An apparently touchy subject.

[killcheese]

Everyone know what subjects to avoid in "polite" conversations, religion and politics are the big two. This is slightly different on the internet where everyone is hidden by a screen of anonymity, however the basic rules still apply. One subject i never really thought was out of bounds are adblockers. I understand both how ads help a site generate revenue and how an adblocker could effect the cash flow. However most are on a pay per click basis and some are whether the person clicking the ads follows through and buys the advertised product or service. I don't think i have ever purposely clicked an ad to learn more about a product and i can't remember the last time i saw an ad and wanted to buy the product shown that i was not already interested in. Because of this the site would not profit from my visits, whether i see the ads or not. The other way advertisers track usage is the amount of views a site gets during a set time frame. In this way visiting a site more often will help, but again, regardless of ads being visible or not. I think the best solution would be less intrusive ads, no flash based ads with sound or jumping windows saying iv won 100 free cars or something, then there would be no need to block them. What is your opinion of the use of adblockers and advertising on the internet?

This is my personal opinion on the subject and will differ from others. Please don't just answer with "adblockers are bad" and call it a day, that does not lead to discussion.

good articles on the use of adblockers:
against [link]http://www.populartechnology.net/2005/03/why-adblock-is-bad-for-free-internet.html[/link]
for [link]http://lifehacker.com/#!5649025/why-you-should-use-adblock-plus-even-if-you-dont-block-ads[/link]
These are the first two i found. You can find many more by searching.

Disclaimer: I am merely posting a question for the purpose of discussion, i am not advocating for or against any use of the aforementioned applications.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

Look at it this way- talking about adblockers spreads the word of them to people that might not have heard of them.
Some websites live off ad revenue so...mm...

Internet advertising is good. Sure, it can be annoying, but so are Tv commercials.
Blockers shouldn't be used.

Aaaaand...this thread'll probably get locked.

 

[Bags159]

The only time I click ads on this site is when the entire inch or two of the sides is a giant ad. I only go out of my way to block annoying ads, such as Ebony Online or Rift. Those and extremely fishy ads.

I also have to do it out of performance needs... I get 240 kb/s and if the site is 80% covered in picture/video ads I cannot browse the web without disrupting my brother's gaming.

 

[Jedamethis]

Hey, if it lets The Escapist keep doing what it does then I'm all for it.

 

[Matt_LRR]

A LOT of ad buys on large-scale websites (ones that contract and manage their own advertising, rather than advertise via a service like google ads) are per-impression, not per click . By blocking an ad you are actively denying the website the impression for your page-load, and the associated revenue.

-m

 

[Flames66]

The only time I click ads on this site is when the entire inch or two of the sides is a giant ad.

I do that accidentally when I am trying to scroll up and down.

 

[Lilani]

FireFox takes care of most pop ups, which are really the only ones that bother me. I think using ad blockers is a bit unnecessary. Unless you frequently go to sites that are just riddled with ads and adware, it's really just putting up a big middle finger to every single web site you visit. Like saying "Screw you and your ad revenue, I want everything you have to offer FOR FREE!"

 

[Merkavar]

i never click ads cuase they are normally spam or herbal remidies. but if i was to use an ad blocking software i would make it so it isnt turned on for sites like escapists, the sites you want to support.

adblocking should only really be used for those websites with 50 pop up ads and ones with porn ads on the sides.

 

[J-dog42]

I don't really care about ads too much. However there is something infuriating about opening fourteen tabs and having a video ad for some product start up. Then you have a video blaring in your ears while sorting through the numerous tabs trying to find it. Then sometimes it is at the very bottom of the page, as if they just really wanted to piss you off.

OT: Adblockers are an interesting one. Are they any different from the Tivo systems that allow you to skip through the ads on the recorded tv shows? Personally though I don't use them.

 

[Lilani]

.....So you let Youtube fuck you over with fifteen ads per page and three that interrupt the videos?

If it means they continue to improve the quality of what their doing while still remaining to be free to use, then yes. You can't host and maintain millions of terabytes of media and information, have a user-friendly system of distribution for said media, and throw in a social networking system on top all for free.

 

[killcheese]

A LOT of ad buys on large-scale websites (ones that contract and manage their own advertising, rather than advertise via a service like google ads) are per-impression, not per click . By blocking an ad you are actively denying the website the impression for your page-load, and the associated revenue.

-m

This is interesting. I was unaware of the system you just stated. One of the reasons i am thinking about adblockers now the fact that im working on my website and had the option to add advertising. It would have been on a per click basis, but decided against having ads in the end. Thanks for the info.

 

[Lilani]

See that's the thing. They don't. They spam so many ads we can barely see the video, they spam the video itself with ads, the fuck the layout up every other week and they screw with the comment system when they're bored. Not only that but their copyright system is a joke, easily exploited and about as effective as a screen door on a submarine. It seems content to mute fan-made music videos and machinimas, as well as videos where someone drives by with thier windows down and happens to leak a few notes into shot, while they do nothing to the myriads of videos that blatantly instruct users how to torrent shit.


Google does not give a shit about it's users, so why should it's users give a shit about Google?

Personally, I hardly give a shit about the ads. Sure, they are everywhere, but just where aren't they these days? You see them plastered on everything as soon as you exit your front door. There are people whose jobs are to stand on streetcorners and get peoples attention so they can better advertise to them.

The only way the Internet can be considered "different" from these other advertising situations is because ads are newer to the Internet than they are to anything else, and ads can be placed on the Internet in ways that prevent you from ignoring them. The first is only a problem due to petulance, and the second is no different from TV ads or when you pull up to the drive-thru and they ask you if you are interested in their newest food item.

There is no free lunch. Content on the Internet is of a much higher quality than it was five and ten years ago, and is much more accessible to individual users. You no longer have to be familiar with codes or media file types to share videos and songs with others. It's all right there, and so much of it intercommunicates (IE, phones that can send recorded videos directly to YouTube).

So until YouTube shuts off asks me to pay up to gain entry, no, I don't feel like I'm getting ripped off. I just see this as the Internet catching up with where the rest of the world stands--becoming more like the other parts of our daily lives.

Also, as far as their copyright system is concerned, I think it's less of a "trying to put a stop to the dirty pirates" thing and more of a "trying not to get sued by media distributors for 'blatantly' facilitating the 'illegal' distribution of their specific intellectual properties" sort of thing. Also, I believe they can't shut down the how to torrent videos because of free speech. There are plenty of ways to use torrents legitimately, so there's no way for the anti-pirate brigades to say that it's teaching people how to commit crimes. They're no different from videos on how to shoot guns.

 

[Woodsey]

I'm sure I've read that this site gets money from each time an ad is seen, not clicked. Could be wrong though.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Regarding youtube's copyright policy:

That is a function of how the DMCA is written and requires sites like youtube to act in order to maintain standing under safe harbour and continue operating. The DMCA was written with almost the express purpose of allowing the big media companies to remove anything they don't like. It's a bad law. But the fact is, it is the law, and in order to remain in operation, youtube has to abide by it. That's not youtube's fault.

-m

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

You seem like a very bitter person. I think you need to go take a walk or something, learn to take things in stride a bit more. If all you do is beat your fists against brick walls, you're just going to end up with broken hands.

If you don't like YouTube's advertising, then don't go to YouTube. It's that simple. If that's not good enough for you, then make your own media hosting site and find a way to keep it running without ad revenue. If that sounds like too much effort, then stop shouting to the heavens and find something to be worked up about that you'll actually do something about.

And yes, there are videos that tell people how to pirate and there always will be. But Google knows that no matter how much you fight piracy it will still exist, so until someone really puts a legal fire under their ass about it they're just going to leave it alone.

I guess my point is just chill. Yes, it's inconvenient, but inconvenience is a part of life. You should never expect something that's too good to be true and remain so for long. Everybody is looking to either manipulate you or screw you over these days. That's just how the world works now, and the Internet itself is a huge facilitator in that. So just do what you can and move on.

Oh, and no, I don't have any drive-by trojans or adware that wreak havoc on me. I own a Mac :3 Dual booted with Windows 7 of course, but I have virus protection and I do my best to not be stupid on dubious web sites.