Jimquisition: The Adblock Episode

[loa]

The second I saw a 300 second ad on a livestream was the second I knew this shit has to stop and this was after I have put up with years of ads and watched them slowly take over youtube videos and then every other kind of video too (what a joyful day that was) and literally creep over my entire screen.
I'm sorry you're caught up in this but I can't support this model so it grows even larger.

Thanks for correctly identifying marketing companies as the shitheads who got you into this though.
I feel if it remained at just banners that make no sound including videos (no unskipable 30 second ad) we would all have a lot less trouble now but it just keeps growing and growing and taking and taking.

 

[atrevelyan]

With over 500 messages I think my voice will be lost in the noise. However if this proves to be an interesting feedback exercise for the escapist; I would like to throw in my 2 pence...

I do not block any content because it's an Ad, nor do I use noScript. I do however, block based on content type. i.e. No Flash, Videos, Sounds, Pop-ups/unders. I would be surprised if such things didn't annoy Escapist staff as much as it annoys its public.

That leaves all the image (including ani-gifs for the time being) and text/html banners visible.

I have in the past even clicked on ads for things that really interested me. Unfortunately such Ads are extremely rare.

e.g. Just because I went on holiday to some island does not mean, on returning, that I need to see Ads for more holidays to the same island; or even more holiday Ads to be honest. Not mention the sheer eerie-ness of seeing banners for an island one has just visited.

I fully agree with everything Jim said. I want to support content creators, I do not block Ads (just for being an Ad) but I will continue to block obtrusive content, that gets in the way of enjoy your great site.

Please avoid Flash (and any HTML5 equivalent), video and *sound* ads, and I am sure those who do use adblock will more freely turn it off for their favourite sites, such as the escapist.

Going back to this thread, I'm not going to have the time to read every post, but this topic is clearly important to the escapist community. Thank you for this opportunity.

 

[J0057Mith]

Yes, I should have made more mention of the fact (rather than just a still image) that The Escapist has a reasonable ad-free subscription service. This is also a really good way to support the site if you have some spare dubloons and want the ads gone.

Also, thanks so much for the frank and civil response thus far!

The still image was a great reminder, and I've already decided that I am taking down adblock, not just on the escapist, but channel awesome, lfgcomic, rooster teeth and all those hardworking content creators I've essentially refused payment to. I'm also going to go through my favorite content on this site, and if anything I don't like pops up in my face I'm getting a publisher's subscription.

I figure that content creators going so far as to call adblock users thieves are thinking too much of piracy. Enjoying digital content without paying for it... Only in this case there's a more reasonable excuse for people to dig their heels.
Piracy of games and movies is a practice people generally don't dig their heels on as much as adblockers do. They know just how much money they're costing a developer and are sometimes proud of it. I imagine if SimCity 5 somehow got hacked people'd JUMP at the chance to try the game without having to encourage and reward EA with their money. But in general, "piracy's bad.. m'kay". But! When you try to use the same argument against adblockers, and point out these aren't billion dollar AAA corporations whose profit margins can be forgotten, they will argue back about the severity of ads. And that's personal taste, but in general understandable. Still, I can't claim ignorance (anymore). So here's to Jim and everyone on the Escapist getting their due for their hard work!

 

[Yuuki]

Seeing how Kross is posting here I have a couple of questions directly to him in relation to this topic.

I have seen in the past sites have via some technical wizardry made it so that anyone running Adblock would not be able to access the site at all.
Has the Escapist thought about doing that in order to force everyone to comply with not using Adblockers?

Oh, Escapist could definitely do that.

...if they wanted to drive away 30-40% of their user base and literally DESTROY their site views by 50% or higher. This is a news site and a big chunk of views come from non-regulars.

Any site which forcibly tells people "disable adblock now!" will make the people in turn say "haha, fuck that" and simply click the back button.

 

[Antsh]

Is revenue generated by having the ads onscreen or does a user need to click the ad?

Also, who would watch watch five minutes of your video if they hated you just to flame? Or take the time and money to send you a 'cheap, shitty' Predator mask to match your, allegedly, shitty show? Man, I don't have time to dedicated that much effort to something I hate.

Anywho, I figure I get enough enjoyment out of this site and the content creators that I've whitelisted it.

Thank god for you.

 

[Playful Pony]

The Escapist subcription service is great. No ads and better video quality is just down my alley, and I would consider it a very reasonable price too.

 

[Spankable]

I use AD blocker, i put it on 2 years ago as i was tired of some of the evasive ad's, ie high volume, multiple pop up's, scams, ect. I still saw Ad's on the escapist so I assumed it didn't affect you, sorry, so i knocked it of after a minute of the video & reloaded. I then got jim speaking with a tetley's tea Ad at 3x the volume of Jim on a 10's loop on a sub screen. I had to close the video to find it.

I'll see if I can live without it a while, at least till I can work out how to white list some sites

Sorry for all the stealing I had been doing, I' try to find a way to correct it going forward.



P.S. the Escapist used to have AD's at the beginning of it's shows, movie trailers ect. I quite liked them, they seemed targeted for gamers so often where for stuff I was interested in. I defo bought/ whet to watch stuff based on them, so maybe its worth bringing back, some may scroll through, that seems a better way

P.S.S. Hear that Jim, tetley's can out shout you 3:1, hang your head in shame. Thank GOD! for a good brew

 

[x EvilErmine x]

I use ad block all the time and I love it, I'm not being funny but i don't want to be bombarded with advertisements for shit that i don't need, want or care about. I understand the need of advertising and how it creates revenue but when it's too blatant and forced then I find ads have the exact opposite effect, the more I see the advert the more determined it makes me no want to support that company/product.

That being said though, I'd like to thank Jim for making a well balanced and above all non judgmental video on the subject. So because you argued your point well and asked nicely Jim, just for you the escapist is now white-listed.

 

[ACman]

Discussion of adblockers on this comment thread need to contribute to the discussion of or the purpose of adblockers. Keep in mind, saying anything about the use of adblockers or the advocacy of that use without contribution to the discussion will involve health meter ramifications.

For the sake of expediency, keep in mind that everyone's definition of what is and isn't tolerable will be different. We implore you that if you feel any wrath in this thread is undeserved, use the Contact Form [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/contact/subject/forums] to appeal. Fair warning, any discussion of adblocking is treading dangerous waters. -Mod

Right. Well I will say this.

Just turned ADblock off because fair enough. I previously have whitelisted the escapist for this reason and I'm using a new computer and hadn't reinstated the whitelist for the escapist.

Holy fuck have the ads here gotten sooooooooooooo much worse.

Constant minivideo ads that run umuted for every single page that I open. Since I open multiple tabs off the front page and gradually run through them this ends up being a symphony of dischordant drival bombarding me with bullshit that I will never buy.

You can keep your whitelist. I'll watch the Escapist's videos on Youtube a week late. At least Google know how to be responsible with their ads (ie silent or only before the video).

Edit And the thumbnailed clickbait "Sponsored ads by Taboola"? Kinda gross.

 

[Lieju]

I have never used adblock, but it has led to me avoiding some sites since the ads were that bad. (NSFW, automated videos with sound, ads obstructing content in some other way)

Which was basically a lose/lose situation for everyone.

 

[Gridlock]

I think Adds are something that NEEDS to be balanced in order to work.
I don´t mind watching a 15 second add at the beginning of a 10 to 20 minuet long video, it annoying but i can live with it as long as its just this once and doesn´t repeat if i press replay.
I DO however mind watching set add for a video that AT BEST is 1 maybe 2 minuet long that´s just irritating as hell and really put me in a bad mood, where i wish i could just block the add and skip straight to the content.
Same thing with videos that are CONSTANTLY interrupted by adds (which is one of the reason i rarely watch TV, one can only go so far with a 30 minuet show being extended to 1 hour because of adds, before getting ANNOYED as hell)
Pop-up windows are also something that is REALLY annoying, you click on something that suddenly spawns 3 to 4 pop-up windows and those are just the ones firefox didn´t block.


The kind of adds i also don´t mind is the ones that run in the side of the screen in a little box. If its a video its mute and if a picture its just there, either way i can completely ignore it and it doesn´t interfere in anyway shape or form with the video i watch.

In short i don´t mind people earning money through Adds as long as those adds aren´t intrusive and ruins the experience.

 

[Azuaron]

Alright, Jim. For you, I will turn off Adblock on the Escapist.

However.

Flashblock will continue to be run. I have no problem watching what are essentially commercials before the show I'm trying to watch or seeing banner advertisements (even if they've gotten a little creepy... Amazon, I just bought that camera why are you advertising it to me? I already have it...) I even actually like the ads that show up as a kind of border around video popups; it's like a strange piece of corporate art, and they're usually for videogames (which I appreciate around here).

But I won't tolerate Flash banners that break out of their pane chasing my mouse, screaming BUY ME BUY ME at maximum volume. I won't. If the choice was down to visiting the Escapist with Flash ads and never again visiting the Escapist, I would remove the Escapist from my RSS reader. I'd be sad about it, but that's what would happen.

So let's work out a compromise: I won't Adblock, you won't Flash me. I mean, I guess I've already done that, but the more Flash ads you replace with something reasonable the more ads I'll see (the more money you'll get).

And while we're here, the whole "The first two rules of the Escapist is you don't talk about Adblock" is not helping anything. I mean, Jim, come on man, when has "squash all discussion" been better than discussion? I seriously doubt there are many Escapist readers who don't know how to block ads if they so choose, and making something forbidden always makes it more appealing.

 

[T3hSource]

Thankfully my region hasn't been researched too much by marketers so ads aren't predominant and intrusive. I see them, but that's it, no sound, no flickering, nos NSFW bullshit and the like. And thank god I don't have ads playing during videos, weather be it blip, Escapist or YouTube.

 

[EPICGunner]

Jim
I would like you to know that I use ad-block not to deprive you or anyone of income, I use ad-block because I live with three other family members who also use the internet and download a lot of crap and we have a data limit of 110gig. So for me using ad-block software is basically my way of minimizing the amount of bandwidth that I use when watching videos or surfing the net.
If I was paying for the Internet I would probably have my ad-block turned off, unfortunately that is not the case and I am genuinely sorry that by having the ad-block on I am depriving you of ad revenue.

 

[Matt Dellar]

I've seen people get warned for admitting to using Adblock even after Jim's talk with the moderators, so I'm a bit hesitant to say anything.

I will anyway. Here's the thing: my Internet isn't very fast. It's unstable and it costs a lot, but it's the best I can get where I live. I enabled ads after watching this video and tried to watch it again, but I couldn't. The page loaded and loaded and loaded, and in the bottom corner, I saw that it was loading an ad. This took a full minute. When the page finally loaded, auto-playing ads and all, there was a 30-second ad before the video, which was annoying, but fair enough. Then, after it finished, Jim's video buffered, then started playing. Then it buffered again. I looked, and Chrome indicated that it was loading more ads.

In the end, Jim's video took a little less than three minutes to finally load and play (with occasional buffering), whereas with ads disabled, it took maybe three seconds.

Is it not reasonable to block ads that make a video take quite literally 100 times longer to load?

Like many users, I have no problem with ads, and I really do want to support the creators of content I enjoy, Jim included. It's just really hard to do so here on the Escapist when the ads are only a little better than on most porn sites. Maybe Escapist videos could have Flattr buttons or donation buttons or something, so that even Adblock users could pay and support the content creators without any hassle.

 

[Matthewmagic]

I did whitelist the escapist after watching this but I just want it to be known that the reason I seek out add block is usually because of this site. I don't mind the thirty second add that plays before a video, I think that is fair, but sometimes moving my courser too a link I trip over an add that expands and covers the content I want to view. What follows is me refreshing the page and a carefully constructed set a movements to get to the content I want. I will keep adblock on at least until my tax returns come and I can pay for pubclub, that being said, please keep in mind the placement of adds and how they control because it may lead an otherwise uninterested person to seek out adblock.

Thank you.

 

[ERaptor]

This actually convinced me to become a member of the publishers Club. I appreciate your work Jim, and the work of other producers like Yahtzee, and those two alone are definetly worth 20 bucks to me. I also want to second the thing about intrusive ads. It doesnt matter how good the content is, if the ad is bumping around my screen, or screaming at me, it gets blocked. I prefer Subscription systems over this, even if its just to show the middle finger to ad-companies.

One thing tough, even if it might be a tad offtopic. Is there any way to pay for the P-Club with paysafe or directly via card? I'd like to avoid Paypal if possible, since its kind of a hazzle and I have no idea how it works over amazon.

 

[Zipa]

Good episode as ever Jim, though I disagree with you on one point. Adblock came about because intrusive ads existed, it did not spawn them.

As a person who is the "computer guy" for his friends and family I always make sure that all of their computers that I work on has both AB and Noscript installed (as well as Chrome or FF) as it protects their machines and their data.

Plus it means less headaches for me when they inevitably click an ad that links them to a dodgy hyperlink and they end up with a dodgy search engine installed that is stealing their data.

That said I understand that content has to be paid for somehow which is why I am a Pubclub member because between you, Yahtzee and the LRR content it is a steal and I support them in other ways as well like buying LRR shirts and escapist merch when they have stock.

There can be a compromise though, Adblock has already started working on it a little bit with its non-intrusive advertising system, the thing that really bugs a lot of people is as you said yourself those obnoxious ads that ruin your hearing by screaming shit down your headphones. Ads need to be held to a standard and regulation on the internet just as they are on TV. The Escapist itself is a huge culprit of this as its ads are the worst kind as many people have described in this thread.


Thank God for you though Jim.

 

[Zipa]

This actually convinced me to become a member of the publishers Club. I appreciate your work Jim, and the work of other producers like Yahtzee, and those two alone are definetly worth 20 bucks to me. I also want to second the thing about intrusive ads. It doesnt matter how good the content is, if the ad is bumping around my screen, or screaming at me, it gets blocked. I prefer Subscription systems over this, even if its just to show the middle finger to ad-companies.

One thing tough, even if it might be a tad offtopic. Is there any way to pay for the P-Club with paysafe or directly via card? I'd like to avoid Paypal if possible, since its kind of a hazzle and I have no idea how it works over amazon.

Amazon is easy as heck if you have an account, it works just like paying for something normally on the site. You login, it takes you to a payment screen, it tells you the amount and what you are paying for then you click confirm and job done.