement or two. We're being screwed by the corporations in an effort to advertise. Pretty soon we won't be talking about minutes of ad's per hour, we'll be talking about minutes of actual programming per hour. You won't take in to consideration how much of the screen is taken up by ads, it will be how much of the screen is taken up by actual content. But..mainly..if I didn't stand a chance of getting infected every time my PC loaded an advertisement; if I didn't have to deal with my browser crashing because this site uses 15 flash ads per page; I wouldn't have to block them. Clickbait is the worst (answers.com lists of crap is 90% flash ads and 10% content); but it's almost at the point where I don't even want to visit legitimate webpages. Everyone's monetizing everything with ads. You can't even use a Slingbox without having advertisements forced upon you. I say screw those people; I skip them when I watch stuff on DVR, I use live TV commercial time as a chance to go do something else...I'm not going to wait 20 minutes to load a webpage because the advertisements are bogging the system down.

  73. RE: 'For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    RE: 'For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web'

    Sounds like 'The ends justified the means' type argument, which they interpret as 'We can do whatever the f*ck we want'

    Sorry, Adblocker it is.

  74. Fuck you ads went too far by Tyr07 · · Score: 1

    The problem is that ads went too far, you got too fucking ballsy, you started faking out download links, spamming ads everywhere you went.

    You fucked up son, you got greedy. Now we are taking measures against the ads. Too bad, it's called consequences, sit down and eat your shit pile you made.

    No morefunds hidden surprise audio, no more roll over my entire page after reading for a few, no more sudden video ads eating my expensive mobile data, NO MORE ME PAYING FOR THE CABLE, INTERNET, MOBILE DATA FOR /YOU/ TO DISPLAY CONTENT I DON'T WANT.

    Once upon a time ads were reasonable, no, get fucked

  75. Thinking something doesn't make it so by requerdanos · · Score: 1

    > "...I don't think consumers really want that."

    I can, in fact, name about 300 million people who "really want that," myself included.

  76. The non-commercial web by DogDude · · Score: 1

    The web existed before advertising, and it will exist after advertising, too. People can still create content for the web. Fewer will get paid for it, but so what? Hell, if anything, the web was much more interesting and undoubtedly more human before the commercial bullshit started in the mid 90's.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  77. When it's charged per site by tepples · · Score: 1

    So what? - if I want that info, I'd pay.

    Five dollars per site when you're viewing one article on each of 20 sites in a given month ads up fairly quickly.

    1. Re:When it's charged per site by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      So what? - if I want that info, I'd pay.

      Five dollars per site when you're viewing one article on each of 20 sites in a given month ads up fairly quickly.

      It would reduce traffic no doubt. Once again, so what? Here's the thing, since you're going down this road. Are you okay with advertisements that hijack your browser, track your every move and inject their ads into every single webpage you visit, and install malware on your computer?

      Because that's what is happening now, I have no belief that they plan on stopping it, and consider advertisers as the same sort of people who would stand outside my teenage daughter's window to watch her undress, jacking off and claiming it is their right to do so.

      As I said, they drop their stalking and malware, and I'll be happy to look at their ads.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  78. Not interested by defaria · · Score: 1

    It never ceases to amaze me the stupidity of people who think that ads make money. They don't. Sales makes money. If you don't get a sale you ain't earned shit. The fact that you show me an ad yields nothing for you. Additionally, if I'm blocking your ads then what the fuck makes you think that if you happen to sneak by the ad blocker and show me your ad I'm suddenly gonna say "Well damn! Got through the ad blocker! Lookie here! New. Shiny. Must buy". Hell no! I just get even more upset and won't buy your stupid product. Why to advertisers insist on attempting to show ads to people who are obviously, demonstrably and actively saying "I don't want to see your FUCKING ADS!!!".

  79. Ads don't fuel the web, people do by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    leave it to a suit to see only their own perspective

    greed is a mental illness

  80. "Content" too by tepples · · Score: 1

    ["Consumer" arose] When [viewers] stopped paying up front for the content.

    When did original works of authorship become "content" to fill a box?

  81. "Viewers" and "works" by tepples · · Score: 1

    The polite words are "viewer", not "consumer", and "works", not "content".

  82. tracking, visually annoying, destructive by Mirar · · Score: 1

    I block ads because of three main reasons:

    1. I don't like being tracked by a third party
    2. I don't like visually annoying ads (blinking, moving, changing, etc) - I can't read a page if it feels like I'm in Shinjuku or Las Vegas.
    3. Ads are often destructive, either they popup (in the page, or in a new window/tab) or they contain trojans or worms

    Since I block lots of trackers, already there most ads vanish. Domains that serve any of the catagery 2 or 3 are also blocked - actually all third parties are blocked if they are not needed for the page. (RequestPolicy. It's a bit of work and why the can't people make pages without dozens of third parties anymore?)

    Pages that don't have third party ads are not blocked in any way.

    Pro tip if you want your ads to be viewed:
    1. serve them on the same domain
    2. don't animate them (maybe don't even use images)
    3. don't make them have any sort of script

    I for instance see google ad-words. I just can't click on them because it leads to a blocked tracker domain... :p

  83. self-interest bullshit configurator by epine · · Score: 1

    This is the same asshole who buys a pretty little property out in the countryside, and then after a year or two launches a farm practices complaint to shut down the neighbouring farms (which have only been there for two hundred years) because they smell like farms.

    Then he shows up in town council explaining that only sociopaths raise farm animals.

    What an incredible self-interest bullshit configurator this man possesses.

    Get the fuck off my moral lawn.

  84. Dear Mr. Bryant by Opportunist · · Score: 2

    Thank you for your concern, we all had a good laugh. But still I feel you are entitled to a response. And that's all you're entitled to. A response. You're not entitled to our bandwidth, you're not entitled to us reading your spam, you're not entitled to steal our time and most of all, you're not entitled to infecting our computers with malware 'cause you can't be assed to check whether your customers are crooks.

    And this is why we use ad blockers.

    Advertising is something we have come to accept as the price to pay for what we want to have. We have accepted ads as part of our TV viewing experience. And you may trust us when we tell you that we're not too fond of it. It's something we accepted as a price to pay. Not as an "additional experience" or as "valuable information". It's something we put up with to get what we want. nothing more. Essentially, we see you and your product as the necessary evil we have to accept to get what we want.

    Just so you know where we are standing, and where you are.

    We're not your partners. I think I don't tell you anything new, since we're essentially your product. You sell us, to your customers. You sell our views, our page impressions, our viewing habits, our "eyes" so to speak.

    And products are rarely fully on the side of the entity selling them.

    We have come to terms with you and your customers. And we have accepted it, as stated above. And we were also willing to do the same with this new medium here. We do understand that someone has to pay money, and if we want to pay with our time, someone else has to do the money part. We do understand that. And we do actually accept that.

    What we do NOT accept is when you do not check whether your customers are crooks, we have to defend ourselves against their attacks. And that means that we have to disallow you to show us ads. Out of self defense.

    What we do NOT accept is when you try to get obnoxious. When you slap ads over ads over ads before, while and after we have had any chance to see a tiny bit of what we actually want to see, we will defend ourselves. We allow you to use our eyes on our terms. Overstep your boundaries and be prepared to be shown the door.

    We do NOT accept hundreds of megabytes of traffic for obnoxious video/sound ads for a few lines of content that we want. If the price (ads) outweighs the product (content), we will not pay that price.

    Bottom line, and tl;dr version (we know, your time is valuable, you only deem ours expendable): You're entitled to nothing. You will get what we let you have. Be thankful and you shall thrive. Try to force more out of us than your due and you shall perish.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  85. Local audience by tepples · · Score: 1

    TV and radio also use it when they aren't rebroadcasting national broadcast as a local affiliate. These media, no matter how small the companies involved, seem to have a way to communicate with advertisers.

    Local TV and local radio have a local audience, and their local programming aimed at that local audience tends to be for local retailers and service businesses that seek to attract local customers. For example, a business located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that doesn't do mail order would prefer to advertise in a medium that reaches residents of Fort Wayne without having to waste money on reaching residents far from Fort Wayne. The only Internet sites I can think of that are as local as local TV and local radio are local news sites and local classified sites. So unless your site's audience is as local as, say, WANE.com (Fort Wayne's CBS affiliate), you'll have a hard time attracting local advertisers. And to a national advertiser, your site alone would just be small potatoes not worth the money to pay for marketing's time. This is why sites join ad networks: to attract larger advertisers.

    Or what am I missing?

  86. Not only the internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ads are the reason i don't listen to the radio or watch TV. The bit of TV i like to see i watch on my computer, usually as 'recorded'. When watching `live` i zap within seconds an ad occur. Radio and TV lost me as listener not because of internet, but because i am fed up with watching and hearing obtrusive crap.

    Same goes for 'spotify free' - i don't want an ad-powered service. Youtube at least understands this and leaves me alone with my ad-blocker, and they know perfectly well i would not visit them at all if it takes ads. Ads are also the main reason i do not like to use smartphones or tablets that much, as ads are harder to block system-wide on an unrooted device.

    What the advertisement industry not seem to get is that consumers like me are perfectly aware that they are trying to change my behaviour. In the least worse case by tricking me to buy something that i might have bought otherwise, but now from this very supplier. In worst case by trying to make be believe i 'want' something i would not have purchased otherwise. Or by changing my behaviour in general as a 'consuming consumer'.

    Having said that all, i'm not per-se against advertising. I understand that suppliers want to communicate with their customers what they have to offer. But, especially on internet and linear broadcasts, they forget to leave me the choice. In a paper magazine i can choose to read or skip. Hell, if it's a relevant ad - which is likely in a magazine of any kind - it may even be informative. If i read a computer magazine i don't mind advertisers to list their prices for hardware, hosting, new products etc. This is all about both relevancy and avoidability.

    Google understood it long time ago by mostly focusing on text ads. Ok, they still do data-mining but a small text ad is hardly intrusive. However, in practice, 99% of advertisers do not care and only care for number of exposures and click-troughs. They simply do not care me: the consumer they are targeting. So, why would i care about them?

    I want to be respected as consumer. They do not. Hence i run an ad-blocker since ages on any system i use, and never looked back. I am subscribed to several -targeted- services. Mailing lists etc. It's a perfect and valid alternative, yet very undervalued by mainstream advertisers - they only think in terms of more colors, more noise, more annoyance, and less respect for their customer. The customer is King - try learn that first, and until that day all capitalist psychopath advertising agents can just walk to hell and beyond (since i rather have no ads in hell, either).

  87. Ads pay for more than you all realize. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    make note of the advertiser and NEVER patronize them

    No you aren't. Stop lying to make a point.

    Ads pay for things, deal with it, freeloading scum.
    If advertising never existed, your personal life would be CONSIDERABLY more expensive in every way possible.
    I don't think you freeloaders even begin to realize how much advertising PAYS FOR YOUR ENTIRE LIFE even if you don't realize it.

    I bet you haven't even paid for an account on a website to bypass ads or the like.
    Adblock this, adblock that, this site is awful, it won't let me watch this for free, how fucking dare they the scum that they are!
    Plenty of non-awful services out there to consume content, with acceptable advertising, fuck it, block everything, time to go to TPB. Muh piracy market, stick it to the man, man!

    So unless you are some farmer that is self-reliant, you are a liar and abuser of services: a typical cheapskate freeloader.
    The fact that you even called yourself that in the same sentence is even funnier.
    Anyone that uses these usual excuses for blocking ads are sickening people in general and have a completely fucked sense of entitlement it hurts.
    People like you are the reason abusive DRM and advertising EXISTS in the first place!

    1. Re:Ads pay for more than you all realize. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      My life is more expensive because of advertisers. The viewers of the ads have to pay for them, and that's immoral. They suck up our bandwidth without asking, they are the primary distributor of malware, they slow down our computers, and so forth. If I turn off adblock my system becomes noticeably slower. If you know someone with dialup internet, ask them how much they like waiting 5 minutes for some ads to load? And don't bitch at dialup users for not being rich like you and getting broadband.

      Snail mail never makes us pay extra for the shitload of junk mail and fliers that arrive every day. Instead the advertisers have to pay for it all. Granted they get bulk discounts. However internet advertisers are taking advantage of the system, sending stuff out for a relatively low fraction of the actual cost. This is real freeloading and it is the advertisers' business model.

      Next major problem with advertisers is getting all those bloggers to sign up for their ads. No radio or television station ever showed random advertisements that they knew anything about. Every single ad on radio or television was approved of before going on the air. This is extremely rare on the internet. Instead people who want to make some money off of their inexpensive hobby just add some third party script to their site, the dice is rolled and random ads show up along with a few pennies. Those sites should just go away; if they can't be responsible enough to serve up responsible ads then they should go out of "business".

      That's the major problem here. Advertisements on the internet are irresponsible. Huge, obnoxious, insulting, clogging things up, delivering malware, and so forth. You'd have no more than a handful of people with ad blockers if the advertisers were responsible human beings.

  88. Pirates by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The ad business stole our radio spectrum to deliver ads. Now it wants to steal the internet to deliver ads.

  89. Adverts are immoral. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So banning them is morally correct.

  90. Copyright against ad-blockers by tepples · · Score: 1

    Some web site operators would claim that you "signed the contract" when you were born into a country that has signed the Berne Convention. Modifying a copyrighted web page is an exclusive right of the copyright owner.

    1. Re:Copyright against ad-blockers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Modifying a copyrighted web page is an exclusive right of the copyright owner.

      (1) I'm not modifying the web page, I'm just looking at a different presentation of the same content. The web standards don't *require* you to load every script or display every image. If we weren't legally allowed to change the presentation, then we all should be reading raw HTML, CSS, Ecmascript and binary streams instead of reading web sites with images and videos.

      (2) Even if I did "modify" the web page, doing so on my own computer without redistribution would constitute fair use, since by publishing it on the public web they already gave me implicit authorisation to copy the content to my computer for consumption.

      The media industry knows they have no leg to stand on, which is of course why they are now pushing for legislation that closes this "loophole".

    2. Re:Copyright against ad-blockers by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      You cannot copyright dynamic. The page they send me may have copyrighted *content*, which I do not modify, but the ads placed into rectangles of space is not copyrighted by them and I would suggest you argue with the advertisers as to who exactly owns the copyright on their content. Blocking said ad is synonymous with not visiting their site to view their content.

    3. Re:Copyright against ad-blockers by metrix007 · · Score: 1

      Modifying the page on the server, sure. Modifying the page rendered locally on my browser, not so much.

      Besides, advertisements are not part of the page or content that would be under such protection.

      --
      If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
    4. Re:Copyright against ad-blockers by tepples · · Score: 1

      Modifying the page rendered locally on my browser, not so much.

      The copyright owner has the exclusive right "to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work" (17 USC 106). What defense to preparing a derivative work are you thinking of?

      Besides, advertisements are not part of the page or content that would be under such protection.

      As I wrote in my reply to Oligonicella, the document served by the web server is a collective work consisting of the article proper combined with advertisements licensed from advertisers through the ad network. Or what am I missing?

    5. Re:Copyright against ad-blockers by SpaceBuggy · · Score: 1

      As I wrote in my reply to Oligonicella, the document served by the web server is a collective work consisting of the article proper combined with advertisements licensed from advertisers through the ad network. Or what am I missing?

      The server can also simultaneously serve up content in frames, iframes, RSS, XML, JSON in response to dynamic requests.

      Just because these are viewed in the same browser window doesn't necessarily make them part of the same "document." A compilation of works may contain elements that are not derivatives of each other.

      Mind you, IANAL and I don't know if any of this has been decided by a court, so pardon the argument "ex posteriori!"

  91. Advertising is Immoral by jvkjvk · · Score: 1

    At least how it is practiced now. Think of it as exploits for the OS of your brain, because that is exactly what it has boiled down to.

    They hook people up, read their responses to different stimuli, tweak and repeat until they have something which bypasses your internal firewalls. We are hardwired to respond to some things in particular ways, and that provides an exploit surface. Then we are firmware wired (social level) that provides another attack surface.

    They have psychologists on staff for a reason, and it isn't to help you. It is one step down from using psychologists to devise torture, IMO, but in some ways worse because it is so pervasive and affects many more people.

    Imagine of all advertising had to be Courier New in 12 point font, black, using the 1000 most common words in the English language.

  92. Know what else is immoral? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Know what else is immoral? Advertising.

  93. You animate - I block by gweihir · · Score: 1

    You do not animate - I ignore.

    You people have overdone it and are now earning the fruits of your rampant greed and impertinent intrusion. I will go so far as to install firewall rules to get rid of your crap.

    --
    Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
  94. I Don't Mind Ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I do hate to be tricked. Like a link to an article that ends up being an advertisement, those annoying animated ads that are trying to distract you while trying to read an article. I don't use an ad blocker, but I do use FlashBlock. It doesn't block static ads, but it does block most animated ads and I can selectively load and play flash objects.

    In the 80's the computer magazines were more advetisement than articles. I would pour over those ads looking for the lasted developments available. Before I bought any computer gear I would check out the ads in an locally published computer magazine. When they went online, I was disappointed that their ads were more difficult to browse.

    To me the ideal would be static ads dispersed though out the article like in printed magazines or newspapers, with the ads being links to more info on the advertised product. There can be links to other products in that linked webpage, but don't send me to a home page and make me search for the info.

    Of marketers don't care what I think. They just have to piss off more people to make that one sale.

  95. Too many crap ad supported sites anyways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps a reduction in ad revenue will help purge the web of the useless click-bait sites that actually get in the way of useful information!

    Lose all the auto-play bandwidth-heavy crap and it won't be as expensive to run a site (thus reducing your need for excessive ads in the first place)

  96. The web did better before ads by Cito · · Score: 1

    In late 90s the web was better, people tried to keep good content. Web pages were edited manually. Care web into pages. Yes we had young and noons with overused animated gifs and horrible free sites like GeoCities, Angelfire, Tripod.

    But the web exited just fine before ads. I had my own domain name back in late 90s when it was $70 a year.

    It wasn't a RSS feed AdSense scam site that imported headlines and click bait titles from random RSS feeds.

    Folks cared about their web page and took care of it, learning HTML, making awesome designs, the good sites stood out.

    Now every damn site is WordPress, Drupal, Loomla, Tumble, Squarespace themed site with RSS feeds to simulate updated content, and AdSense, amazon ads, and more all over it.

    Ads killed the web, no more creativity, no more enjoyment of caring for your site, no more original content.

    For that my router has adblock add-on. It auto downloads block list every 24 hours. Blocks all ads at the router, no ads on desktop, mobiles, etc.

    1. Re:The web did better before ads by Cito · · Score: 1

      Ugh I hate autocorrect.

      I need to not post from tablet

      Stupid misspellings

  97. going to the bathroom during TV ad is stealing too by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    this guy should STFU

  98. Tell you what by argStyopa · · Score: 1

    Let's let all that "content" that is solely ad-fueled die, and we'll see what's left?

    See, because I think that's pure bullshit. No, let me amend that: it's bullshit for all the content that's worth seeing.

    Because, see, anyone that SELLS anything is going to see the value in connecting to customers more easily and conveniently - ergo, those sites will pay for themselves.
    All the hobby sites, where Billy & friends post their dungeons and dragons house rules, well, they'll still do it because they love it.

    Media sites, like say popularmechanics.com, etc have the implicit 'trade' that is the same as their physical publication: enjoy our content, and we'll trade your viewership eyeballs for ad revenue. No problem there.

    The bulk of the rest of sites "fueled by ads" are none of these. ehow? Fucking worthless. Ads shoveled to me on amazon? Ebay? BN.com? I'll block those, because I'm already paying them for a service in the price of the goods; if they can't support their mechanisms on that, then too bad, they die. (I suspect that they can, and ad-revenue is just another profit-mechanism.) Huffpost? Fuck off, I'd rather read my news from actual news organizations than some shitty aggregator reposting crap.

    So no, I think the things that I "need" from the web already have payment mechanisms built into their models. The rest either are labors of love or can die, and I rather suspect we'll be better off.

    --
    -Styopa
  99. Epictetus by tanstaaf1 · · Score: 1

    "If you would not give your body to any passer-by to do with as he wills, why do you give your mind?" And privacy. And integrity. And - ultimately - freedom. (History is pretty clear about this). Epictetus asked a good question 2,000 years ago. It is still a good question. Does "internet user" == prostitute? Is resistance to being prostituted == immoral? Google seems to think so.

  100. Purpose of advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The purpose of advertising is to get someone to buy your product.

    I haven't seen anything on tv or the web worth buying so the advertisers are wasting money on my eyeballs anyways.

  101. Advertisers did this to themselves by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I did not have a problem with ads until all the flickering and flashing ads, popus, popunders, ads moving across the screeen, auto-playing video ads, etc. showed up. Blocking ads is like switching the channel or turning down the volume on your TV or radio when commercials come on. Nothing nearly as immoral about ad blockers as what the advertisers did in the first place.

  102. Sorry, Mr. Bryant by _KiTA_ · · Score: 1

    Sorry, Mr. Bryant, your right to display advertisement content on my PC ended around the time you started making the damned things talk, or around when the damned things started redirecting to infected PDFs and browser exploits.

    If you guys can't responsibly filter your SWF files to prevent audio and redirects, don't expect to enjoy the privilege of being able to display that content on my screen.

  103. Give the advertisers what they're asking for by Serif · · Score: 1

    I've been waiting for the next logical escalation in the battle between ad blockers and advertisers. Ad blockers were introduced, advertisers put ad-block detecters in place and refuse content. Well how about if we had ad blockers that downloaded that content, just didn't display it. And to take things one step further, how about there being an option for those with plenty of fast bandwidth to do this by default. Now imagine the implications of a few million browsers doing just that.

  104. Ad alternatives by MSG · · Score: 1

    I don't want ads. I do want to pay the sites that provide content that's valuable, but not necessarily their monthly or annual fees which are far out of proportion to my use.

    At least Google is working on an alternative:
    https://www.google.com/contrib...

  105. sociopathic tendencies - Really ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He writes: "Display ads are still an important bread-and-butter income stream. Taking delight in denying publishers that revenue shows either sociopathic tendencies or ignorance of economic realities."

    Really ? And what would you call someone who demands the right to be allowed push whatever he likes to utter into the faces of everyone so he can make a buck,
    regardless of the wishes of the persons receiving it (sometimes even brutally overruling it),
    regardless of the infections it can carry (without being accountable for it ofcourse),
    regardless of its unwanted-by-the-receiver tracking and profiling,
    regardless of the cost to those persons because they have to pay by the MB,
    regardless of those ads clogging up a persons limited bandwidth,
    regardless of those "expressions" trying to steal, by hook and by crook, the attention away from the content for which the person actually is visiting the webpage ?

    Personally I would call that sociopathic behaviour. 'cause thats pretty much the definition: Someone with no respect of other people, doing/advocating only what benefits himself the most, no matter the (negative) effects to those others.

    On the other hand, a company is by definition sociopathic, so I should not be surprised.

    As for those "ignorance of economic realities" ? If you antagonize the people who should be using (or at least accepting) your product you are commiting economic suicide.

    The only reason advertising still exists is that the "buyer" (the one benefitting from the deal) and the end-user are not the same.

    Its also quite possible that us paying directly for and to the websites we wish to visit will, in the end, turn out to be cheaper than the total accumulated costs which are inherent and caused by the current online advertising.

    For all their sins, ads fuel much of the Web. Cut them out and you're strangling the diversity of online voices and publishers

    Nope, we do not "strangle" them. They are still there. Though in an ad-free future maybe not as easy to find, and maybe not all with their own website. But if they value their word so much that they think they need to get their voice heard than they will find a way. And even if they don't but we think they are worth it we will find a way too.

    As for that "strangling" ? I wish that where true, as a lot of the junk sites would than cease to exist too. I can well do without scores of those cluttering up my search results.

    As a last word: The "economic reality" is that even companies start to recognise online advertising as the costly nuissance it is, and how its decrimental to their business. As a result online advertising has to evolve, or it will meet the same fate as the dodo.

  106. As a person with strong sociopathic tendecies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I glee on the moral outrage caused by my ad blocking behaviour, reasons for which I will never be able to understand.

  107. I block Flash and Java. by tepples · · Score: 1

    [Charging per site] would reduce traffic no doubt.

    It would also put viewers in a bubble where they're unwilling to look at a site with opposing viewpoints because they'd have to pay more. It's similar to the purported drawbacks of the Facebook Zero/Internet.org initiative, where viewpoints expressed outside the zero-rated bubble won't get heard.

    Are you okay with advertisements that hijack your browser, track your every move and inject their ads into every single webpage you visit, and install malware on your computer?

    No, which is why I block Flash and Java.

    1. Re:I block Flash and Java. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      No, which is why I block Flash and Java.

      But someone might be trying to serve an ad to you , and you are taking away their rights?...... Just kidding I think.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    2. Re:I block Flash and Java. by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      Responding as if you weren't kidding, I don't have to answer my door when someone knocks.

    3. Re:I block Flash and Java. by bingoUV · · Score: 1

      It would also put viewers in a bubble where they're unwilling to look at a site with opposing viewpoints because they'd have to pay more. It's similar to the purported drawbacks of the Facebook Zero/Internet.org initiative

      1. Human psyche isn't amenable to looking at things disagreeing with them. Any system evolved / used by humans will have that problem. Even without internet.org / zero / facebook / lots of paid websites - most people live in their own bubble.

      2. Even without internet.org/zero - facebook already puts you into your own bubble. Things similar to those you like are shown more. There is no dislike button for similar deliberate purposes. Facebook blames this on users, but they know that showing you things that you like is a good way to keep you coming back for more.

      3. In effect you are saying paid websites would "put viewers in a bubble where they're unwilling to look at a site with opposing viewpoints", whereas without the paid websites they are already in the same bubble. I don't see a difference.

      --
      Bingo Dictionary - Pragmatist, n. A myopic idealist.
    4. Re:I block Flash and Java. by tepples · · Score: 1

      Widespread paywalls would put even atypical people like me who want to see the opposing viewpoints into a bubble because opposing viewpoints would cost substantially more.

    5. Re:I block Flash and Java. by bingoUV · · Score: 1

      1. People claiming to want to study opposing viewpoints are a dime a dozen.

      2. Atypical people don't matter anyway.

      3. The revenue generated from ads, normalized by adblocking people, is so little that most people would be limited by time to view all the material rather than the money to pay for it. Except for badly scaling pricing models - but when bad models are assumed, any number of things can wrong, viewpoint bubbles are the least of worries.

      --
      Bingo Dictionary - Pragmatist, n. A myopic idealist.
  108. do not want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody intentionally clicks ads!

  109. If it quacks like an interstitial... by AFCArchvile · · Score: 1

    Here's an ultra-condensed, slightly re-ordered version of the Q&A:

    Q: Isn't this just an interstitial?
    A: No. We donâ(TM)t like interstitials either. They sit between you and the content and require another click and new pageload before you can proceed to the article.

    Q: How can I skip the Canvas ad and read the article?
    A: As soon as the page loads you can move your cursor to the article and it will slide back over the Canvas ad. Pro tip: hit the âcâ(TM) key on your keyboard and the article will move in or out right away. Try it now to see how it works!

    I'm sorry, how is this functionally different from an interstitial? And no, Boris, you may not answer "because it uses canvases," because HTML5 and Javascript can trigger reloads on their own.

    My current default browsing environment is the following:
    - Firefox with NoScript, Classic Theme Restorer, and Status-4-Evar
    - Pale Moon with NoScript (I'm heavily considering abandoning Firefox entirely, aside from obligatory browser compatibility testing)
    - In ultra-extenuating circumstances, elinks (this is what I have to use for my local newspaper's website when I have to perform the 1 odd search every 3 months for a police blotter story. Their website forces a navigation forward saying that the browser is broken, and elinks handles it in the most graceful fashion when I click the "Back" button. The Boston Globe is far less annoying for odd searches, and if a newspaper truly wants to paywall their content, they can go with the Rupert Murdoch method and refrain from sending the full article text in the base HTML.)

    I had the page for the Q&A open, and I went to NoScript and clicked "Temporarily allow all this page"; what a mistake that was. It proceeded to chug, and take almost 25 seconds to load an abomination of 78 scripts among 21 external domains (20 if I count "tnwcdn.com" as internal), and it took 4 different stages of "Temporarily allow all this page" to allow everything. It's a veritable cross-site scripting nightmare, and the end result is a full-page ad (sometimes video or with semi-transparent animated layers) covering 92% to 99% of the page, with the far right edge consisting of the article dangling annoyingly in a sine-wave oscillation on the right half. It was so disgusting, I had to click "Revoke Temporary Permissions" to restore some visual sanity, and make me not want to "kill -9" Firefox out of spite.

    I'm going to be brutally honest: this is the kind of website design that led me to browse the web the way I do now: Flash disabled unless I specifically enable it, and NoScript set with its ultra-agressive rules. I don't even need AdBlock, because NoScript takes care of the most annoying elements powered by the reckless abuse of Javascript in modern website design. If there's a regular banner ad that isn't Javascript, I'll see it, and if it's really good, there's a faint chance I might click it. If there's a page whose core content can't be rendered without any of these ultra-annoying elements, I leave, never come back, and tell all my friends how disgusting the page is (as I will do for The Next Web; there are plenty of other tech blogs that don't stoop this low).

    I'm also getting really tired of the overuse of slide animations in HTML5/Javascript website design. If I were to make a listicle of the worst HTML5/Javascript abominations, The Next Web's design decisions here would be number 1.

    I'm also insulted by TNW's proselytization about ads, because they've been so deep in the marketing tank due to their financial position (they have to get funding to keep their website running, and they're hopelessly stuck in the web ad arms race), their undying love for annoying touch-centric webpage design (their "about" page ( http://thenextweb.com/about/ ) has a static non-scrolling background in the top 20%; that's one of the oldest asinine elements of ultra-touch-hipsterish web design that has been plaguing websites since 2011; Vox i

    --
    "Ancillary does not mean you get to rule the world." --U.S. Circuit Judge Harry Edwards, speaking to the FCC's lawyer
  110. Disgusting viewpoint by cfalcon · · Score: 1

    Ads are harmful. They are a form of statistically-proven mind control that are legal for free speech reasons. The best thing you can say about ads is "we don't take down advertisers with guns, because we allow free speech". That's the strongest argument they can make. They hurt consumer choice, increase debt, create expectations of products that they don't live up to, push towards a version of society with defective bullshit, hurt popular opinion of home-grown solutions, lower mindfulness, and change the overall discussion to be about "why don't you drink X" instead of that not even being a relevant topic.

    It's so insidious that I actually lack the vocabulary to even phrase the previous sentence properly, and it would take a well formed article to even express the opinion. Short version: advertisements already control everything. Even if you don't buy advertised products, that's a deviant choice and you have to defend it.

    Now, lets take the tech side, and the property ownership side.

    1)- You buy a device capable of doing your bidding.
    2)- Instead of that, it tries to control your mind on behalf of third parties, who offer you no compensation, and only seek to harm you.
    3)- This idiot argues in favor of you not having control of the device that you paid for, because he wants to control it, and you.

    What a scam artist. I celebrate every ad blocked, I cherish every webpage rendered into content instead of horseshit.

    NOT using an adblocker is immoral. It hurts you, and by becoming familiar with brands, you unwittingly become their agent- and thereby you hurt your friends and family. If someone were to ask you about some random shit brand whose only merit is that they advertised, your response will be something like "I dunno but their ads are annoying/funny/cute/dumb". That's a huge fucking win for some shit company. It should be "who knows, never used them". But it isn't. Because advertisers won.

  111. Dear Martin Bryant by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 1

    Ad blockers are not immoral. The "economic realities" to which you obsequiously collapse before are.

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  112. How Can Ads Work? by Art3x · · Score: 2

    I'm trying to think of how to make advertising work, because I really like all of the free stuff, and I know eventually those media creators need to somehow get paid.

    Pages
    BAD: Animated, big, or pop-up ads
    OK: Text ads, like on the side of Google Search Results. Maybe little bitty, icon-like logos of brands along the side or bottom (a few). Also, somehow the print advertising in paper newspapers was never that annoying. It was even interesting. It's worth studying why and implementing whatever the computer-screen equivalent is.

    Video
    BAD: 30-second commercials before my 2-minute Youtube video begins
    OK: 5-second commercial at the end of the Youtube video

    Games
    BAD: Full-screen ads between levels, or partial-screen ads during levels.
    OK: Little ads at the bottom of the Game Over screen.

    Businesses spend millions of dollars to hire a celebrity endorsement, talented graphic designers and filmmakers, and others, to cater to touchy-feely emotional associations. They often focus on just getting people to think the brand is cool or trustworthy in a nebulous way, instead of simply outlining the cold, hard facts about their product. I'm not saying I endorse this way of advertising. I'm saying that the elephant in the room is that they are sabotaging it all by their rude interruptions. What kind of emotional aftertaste will I have for a brand in this scenario: Ah, funny cat video. Click. Hi, I'd like to sell you insurance! Meh, you ruined the moment.

    Businessmen might think the limits I've outlined above will make their ads too subtle. But if you cross that threshold of subtlety, you ruin everything. Besides, people are a lot more detail-oriented than you think. In school I remember that Guess jeans were all the rage. The difference between Guess jeans and all of the others was a one-inch triangular patch sewn on the back. I'm even talking teenagers here. They may sometimes seem incapable of remembering historical dates, but man can they spot the difference between the Polo logo and a knock-off. That's why I think little logos will be noticed. They may even be more compelling because they are not chasing you. They're standing back, like they don't really need you, totally cool.

    For those that are interested, be a little enticing. For those that aren't, don't be annoying. Because I don't think the tactic is working to hit everyone over the head in the hopes that they'll fall into some kind of stupor and buy.

    1. Re:How Can Ads Work? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Businessmen might think the limits I've outlined above will make their ads too subtle.

      Subtle advertising is an oxymoron. The whole point of advertising is to make you change your mind, usually in an irrational way. It has to intrude or it's pointless.

  113. Who is this guy ? He is nobody to me. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why should anyone who is capable of independent critical thought give a damn what this guy says ?
    The obvious answer is that no one should care, other than to mentally file this idiot's name in the
    "will probably do other douche-bag things in the future" folder.

  114. Carrier-grade NAT by tepples · · Score: 1

    Oh, and here are the "terms" for getting information from a web server: HTTP. I can do whatever I want with the data.

    Here are the terms under which any work of authorship is made available in the United States: Title 17, United States Code. Has a court decided whether removing ads creates a "derivative work"? Or is it more like the Game Genie, where the judge in Galoob v. Nintendo decided that the modified work is not "fixed" enough?

    You can just run a web site on any old PC, too.

    Not if your home Internet connection is behind a carrier-grade network address translation (CGNAT). Instead of giving your PC a world-routable address, your ISP gives your PC an address in a reserved space that is private to your ISP. This has happened in a lot of countries affected by the IPv4 address shortage. Even users in countries where a fairly long DHCP lease of a public IP address is common often can't run servers, as many ISPs have a habit of disconnecting home subscribers who are discovered to be running servers.

  115. Since false advertising is legal in the US by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I will not pay any attention to ads.

  116. Ignorance by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Display ads are still an important bread-and-butter income stream. Taking delight in denying publishers that revenue shows either sociopathic tendencies or ignorance of economic realities."

    He's the one showing his ignorance. A small percent of people accounts for the majority of clicks. A large percentage of people don't click on ads. I know this, many people know this, and advertisers know this. Advertisers, knowing this, willingly spend their money on advertising. How can he claim that those people who weren't going to click on the ads anyway blocking those ads is immoral? This is especially true with the nature of web ads these days: malware, high bandwidth, annoying audio, etc. Can he actually believe that or is he fishing for attention?

  117. Why can't both be immoral? by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    I totally agree that ad-blockers are immoral. Realistically how can you support denying a web site ad revenue which is the only reason it can continue to exist?

    However, just as immoral are the way ads are tending to be presented now. Full screen ads as noted, or un-avoidable popovers are to my mind a betrayal from the other direction - a web site needs revenue to survive, but that should not come at the expense of the sanity of the reader.

    My solution is to simply sop using a site if I find the ads grow too obnoxious. But I also really can't see anything morally wrong with blocking ads from a web site that has gone too far in embracing abusive ads, almost as a form of punishment...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  118. Advertising is more American than apple pie by iwbcman · · Score: 1

    America is probably the only place in the world where large numbers of people really appreciate advertisements and gleefully consume their content. Hell some people I know watch tv for the advertisements, the program in which the ads are inserted is just incidental, they want to watch the ads. I myself cannot stand advertising, and nothing has swayed me from this stance in the last 30 years. I, unfortunately, remember when I saw the first ads on the web-a part of me died and a I shed a tear in commemoration. But I do believe there is something deeper going on in Americas infatuation with advertisement. There is a certain kind of shamelessness ( think of the phrase: shameless self-promotion) that everyone feels on some level when, in order to sell a product or service, they are actually selling themselves. So on a grander level I believe our fetish for advertising is part and parcel of a mass social shaming ritual where each of us much show ourselves equally willing to sell ourselves. Actually I suspect that that is the real meaning of "All men are created equal". The ritual of american advertisement and advertisement consumption, the ritual of mutual self-shaming renders us all equal, which paradoxically absolves us of the shame by virtue that everyone does it. If everyone is willing to steep to such a level, noone is better than anyone else.

    I hope one that my descendants may finally realize what money was actually good for. After thousands of years of misusing currency in order to justify radically unequal allocation and distribution of resources, it might finally dawn on us that currency is a social tech that makes society possible, it enables us generalize and abstract away from all differences and distinctions allowing infinite combinatorics, rendering each and everything thing, person and place interchangeable and substitutable. One day we may grasp that revenue generation is actually a precondition for the social world, but that won't happen until we stop using currency/money as a way to measure the worth of others and get over the notion that there is any relationship of value between supply and demand. Every single thing we know about currency/money is pure form ideology. There has never been anything remotely scientific about economics, since it's inception, yet because all of economics is mathematical in nature (it's all numbers man) it plays on our superstition concerning that nature of the relationship between numerics and truth(fuck you Plato, seriously fuck you). God forbid someone were to ever empirically prove even one of the assumptions which are the foundation of the pseudo-science/religion called economics, like for instance the "law of supply and demand" which everyone knows to be true, being an ideological truism inseparable from our capitalistic identities, yet which utterly fails to account for any real world value phenomena, (every single instance you might be able to conjure up in your head about the law of supply and demand falls apart on closer inspection). "Economics" is the regulation of social arbitrage, nothing more and nothing less, it is what makes the world go 'round, but it has nothing to do with the reason some have superabundance and others are impoverished, or how much of any given resource, product or service is available/accessible. Wenn es nur darum gehen kann, kann es deshalb nicht darum gehen-bad translation, if something can only ever be about something(else), then that something cannot be what it(the other) is about. Again. If everything is about money, then money is not the cause of anything. It is the universal blame,guilt,accusatory object, cause etc. Semantically money is indistiguishable from God in scholastic argumentation. As a repository for inifinite deferement money gathers all the guilt and shame on itself and it can only function this way if everything is about money. Behind every monetary transaction there are values at work that have nothing to do with money at all, therein lies our real justification for the choices w

    1. Re:Advertising is more American than apple pie by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      currency is a social tech that makes society possible, it enables us generalize and abstract away from all differences and distinctions allowing infinite combinatorics, rendering each and everything thing, person and place interchangeable and substitutable

      I doubt Georg Simmel is one of your descendants, but that's one of the points he made in The Philosophy of Money (1900).

  119. Google leaves my money on the table for now by tepples · · Score: 1

    I tried to create an account on Google Contributor but got "We’ll send you an invite when your spot opens up." In other words, they're not even ready to take my money yet. How many months does it typically take for a new user to become approved?

  120. Sounds good to me by WaffleMonster · · Score: 1

    I rather like the old Internet before it was completely invaded by hoards of "sociopaths" who discovered easy ways to profit by making peoples lives miserable.

  121. Privacy Badger by sjames · · Score: 1

    Personally, I run flashblock and privacy badger. Java is disabled in my browser. If I'm not seeing your ads it's because of your own wrongdoing. There seems to be a LOT of wrongdoing out there.

  122. That deaf, dumb and blind kid... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Advertisers rely on other people's sense of sight and sound yet they are deaf and dumb to the fact that intelligent people tire instantly of repetition, irrelevance and pathetic, annoying gimmicks. As long as they refuse to adapt to an environment full of intelligent people with better things to do, they can go fuck themselves. Adblockers aren't immoral, they're necessary.

  123. Ok. Give me your phone number by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Give me your phone number, SSN and Bank routing number please.

  124. Manipulating dumb people is immoral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Manipulating dumb people is immoral, and called "advertising".

  125. Error-in-chief by I4ko · · Score: 1

    Did anyone see that as error-in-chief when they first read that?

  126. This again? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Okay, we've been through this on every issue from recording songs off the radio to DVR-ing the finale of Mad Men:

    YOU ARE NOT UNDER ANY OBLIGATION TO VIEW ADS. Unless you signed an agreement saying you would, you're not.

    What advertisers have counted on for decades is the captive audience. They never had to establish any legal obligation to watch ads because they controlled the air time and the page space.

    Somehow someone got it into their head that this obligates viewers. It does not. Supreme Court said so.

    "This is how we make money" is not an argument supporting the notion that someone else has an obligation to watch your ads. So? Make money some other way. Or go broke. Next time, get my signature on a contract saying I'll watch ads and then we'll talk.

  127. Sense Of Entitlement by Mike610544 · · Score: 1

    If you don't like the ads on a site, don't visit that site. If enough people do that, site operators will figure out the types of ads people tolerate and those they don't. Ad blocking isn't 'stealing', but it is mildly sociopathic: "I want what I want and screw the people providing it."

    I find ads as annoying as the next person, but that's how a lot of stuff I want to see is funded, so it only seems fair to accept them. Pretty much every 3+ comment here is pro adblocking.

    --
    ... also, I can kill you with my brain.
    1. Re:Sense Of Entitlement by Carewolf · · Score: 1

      If you don't like the ads on a site, don't visit that site. If enough people do that, site operators will figure out the types of ads people tolerate and those they don't. Ad blocking isn't 'stealing', but it is mildly sociopathic: "I want what I want and screw the people providing it."

      No, it is friendly and helpfull. I actively avoid products I see advertisement for, by block ads, I make sure I am more likely to buy product from those advertising on sites that I visit.

  128. Market Forces by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love how when commercial interests are screwing someone, it's "Market Forces", but when customers get sick of it, it's "Immoral" or "In Denial". Maybe it's just because we're sick of advertisers' shit...pushy, disruptive, and just plain obnoxious.

    When people started using ad-blockers, it was a loud and clear message: "The number of ads on this site is excessive, and the ads themselves are obnoxious enough that I'm willing to get off my lazy ass, find, and install an ad blocker".

  129. just from the article title by ihtoit · · Score: 1

    my response: Flash content that causes CPU overheat is also immoral.

    Your move.

    --
    Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  130. You have to work for my ad money. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's a contract you and I enter into if you're going to show me ads on your site.

    You vet them. You serve them to me, from your site. You do it in a way that doesn't keep me from getting to the real content on the site. You take responsibility for any active content in those ads.

    If you violate any of this, you can expect me to block my browser from ever requesting the ads.

    If your content needs the ad revenue, then you need to realize there's work involved in earning that revenue.

    You can't expect me to open up my machine to malicious active content masquerading as ads. You can't expect me to tolerate ads that interfere with the use of your site.

    You can expect me to look over at ads which you yourself are unobtrusively serving to me, and maybe click some if they interest me.

  131. If each site asks for its own $10 by tepples · · Score: 1

    Either way, it's only a $10 one-time fee.

    The $10 fee allows access only to Something Awful. If I happen to get referred to a post on a different subscription forum, that's yet another $10 fee.

  132. Fewer have "plenty of fast bandwidth" than before by tepples · · Score: 1

    Well how about if we had ad blockers that downloaded that content, just didn't display it. And to take things one step further, how about there being an option for those with plenty of fast bandwidth to do this by default.

    Except it's not as easy as it used to be to assume that the whole market has "plenty of fast bandwidth". More and more browsing is moving from home desktop PCs to smartphones, tablets, and laptops with mobile broadband, for which cellular carriers in the United States tend to charge $10 to $15 per gigabyte. A 2 MB video ad for each page would thus add 2 to 3 cents to your bill for each ad, whether you render it on-screen or off-screen. And plenty of rural viewers are still stuck on satellite or harshly capped DSL.

  133. For some of us, those ads cost us a lot of money. by techno_dan · · Score: 1

    Not everyone has access to high download capacities. I get 20 Gig a month for $100, with a $10 a gig overage charge. I noticed that my usage was about 40% content, 60% ads. Do the math... It adds up quickly. So I use ad blockers now. If they can pay me for the bandwidth those ads use, maybe I will allow ads again.

  134. How to get me to stop blocking ads by jonwil · · Score: 1

    1.Ensure 100% that the ads can't serve me viruses, worms or any other nasties (and that they aren't trying to get people to install such software via the ad)
    2.No ads that play audio
    3.No ads that cover the content
    4.No ads that contain elements pretending to be UI or otherwise attempting to mislead people into clicking on them. (including things that try to get people to install spyware, adware or other undesirable software)
    5.No ads for anything that is illegal, of questionable legality or attempts to defraud or scam people (online gambling, porn, get-rich-quick schemes, questionable weight loss schemes that don't actually work etc)
    and 6.Geolocate my IP address and serve me ads for things actually available to me here in Australia. No more ads for US-only things please. (that includes US charities, lobby groups, special interest groups, things like AARP etc)

    Of course ad providers will do none of these things so I will continue to block their ads.

  135. I will stop using adblockers only when by renegade600 · · Score: 1

    I will stop using adblockers only when malware stops using ads to spread their menace
    I will stop using adblockers only when they stop they quit with all the flashing, in your face ads
    I will stop using adblockers only when they stop placing more ads than content on some pages/sites

    I can go on but ...

    IMO, is the same as removing the sales inserts in the newspapers - which I have the right to remove before reading.

  136. They've caught on to Inspect Element by tepples · · Score: 1

    you can always right-click on the offending part, select 'Inspect element' (In Chrome), wait for the Developer Tools to show up and hit DELETE

    Not always. I tried doing exactly this yesterday on Chicago Tribune, but it didn't work. Chicago Tribune's pop-over script actually removes the text of the article from the DOM.

  137. will the advertisers pay by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

    do advertisers accept responsibility and pay for the damages caused by the malware in their advertisements? no? so screw them and block the ads

  138. Hard work and determination of a donkey by tepples · · Score: 1

    A Pepsi can in a movie is NOT the same thing as a web page ad (the topic of discussion). If you didn't know that web page ads were what the GP meant, then you're [...] purposefully being an ass.

    Perhaps I was "purposefully being" said animal in the sense that a donkey symbolizes hard work and determination. I was trying to encourage phantomfive to define the threat model more thoroughly, and sometimes it takes a bit of donkey work to get someone to clarify his position and reveal his own hidden "ass"-umptions. I was presenting an extreme example of an ad that would be hard to detect, namely a product placement in a video, as one end of a rhetorical bisection search for the line between ads that are and are not worth detecting. Apparently I succeeded at eliciting a practical threat model that boils down to "scripts from another domain are less likely to be safe."

  139. My mind is not a billboard by samantha · · Score: 1

    I have every right to control what it is exposed to as much as I can. I feel zero remorse to anyone whose ads I do not see. They have no right to force me to take some action (endure their ads). If they don't want offer their site on terms they can afford without coercion then that is hardly my problem. I actually am somewhat careful to stop types of ads such as the self playing AV ones and especially popup AV ads over the main content when at all possible. That is abuse.

  140. Hypothetically... by cynicist · · Score: 1

    Here is a serious question for those that are asking how sites could obtain revenue in lieu of ad-blockers:

    If all websites displayed the simple textual ads that Google does, even if they weren't targeted enough to appear useful, do you think anyone would bother going through the effort of installing an addon to block them?

  141. Cost of YaCy in bandwidth and privacy by tepples · · Score: 1

    YaCy looks interesting. But after reading about it, I thought of something: Sleazy site owners could spam YaCy by inserting pages under a particular word that do not actually contain that word. To counter this, YaCy's anti-spam measure downloads all pages that appear on each search results page. But this is slow and costs a lot of bandwidth, especially over a metered last mile such as satellite or cellular, and it discloses to the web site operator that one of its pages has appeared in someone's YaCy results.

    1. Re:Cost of YaCy in bandwidth and privacy by lister+king+of+smeg · · Score: 1

      YaCy looks interesting. But after reading about it, I thought of something: Sleazy site owners could spam YaCy by inserting pages under a particular word that do not actually contain that word. To counter this, YaCy's anti-spam measure downloads all pages that appear on each search results page. But this is slow and costs a lot of bandwidth, especially over a metered last mile such as satellite or cellular, and it discloses to the web site operator that one of its pages has appeared in someone's YaCy results.

      you could probably institute a reputation system so spammy results also result in a lower ranking

      --
      ---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
  142. compensation by cas2000 · · Score: 1

    when advertisers pay ME actual cash for my bandwidth, my CPU usage, my battery, my time, and my attention then i may deign to consider their offer and agree to view their ad.

    most likely not, though, because it would take a huge amount of money to compensate for the annoyance.

  143. forced ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well Martin Bryant, asshole, forced ads are inmmoral

  144. Sending only changes saves you money by tepples · · Score: 1

    But I think if they want an application running in their website it should run on the server side.

    Would you prefer to have to reload the whole comment page when you open or close a subtree? Sending only the changes between one state of an application and the next after each action reduces total data transfer compared to re-sending the whole state for every action. If you pay per bit for your last mile to the Internet, which is typical of mobile ISPs, this saves you money. The tradeoff is that doing so requires client-side scripting.

  145. Search was supposed to help ME find THEM, but ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The promise of the web was enhanced searching ability.

    Somehow they slipped past me the real outcome.

    That they don't give a damn about enhancing my ability to search for and find what I need -- give me approximations, show me things I don't know about, let me narrow the question down and elaborate on the need I'm trying to fill. That would have been useful -- to me.

    Instead, it's helping THEM, whoever is behind the money, search for details about ME without giving me any opportunity to usefully narrow and specify the query to engage in a mutually satisfactory transaction.

    That's kind of *ucked, isn't it?

    Want to have me willing to purchase something you make?
    Don't shove it in my face.

    Adblockers are my way of keeping you on the list of sources from which I'm willing to buy ANYthing. If I haven't seen your attempts to shove it into my unwilling attention -- as long as my adblock, like the old reliable killfile, works -- then what I do is my choice. I don't need to get angry and upset.

    Unless you force your crap into my face.

    And you wonder why I don't like your advertising, or believe that it's really to your benefit to do this?

    You want data files on everyone and enough tracking to have a good idea how to make most of the people, most of the time, do mostly what you're paying for.

  146. Ad blockers are necessary... by Trogre · · Score: 1

    ...so long as invasive and immoral ads exist.

    That is a sub-set of all ads, by the way, not all ads by any stretch.

    --
    "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
  147. Cry me a fucking river by sydbarrett74 · · Score: 1

    When advertisers serve adverts with static images instead of CPU- and memory-hogging Flash-based video monstrosities, then I'll remove ABP. Until then, I'll gladly keep their shit off my system.

    --
    'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
  148. Worthy threats by tepples · · Score: 1

    And part of this philosophy includes identifying which threats are worthy of your effort.

  149. Ads don't "fuel the web" by maiden_taiwan · · Score: 1

    Ads don't "fuel the web." They fuel particular businesses, and most of them I wouldn't be sad to see go. I remember the web before there were ads. It was fun and interesting and helpful anyway.

    I've run a web site at my own expense (currently $250/year) for 20 years because it's fun to do so. I like sharing information, just like I enjoy writing open-source code. If the web were just enthusiast sites and shopping, that would be fine with me.

  150. Block the Adblock by enter+to+exit · · Score: 1

    Ad blockers are trivial to detect. If a site really feels offended by an ad blocker, they can refuse to load the content. They just don't.

  151. Ad on Netflix site by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I assume it was an ad I saw a couple of times while on a browser without adblock.

    I already pay for Netflix, why should I see ads even on their website?

    More shockingly, the banner told me my credit card would expire soon even though my credit card doesn't expire for a couple more years and it is designed to look like a legitimate message from Netflix.

  152. Its my browser, my computer, my time, and my net. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I paid for the internet connection, the bandwidth, the computer, the electricity, and my end of the network (router, switch, local dns server), cable, etc. And for visiting a website, I get banner ads invading my space. I'm looking for a piece of information, and instead my bandwidth is invaded, pop up ads completely fill the space, the volume is at maximum, and everything is autoplay. And targeting one advertiser with the reputation of the worst is fair, because its always a race to the bottom. You can try to take over my computer, and ad blocking is my way of keeping my computer. If you have an ad embedded onto the page, I will see the page load, the ad along with everything else. I might notice the ad, and can click if I want more information (not have something pop up if you want me to have more information). If your site is half way interesting, I will visit. If your ad is for something I want or need or am curious about, I will click. If its not, then I won't. The bottom line is that its my choice to click or not. Ad blocking doesn't change that, it only stops you from making the choice. Just because you make a web site that I visit, doesn't mean you can take over my computer.

  153. Depends on the add by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In-site adds, properly vetted and not featuring irritating animations, noise, mouse-over attention grabbing, pop-over/under, spyware/malware vectors, tracking etc... sure, why not.

    Adds as they are: no, absolutely not, not in a million years, fuck off and die you evil bastards.

  154. Martin Bryant by AntiSol · · Score: 1

    a guy named Martin Bryant is calling me immoral?

    Lol.

  155. net neutral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the idea here is to not block ads if they pay extra (last weeks rumor about german telekoms next big thing). anyways, if you advertise an article on FB and the first thing is see is a canvas ad or any register popup : FUCK YOU. it hit marketing people in the face before and i will do it again.

  156. ad-free web is a good thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Imagine an ad-free web. Many services fueled bybads would die, yes. Is that so bad? Search would be harder, but than again... If these services are so valuable why aren't people willing to pay for them directly? Or why not paid for while bundled with other services?

    Ads consume bandwidth. Push products I don't need, for problems I don't have. Netflix works without ads because it provides a service I'm willing to pay for separately. Spotify too. Google does too actually, and in fact I do pay for it... In licensing fees for the products I buy with their tech in it.

    Ad based business models should die. If you don't produce content someone is willing to pay for, then that content shouldn't be produced. I do, however, recognize that serving ads is a method to profit from people who would otherwise pirate content. Ad blockers are great primarily because advertising sucks but they do cause problems because of this catch 22 in human behavior (pirating content, because you're not willing to pay, annoyed at ads that make oirqcy irrelevant).

    Lasly stream of conciousness thought. Dumb pipes are trying to get smart in order to maintain profits. A great idea from a business perspective (from a societal perspective it's terrible - they are utilities). Ad blockers can just as well be ad swappers... Think about it. You go to Google. Verizon swaps your Google ad with a Verizon ad and turns the tables on google. Suddenly Google gets a marginal percentage of ad revenue because Verizon shares a bit of the ad revenue with Google instead of how it works now namely Google gets all the revenue, verizin gets none.

    All in all, regardless of outcome, the content producer will het screwed here.

  157. You're asking the wrong person(s) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So my question to all of those infuriated by those content producers who would "dare" to try to protect their ads is this: what viable alternative do you suggest?

    I'm a thief, and sometimes a violent one. Hey, I have to make money too feed my family, to drive my BMW and pay my holiday trips to exotic destinations, just like everyone else. Right ?

    If you want me to stop stealing and punch you in the face than you, as my victims, have to come up with a replacement method.

    And it better be one that financially at least equals my current income, or I'll be forced to keep doing it to make up for the difference. But in that case I promiss to do it less, possibly even much less. ... up to the moment I decide I need more money, at which moment I will simply need to pick up my old ways and frequency again.

    But, I promiss that at that moment I will again give you the choice to fix my increased financial wantings, or to refuse to do so and suffer the consequences ...

    Its all up to you guys, not me. Really.

    <Sarcasm off>

  158. abusive ads by Skapare · · Score: 1

    if the ads had no reputation of being abusive i would not have been blocking them

    --
    now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
  159. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can AdBlockPlus do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on AdBlockPlus doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> AdBlockPlus does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    AdBlockPlus adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  160. It's not like that for hosts files by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hosts, unlike browser addons, aren't easily detected by native browser methods like browser addons (adblock variants, ghostery etc.) are.

    The ClarityRay program uses that to stall adblocking browser addons in fact.

    Plus, hosts do a LOT more for you (in adding speed, security, reliability, and even added anonymity to an extent on the latter) for LESS resources consumed http://start64.com/index.php?o... all listed there.

    * :)

    Why add on MORE complexity + room for breakdown & exploit that adds messagepassing overheads in an already slower usermode browser, especially when they do less (and consume FAR more CPU, memory, & other forms of I/O vs. hosts running as a filter for the IP stack itself in kernlmode faster & more efficient operations)? That's illogical & stupid!

    * "A fool makes things bigger + more complex: It takes a touch of genius & a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." - Einstein

    ** "Less is more" = GOOD engineering!

    APK

    P.S.=> "The premise is quite simple: Take something designed by nature & reprogram it to make it work for the body rather than against it..." - Dr. Alice Krippen: "I am legend"

    ...apk

  161. Why use only 1 source of hosts file data? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's 9 more reputable hosts file sources possible via APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ 32/64-bit SR-2 http://start64.com/index.php?o... that you can utilize to catch more ads & exploits online...

    It uses all 10 reputable & reliable sites for said data (including MVPS), or allows you to select ONLY the ones you see fit to use should you elect to not use all of them.

    It also succeeds in shearing away ANY & ALL useless "bulk" in said hosts files it imports (comments mostly) + it makes the host file more efficient by making the blocking address the most efficient one possible, thus making hosts files BETTER THAN THEY ARE by default - even gaining you MORE speed & reliability + security by "hardcoding" your favorite websites you spend most of your time online at placing them @ the TOP of a custom hosts file for fastest possible access, especially once hosts are cached into RAM (thus, exceeding remote DNS lookups + indexing AND their redirect security faults since most are NOT PATCHED vs. the Kaminsky redirect flaw + gaining you reliable connections if DNS goes "down" & they do, quite a lot...).

    That's done simply by decreasing the hosts file's size & line-by-line internal parse speed during the file open/read-write/flush/close I/O cycle (changing said blocking IP address from the larger slower 127.0.0.1 loopback adapter address) & smaller files load into memory faster...

    Even Microsoft's VP of their Client Performance Division HAD TO CONCEDE THAT TO ME here -> http://slashdot.org/comments.p... back in 2009 since it's just undeniable fact.

    APK

    P.S.=> Get the MOST & BEST possible hosts file you can generate using my program, no questions asked - MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  162. then die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck ads, if you can't figure out how to make money then die. Fuck you, fuck your ads, shove it up your ass and rotate.

  163. video ads are immoral! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I have little objection to static ads, but any advertiser who thinks it's acceptable to subject me to his video advertising, complete with loud soundtrack, will lose my business instantly.

    I don't block static ads, but I will block without remorse any and all video advertising.

  164. Not engaging in unlawfull behaviour goes two ways. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You know what ACTUAL theft is?

    Yes, I know.

    And no, your example isn't. Not anywhere near. No matter how hard you wish it or how many times you say (yell) it.

    And although I don't know how exactly its defined in the lawbooks, but inviting people in and only when they are already in demanding payment is really not lawfull at all.

    And if you think you can come with the old "but you could have known" claim, by that reasoning street muggings would have become legal too. And we all know they didn't.

    So no, even if I would repeatedly visit a website which engages in that kind of "you OWE me!" behaviour the demand stays as unlawfull as ever and can therefore be ignored time-and-again.

    Also, if you/a website does not like such ad-refusing visitors there are measures available to keep them out. The fact that you complain about it but are not showing any intention in regard to dealing with them (one way or another) makes me wonder about your sincerity.

    If you want a moral and ethical ad-blocker

    Thats a bit rich, when websites (especially the commercial, ad driven ones) seem to have no moral or ethic themselves. They refuse to give a visitor a choice, or to inform them about the ammount, kind and source of the ads, and if those ads are doubling as trackers (or worse).

    I've also seldom seen any website which allows you to warn them for infected ads, and never one which allows you to contact them to get reimbursed for the resulting mess if (when?) one gets thru.

    As for your plugin idea ? How do you think we could get it to recognise how the different websites wish to deal with their ads and visitors ? Or is it just another "don't bother me with your consumer problems, just give me what is mine!" kind of (arrogant) stances ?

    -

    As a last note, a website owner has made many choices before getting its content online, and can keep making many choices in regards to the ads it displays (ammount, type, source).

    Against this the website mostly offers the (unlucky) visitor a single choice: Stay off the web (the whole of it) if you have problems with whatever we wish to do.

    Somehow that attitude always makes me think of the proverbial "bully of the block" ... :-)

    -

    Having said all that, I get the strong feeling you are an ad-peddler, posing as a poor, hurt by those awfull bad consumers, website owner.

    How I know ? A real website owner has got a few options to stay afloat. But any not involving (or even having less) ads will cause your profession to "loose" money. That and your "its all the vistors problem, not mine" attitude ofcourse.

  165. very few web surfers are consumers by utoddl · · Score: 1

    The problem stems from the assumption that everyone surfing the web is a consumer. That is not often the case.

  166. Adblock users should be blocked from visiting by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    the site in question.

    They are want to see the content but not support the website? Sounds like content thieves.

  167. Re:Self defense is always immoral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Attn Slashdot:

    Please don't give mod points to angry, potentially dangerous people who don't get enough sex because their boyfriends don't like the Batman costume. The world is bad enough as it is, and we don't need this. In fact, we should encourage them to come out of the closet so they don't have to continue living a lie. It could help to dissipate some of the angst, and they can go forth and live a more fruitful life...

  168. How it becomes your problem by tepples · · Score: 1

    "Not my problem" is a cop-out. I can probably come up with a couple scenarios where it would reasonably become your problem. If somebody desires your opinion about the text of a particular document, but the site hosting the document has gone subscription because off-site ads, the fact that you cannot view the document is your problem. Or if somebody desires your opinion about an interactive document that has been published through a web application, but the scripts powering the document's interactivity happen not to have been vetted by a third party that you already trust, the fact that you can see only the minimal noninteractive fallback version is your problem.

  169. Re:Ask yourselves these questions... apk by dave420 · · Score: 1

    Can your HOSTS solution block the spam you post to Slashdot? No. Get some help, please.

  170. I don't mind ads, except when they... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    autoplay noise when I don't want them to, like /.s ads. When they are twice the volume of a show I'm watching, when they crash playback and have to be replayed, when they play the same ad 15x in a show instead of mixing it up with a variety, or when the ads contain harmful code. If ads did none of those things, I'd uninstall adblock immediately, free content is important to me and I'd like to to remain profitable, but not at the expense of my security and sanity. Bad advertisements will drive more and more people to adblock until the companies putting out those ads will no longer be profitable. It is a terrible situation.

  171. Wrong cause of action by fulldecent · · Score: 1

    The correct cause of action is:

    Common carriers should not be modifying the content of their service.

    --

    -- I was raised on the command line, bitch

  172. Canvas Ads are even more annoying... by userw014 · · Score: 1

    I don't think I need to justify running an ad-blocker (and poisoning my home DNS) for any reasons other than the following:

    • Advertisements are known vectors for malware

    Of course, I also find advertisements annoying - and the more aggressive the advertisement is about demanding my attention, the more annoying I find it. (Indeed, these Canvas Ads seem to be extremely annoying as they demand that I have to click/swipe on a page I wish to visit AGAIN - and the motion is at present sufficiently unfamiliar that I briefly struggle with it.)

    I understand that many of the websites I enjoy are supported by advertising - and so by using ad-blocking techniques, I'm denying those sites whatever financial benefit there is of those (valid) advertisements being displayed (that I'll NEVER click on anyway.) But I satisfy myself with thoughts of schadenfreude - that advertisements are (like state lotteries) a tax on the stupid, gullible, poor, and desperate. (Yes, a rather mean spirited attitude, but that's schadenfreude.)

    But basically, the whole internet advertising business is so shabbily done that blocking advertisements is only safe computing, like washing your hands after using the bathroom.

  173. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can adblock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on AdBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> AdBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    AdBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apkAPK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit

  174. Re:Ask yourselves these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You need help as you can't prove him wrong mr. off topic troll.

  175. It's all proportional. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The glee with which I block ads is directly proportional the the maliciousness and callous apathy ad networks (and the sites that use ad networks) have for my data usage, privacy, and computing security. People who block ads almost never started off doing it on principle. They blocked ads because they got a virus, or popups that broke pages, or violated our privacy, or sound-playing ads, or ads that opened the App Store without clicking on anything, or any of the other dozen abuses that are actually immoral.

    Any idiot with an hour and $80 a year can put a website online about literally ANYTHING. I have around 6 or 7 websites online right now. None have ads on them. There is no 'internet content diversity' problem in the face of such ease.

  176. Hosts = Superior to browser addons... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can adblock variants or ghostery do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites (beyond malicious ads)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communique to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communique to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communique to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you by a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up surfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on any webbound app (e.g. stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Block ads more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory use vs. addons

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each on AdBlock or Ghostery doing all that let alone well!

    APK

    P.S.=> Addons do FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    Ghostery (Advertiser owned) - "Fox guards henhouse" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...

    Addons add complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  177. Re:Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    But can the APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit block ads in /. comments such as this one for the APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit?

  178. Re:Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why would we want to? Everything he said's backed up by reputable sites' facts and known facts in computing.

  179. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can adblock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on AdBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> AdBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    AdBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  180. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can adblock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on AdBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> AdBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    AdBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  181. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can adblock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on AdBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> AdBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    AdBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  182. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can adblock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on AdBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> AdBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    AdBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  183. Copyrighting dynamic by tepples · · Score: 1

    You cannot copyright dynamic.

    That's the defense that early video game cloners used, but courts ended up ruling that the copyright in a video game relates to those portions of the program's audiovisual output that are constant across runs.

    The page they send me may have copyrighted *content*, which I do not modify, but the ads placed into rectangles of space is not copyrighted by them

    I'm no lawyer, but I speculate that the legal theory is that advertisements are incorporated into the site's "collective work" under license from the advertisers.

  184. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can UBlock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on UBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> UBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    UBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... ap

  185. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can AdBlockPlus do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites (beyond malicious ads)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communique to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communique to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communique to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you by a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up surfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on any webbound app (e.g. stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Block ads more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory use vs. addons

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each on AdBlockPlus doing all that let alone well!

    APK

    P.S.=> ABP does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    Addons add complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  186. How unpatched are these vulnerabilities? by tepples · · Score: 1

    I see it as closer to "I wear a bullet-resistant vest that is immune to the particular models of bullet included in the most common black market ammo kits." In practice, do more intrusions use vulnerabilities whose existing patches an administrator just failed to apply or vulnerabilities for which a patch does not yet exist?

  187. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can UBlock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on UBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> UBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    UBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... ap

  188. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can UBlock or Ghostery do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on UBlock/Ghostery doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> UBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    Ghostery (Advertiser owned) - "Fox guards henhouse" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...

    UBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  189. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can Ghostery do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on Ghostery doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> Ghostery does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    Ghostery (Advertiser owned) - "Fox guards henhouse" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...

    Ghostery adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  190. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can adblock do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on AdBlock doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> AdBlock does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    AdBlock's 4++gb & 100% CPU usage flooring inefficiency -> https://blog.mozilla.org/nneth... + ClarityRay defeats it + it 'souled-out' & is crippled by default paid off to not do its job http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/... & ABP too http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...

    AdBlock adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... apk

  191. Ask yourself these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Can Ghostery do 16 things hosts do for speed, security, & reliability:

    1.) Protect vs. malicious sites/servers (beyond malicious ads: See 2-10 next)
    2.) Protect vs. fastflux botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    3.) Protect vs. dynamic dns botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    4.) Protect vs. DGA botnets + stop communication to C&C servers
    5.) Protect vs. downed DNS (adds reliability)
    6.) Protect vs. DNS redirect poisoned dns
    7.) Protect vs. trackers
    8.) Protect vs. spam
    9.) Protect vs. phishing
    10.) Protect vs. bandwidth caps
    11.) Get you past a dnsbl
    12.) Keep you off dns request logs
    13.) Speed up websurfing by adblocks & hardcoded fav. sites
    14.) Work on ANY webbound app (think stand-alone email programs) multiplatform.
    15.) Give you easily texteditor controlled data for the above
    16.) Do all that & block ads (better than addons) more efficiently in cpu cycles + memory usage

    * ANSWER ="NO" to each above on Ghostery doing it as well or at all!

    APK

    P.S.=> Ghostery does FAR less than hosts do & FAR less efficiently - hosts by way of comparison, do MORE w/ less + Hosts start w/ the IP stack before REDUNDANT inefficient addons BEGIN to operate (as 1st resolver queried):

    Ghostery (Advertiser owned) - "Fox guards henhouse" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...

    Ghostery adds complexity/room for breakdown/exploit + from a slower mode of operations (usermode = more messagepassing overheads vs. hosts in kernelmode).

    For the BEST hosts file?

    APK Hosts File Engine 9.0++ SR-2 32/64-bit -> http://start64.com/index.php?o...

    MalwareBytes' hpHosts Admin (MalwareBytes employee) hosts & recommends it -> http://hosts-file.net/?s=Downl... & MalwareBytes = BEST antivirus http://www.av-test.org/en/news...

    ... ap

  192. Ad blocking is a necessity by MoarSauce123 · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't mind ads if they were mindful of the audience. Instead, they are everywhere and lots of them totally destroying the page content. Why bother with content when the core purpose of a site is apparently serving up ads? Have a few ads on the side that show static images, nothing flashing and by all means please no autostarting videos with sound! The industry first needs to dial their ad insanity down before I am willing to remove ad blockers.

  193. Boo hoo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I could say the same about DRM and planned obsolescence among other things.

  194. Say again? by CauseBy · · Score: 1

    Sorry, I can't hear what that guy was saying over the noise of not seeing ads. If I can ever turn down the volume on these not-ads then I might have some attention to pay to him.

    Oh, okay, now I can hear him. Piss off.

  195. The "Mute" button is also immoral by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great for "blocking" ads, yet it still made it to every single modern TV: the "Mute" button.

  196. The market prefers automated search by tepples · · Score: 1

    Yea, it's called 'search' for a reason, you know. Automated or not.

    And the vast majority of users have chosen automated, ad-supported full-text search of the public web over non-automated, non-ad-supported directories. The market has spoken.

    And good sites have an index so searching SHOULD get you what you're after.

    So how should a user determine which sites in a category contain documents about a particular subject, if the subject is more narrow than the scope of the webring listing? Or are you intending to propose an automated way for a user to submit one query to the index of each of the sites in a category?

  197. Re:Ask yourselves these questions... apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why are you referring to yourself in the third person?

  198. His hyperbole cut overfloweth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Intimate and long-running advertiser/producer relationships can result in non-ad-blockable ads—ads embedded in the regular displays that aren't easily replaced. So tell me, which TV shows were better, Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, or the typical stuff on Animal Planet where advertisers just buy time slots?