Why you MUST not use an ad blocker - unless you want to pay for content

[Denamic]

Getting ads on TV, on the bus, on the train, in the mailbox, in the email, on your phone as text messages, on your phone as telemarketers, on the internet, in town, on the road, on the radio, in games and even unskippable movie trailers on DVDs you've bought...
I get fucking sick of it.
If there's a way to get rid of ads, I'll do it.

 

[yundex]

I disabled my ad blockers a little while ago and good freaking GOD there is so much garbage on the tubes. Why can't game related sites stick with game related ads? (without pulling a gamespot) Why is there an advertisement on the videos here, are they worth many times more than a banner or whatever those things are?

 

[WilliamRLBaker]

Stop using flash and other incredibly annoying/intrusive ads and I'll stop blocking them.

no script lets me pick what I block...can you say you would only block the flash?
I try to pick and choose what ad's I let through.

 

[Ophiuchus]

I only block particularly obnoxious ads, the kind that slow things to a crawl or crash the browser completely. That's only a small handful on this computer and even less on my laptop where I don't think I even have an adblocker installed. My mum's near-death computer, though... that needs to have nearly everything blocked to make it usable, not just ads - when I was living at uni and just using my mum's computer when I visited at weekends, I had to set the adblocker to filter out all the avatars on every forum I frequent because some of the animated ones caused problems. Luckily most of them don't have animated ads - the exception being The Escapist which isn't a problem 'cos Publisher's Club membership is, among many other cool features, a 100% effective ad-blocking tactic.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

I disabled my ad blockers a little while ago and good freaking GOD there is so much garbage on the tubes. Why can't game related sites stick with game related ads? (without pulling a gamespot) Why is there an advertisement on the videos here, are they worth many times more than a banner or whatever those things are?

Actually yes, considering that the introduction of Zero Punctuation alone has boosts web traffic substantially.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

I could care less if a website generates revenue from ads. I don't want to hear how you can grow your penis in 4 days.

There is no Viagra or other substance similar that is advertised on the Escapist.

 

[Estocavio]

Well in using an adblocker, im not getting the THOUSANDS of VIRUSES you can get from them, and im not being spammed every two seconds when i try to run multiple tabs.
Furthermore, it chews up my download space, albeit minimalisticaly; And overall, even when i didnt use a popup blocker i closed ads before they had a chance to load.

In short, i can live with myself for this.

I could care less if a website generates revenue from ads. I don't want to hear how you can grow your penis in 4 days.

There is no Viagra or other substance similar that is advertised on the Escapist.

Unless something was cut out of that quote, i have this recollection of the OP referring to ads as a whole, not just The Escapist

 

[Enverex]

The original argument doesn't make much sense. The ad systems I'm aware of pay out per click, not per view. Not to mention if that was the case then it's in TheEscapist's interests to have less views with more clicks.

I block ads because under no circumstances would I click one. Even if one was advertising something I'd be interested in, I still wouldn't click it because I don't trust them. Why bother wasting my bandwidth, increasing page load time and adding annoying obnoxious content to the page unnecessarily? So I use ad-blockers.

Added point, I stopped watching TV because I was simply getting annoyed with the amount of adverts, the frequency of them and how they always seemed to be louder than the actual program you were watching.

 

[Danpascooch]

If ads play sound or music they deserve to be blocked, and I don't feel wrong about using an adblocker for that.

(LAY OFF MODS! I'm pubclub, my adblocking isn't hurting the Escapist)

It doesn't matter if you're in the pubclub or not. rule will give you the same punishment if you

Confess, Teach, Admit to or Promote adblocking software on the Escapit.

In short, you're admitting to it and being a member of the pub-club isn't gonna save you from it. If you know the mods may punish you for it, why post it to begin with.

Wait, that doesn't make any sense, that rule hasn't been edited since the addition of the pub club, but surely it doesn't apply, I mean, it's not affecting them in any way.

I'm sure the mods have some common sense.

 

[darkfire613]

I would argue that those who use ad blockers are those who would never click on ads in the first place. In my experience, those who have ad blockers do it because they hate ads, and one who hates ads wouldn't be one to click through them. As far as the ad tracker service is concerned, you still saw the ad; their code was loaded, but an extra script on the computer just blocked the content. Advertiser sees the same number of ad views as before, they continue to pay for advertising.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

If ads play sound or music they deserve to be blocked, and I don't feel wrong about using an adblocker for that.

(LAY OFF MODS! I'm pubclub, my adblocking isn't hurting the Escapist)

It doesn't matter if you're in the pubclub or not. rule will give you the same punishment if you

Confess, Teach, Admit to or Promote adblocking software on the Escapit.

In short, you're admitting to it and being a member of the pub-club isn't gonna save you from it. If you know the mods may punish you for it, why post it to begin with.

Wait, that doesn't make any sense, that rule hasn't been edited since the addition of the pub club, but surely it doesn't apply, I mean, it's not affecting them in any way.

I'm sure the mods have some common sense.

Yes, but you're promoting it by making that claim. You're not exempt from the rule. I can't go into a thread and say "HEY EVERYONE USE THIS PROGRAM TO BLOCK YOUR ADS!" just because I am in the Pub Club, nor should admit it or teach others how to use it.

That's actually very confusing scenario right there, but until a mod clears it up, I would assume that it would be better safe then sorry. Ask one of the moderators about the stance on it, I'm sure they could give you a clearer 100% true answer. Though you may have to wait until Friday since Veteran's Day is tomorrow for an answer from the staff.

 

[sanguinator]

i dont block them. i just ignore them.

 

[o_O]

I never click on ads even though I let them run. So, what makes me any different than the guy that uses an adblocker? The site still gets no income from me. >_>

 

[maddawg IAJI]

I never click on ads even though I let them run. So, what makes me any different than the guy that uses an adblocker? The site still gets no income from me. >_>

You don't need to click on the ad. Just the fact that the Ad is loaded gives them the impression that someone saw it. Whether they were paying attention to it or not is another thing.

 

[Blind Sight]

No point in watching the ads for me, ads online leave such a sour taste in my mouth I usually note them and make sure to avoid said products. I don't use a blocker though, I just walk off and do something else while I'm waiting.

To those of you who complain about the ten second ads on the Escapist: if you think that's bad, try watching videos on ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com and dealing with the pretentious, minutes-long Glee ads about how 'some people wanna do good.' Everytime I see those ads it cuts fifteen minutes off my life. And the lives of the Glee actors. Because I will get them. Someday.

 

[tirone231]

I posted this in the latest ENN discussion thread, and then realized I feel strongly about this, and I want lots of people to see it.

*snip*

Ms. Kathleen (trying to be polite and formal), since one of the common complaints here is that the commercials are annoying, I'm curious to know if it would be possible for the Escapist to focus the advertising towards the average viewer? Like maybe, feedback could be provided by the site's users for the ads so that the annoying ones get phased out and become replaced with more relevant ones? Not only would this be less annoying for the viewers, but would also allow the advertisers to learn what works and what doesn't, thereby strengthening the marketing.


On a side note, when it comes to the "Glee" commercials, wouldn't a teacher get fired in real life if he/she continuously referred to a group of students as freaks or idiots?

 

[yundex]

I disabled my ad blockers a little while ago and good freaking GOD there is so much garbage on the tubes. Why can't game related sites stick with game related ads? (without pulling a gamespot) Why is there an advertisement on the videos here, are they worth many times more than a banner or whatever those things are?

Actually yes, considering that the introduction of Zero Punctuation alone has boosts web traffic substantially.

How much more are the video ads worth in comparison to the others, and why is it worth more when you could load a static ad away from the video. How much income are all those ads bringing in per month and how much income is needed for them to get rid of the video ads? The video ads (both inside zp and on the main page) and the banners are the only thing I didn't like when I unblocked. (not all directed at you but i'm curious if anyone has info on this)

 

[Sixcess]

Isn't it against the forum rules to promote Ad blockers? I apreciate that the OP is far from promoting them, but a 6 page and counting thread might put the idea into some minds. Anytime something is condemned someone somewhere is going to think "cool, gotta try that..."

Anyway, I think I hit a report button by accident. False alarm

I read an article a while back which said that those whose business was in online ads were panicking about the widespread and growing use of... it'll go unnamed but it's very popular. The reluctant conclusion that they came to was that they'd have to rely on most people not being savvy enough to know that such apps existed. Of course on a gaming site like the Escapist the readership is likely to be more technically adept than the internet average so that's small consolation.

Internet ads have a bad reputation, and deservedly so, and people will block them. Just something you have to live with until someone comes up with a better model for earning revenue from magazine content online. In the meantime, think kindly of all those readers who're still using Internet Explorer.

 

[mrpenguinismyhomeboy]

I don't get adds....maybe it's becuase I'm in Australia. And what are Slim Jims?

Heart Disease.

OT: I mean, I'm all for advertising, but people need to make better ads. I'm sorry, but most ads are really dumb. For Real. On the other hand, there are some good ones, like a couple of the ones I've seen on Hulu. Also, ads get repetitive very quickly. Perhaps the agencies should make more ads? Also, the algorithm that determines which ad is played isn't very good either. Despite the fact that there are at least four Slim Jims ads on this site it only plays like one, at least for me. Not to mention Slim Jims are a horrible product but I wont say that otherwise I'll get banned.

But the point is, I would get less annoyed by ads if they were marketing better things, and if the advertisements were more interesting as pieces of film. I mean, is so hard to ask that the ads be good?

EDIT: I feel like ranting on about this topic more because I am bored. And thus, I do.

I believe in something called the Donate Button. I believe that people who really like something should have the kindness to just flat out hand over money to someone they support. I believe that in a perfect world this is the way art would work.

That said, I am a lazy 16 year old who is very dependent on his parents in terms of having enough food to eat and education. Because of my education, I know that this is impractical.

But on the one hand I feel that if artists really liked making art (and before you start on about anything EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING THAT IS CREATED IS ART INCLUDING EVERYTHING ON THE ESCAPIST SO SHUT YOUR FACE) then they would do it regardless of how much they were paid for it and even if no one liked it. And I know that is a false statement, but as an artist who makes no money on a regular basis, I still feel compelled to make the things I make. That said, I pay for nothing of my own and if I did there is no doubt that my ability to make art for free would change. But I think at the bottom of my heart I would still do it, even if I couldn't show it off.

I guess my point is this: If an artist really likes making art, then they will make art regardless of whether or not anyone will see it. Even if LRR stops getting paid by the Escapist and just loses all of their popularity overnight for some reason, I doubt them all will stop making videos. People who like making art make of it as much as they can regardless of what they get in return. And if they really receive joy from making art, then they will always be happy, because they will always make art.

I don't know how much that has to do with the original topic, but I thought it was inspiring enough to post.

 

[Jinjiro]

I'm totally with Kathleen here. It's naive to think we can get such high-quality content for free, hell, it's actually pretty selfish.

Adverts are a minor nuisance at worst, and if you've got such delicate sensibilities that you can't take the latest Disney DVD release flashing at you for 30 seconds, maybe you need to chill out just a tad. Be glad it's adverts, and not enforced subscriptions or something that actually requires YOU to dish out for content. This way, advertisers, consumers and publishers all benefit.

Besides, if you're like most of us and don't particularly want to watch the ads at the start of videos, when else do you go get new snacks/cups of tea/cigarettes/loo breaks?

P.S. I run AVG or commonsense, Microsoft Security Essentials and have NoScript installed on Firefox. If malware from an advert gets past all that, it DESERVES to screw with my stuff.