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

[Cobalt Lion]

Just mostly to keep my end of this short, I feel that advertising should not be forced upon me wherever I go. I see ads everywhere. On the TV, on my Xbox, on the radio, the freeway on the way to work is lined with enough billboards to block out the sun, I go to get a drink at work and look! An ad for Halo: Reach on my Mtn Dew. I don't mind advertising so much when it strikes my interest, but when it becomes so saturating that it is more like a static background noise of "Buy this!" being screamed at me, it's an intrusion. I'm pretty sure that if advertisers had a way to do it, I'd be getting spammed with commercials for the 2011 Suzuki Forenza in my dreams.

I like to have at least one small avenue of control for my input. Besides, even with near record revenue for marketing companies and media distribution, places *still* want to tell me I have to pay for my content. It really seems to make no significant difference what we, the consumers, do. Companies are always going to try and push the limits of what they can get people to see, and pay for. I'm not saying that this is some evil scheme, it's just the way of business today. I just think that I should be allowed some small matter of what I have to see every day.

 

[Antari]

I certainly hope I'm strangling the hurting companies who's only point of existence is to rip me off. If it hurts someone else, then so be it, I'm afriad thats the way this planet works Lady. I also have serious problems with the ways advertisers treat my personal information. So as far as I'm concerned, they don't need to know me or my computer, EVER! There's a certain level of trust that needs to be achieved first, and they've gone the opposite direction. So blame me if you like, but I'd say its the aggressive advertisers who have created the problem your currently dealing with.

 

[Polock]

Ads never bothered me. So I don't use ad block. I mean really, its like 10-20 second ads. not a big deal guys. Not to me anyway.

 

[Snotnarok]

So let me get this straight, we should just let all the ads through while there have been MANY harmful ads that dump spyware or just adware on your PC. I'm aware the escapist monitors their ads but that doesn't mean I'm safe if you miss one.

I have a lot of stuff on my PC I'd rather not lose and I'm not going to risk this sort of thing because my computer is my livelyhood and I understand ads support sites I do try buying stuff through links on sites to give them their commission or whatever. Because that poses no risk to me, however ads aren't that certain.

Edit: I don't block the video ads and what not, but the image ads I have not trusted since I got a virus through a few of them, or rather avast caught SOME of them.

 

[cheese_wizington]

Ick.

I'm sorry, but when the escapist gets better ads then I disable it.

SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM

 

[tiscooler]

I don't see why it matters. I have no interest in buying anything from an internet ad and have no want or need to follow any links advertised. Why should I have to deal with annoyances I wouldn't interact with anyways?

 

[Eumersian]

As a person that many people may consider a "capitalist pig-dog", I support advertising. I've always thought of things like TV and internet as a cyclical system.

-People need to make money for their website
-They convince companies to advertise on their site
-The site receives money in return
-Money goes to pay for the site and content creators
-Content creators go and buy stuff, which may or may not be affiliated with the companies that advertise on the site
-Some of the company's money goes back to the site to keep their ad space
-Repeat

I've never used an ad blocker for just that concept. I always thought that using an ad blocker was just selfish and ignorant to the big picture on how small economic systems like these work.

 

[Direwolf750]

this is under the base assumption that the only effect adds have is getting people to visit a site. Even if I did visit a site, I wouldn't buy anythings from them. But the problem is that adds can have viruses, flashing images, annoying sounds, and a plethora of bandwidth hogging processes that I would be more than happy to live without.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Ad... blocker? That actually just reminded me of pop-up blockers... man it has been forever since we had those...

 

[OmniDesol]

Wow, so little caring.

I share the sentiment. I pay for content I appreciate, even if it is offered to me free. MSPaint Adventures has annoying porn comic ads, but I like the guy's site, so I tolerate it. I bought 2 T-shirts. And a book. I like The Escapist, so I went Pub Club. I donate to Kingdom of Loathing. I am a firm believer of rewarding the content I love.

 

[Joe Deadman]

The only ads on the escapist I really find intolarable currently are those damn wrap-around ones.
Well it's less wrapped-around the video and more eating the damn thing.

The video ads I don't mind so much as I can just mute the sound and find something else to do in a different tab for 30 seconds.

 

[TwiddleDee]

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.

 

[geckorus10]

Why I block adverts (true story):
I had to research bone marrow and it's composition, and I went to a public domain site. nothing weird about it until the computer froze up. First I went "WTF?" and then, like alarm clocks going off one after the other, loud voices that made vuvuzelas sound calm told me I won a ten thousand dollar walmart gift card accompanied by smiley faces and flashing lights and shit that jars your brain. Then, about 5 porn adverts popped up on screen of such nature I cannot describe.
Wouldn't ya know the teacher was right behind me when that happened.

...ya get what it about is to us? essentially loud noises and making our computers piss themselves and die.

 

[Wolfenbarg]

Pop-up blockers I'm behind, but ad-blockers? Not so much. I actually find it sad that so many members of a site that allows you to watch quality content that they spend a great deal of time locating and licensing are bitching about ads that keep this site running and those content producers working. Yes, those slim jim ads were unholy garbage, but it's no worse than the crap you sift through on television between your programming. I guarantee you you won't find another Zero Punctuation, Doomsday Arcade, or LRR on youtube for free if these guys could no longer make content.

I think you're right on the ball with this one Kathleen, but it's painfully obvious that this community isn't very receptive to the idea.

 

[Megacherv]

tl;dr version: Advertisers can't advertise when you don't see the advertisements. ADVERT!

Are...are you trying to use that as a VERB?

Join the PubClub people. Sure, you can block the ads with some poxy adblocker, but think about it, you get MOTTO OF THE MOMENT and A THING ABOUT OTHER STUFF replacing them, rather than some boring white-ish space

Oh, and HI KATHLEEN!!!!

 

[Moromillas]

I do believe it's just something (blocking ads) that just became a necessity, then commonplace. A very long time ago, it wasn't needed, they were very benign. Then they started popping up extra windows, playing music, redirect you to other pages, and in worst case scenarios - became malicious, installing spyware to log your browsing habits and the like. Then there's the scams... No, I know I didn't win some lottery I've never heard of, or registered with, but imagine someone that has never used the internet to browse stuff before, coming across something like that.

I don't think it's a case of "try and screw over the man upstairs," I think it's just something borne through necessity, then over time just became something commonplace.

It would be really nice, if that sort of thing didn't happen in the world - that every ad would just be an ad, harmless.

Ads on TV are very different to the internet. It has some pretty heavy regulation, which is why it has such quality. There's a lot of red-tape and code of conduct they have to comply with even before the ad goes to air. When it does go to air, there's watchdogs that investigate any complaints about the ad etc. Can the internet have the same kind of regulation? I'm not so sure about that.

Btw, I do love ENN.

 

[cobra_ky]

Wow, so little caring.

I share the sentiment. I pay for content I appreciate, even if it is offered to me free. MSPaint Adventures has annoying porn comic ads, but I like the guy's site, so I tolerate it.

Funny you should bring that up!

I don't particularly mind if you ad block MSPA.

I think 300K visitors imprinted on the tracker is probably good enough. A few extra imprints isn't exactly going to make those ad prices skyrocket.

Source: Post #2400 on the MSPA forums <a href=http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread.php?31974-MSPA-Chat-41-One-Doesn-t-Simply-Youth-Roll-into-Mordor&p=4110982&viewfull=1#post4110982>here.

Andrew Hussie is supported entirely by his comic and is incredibly prolific in producing content. So why doesn't he care about adblockers? Because he uses <a href=http://www.projectwonderful.com/advertisehere.php?id=44478&type=5>Project Wonderful and his income is only tangentially related to, instead of being entirely dependent on, the number of ad displays on his site!

in short, there are ways to make a living off the internet without having to beg your audience to look at ads.

 

[Tim_Buoy]

i do ad block but only for site that normally have the large flashing banners or an automatic sound at start up or ads on sites that are known to have viruses such as face book but i dont block them here because theyre actually amusing and they finally changed the ad with edge in it god i couldnt stand those kids

 

[GothmogII]

As websites go, The Escapist is pretty light on ads. The adverts that play at the start of the vids are short, if repetitive after a while and, aside from the banner and occasional themed side bars, I've yet to see out of place advertisement. Excepting of course those -awful- Everquest adverts we got a while back, my god, I hope their designer good a kick up the ass for those! xD

Well, that's not entirely true, I think I did see a pop-up once, but...it might not have been The Escapist's since I couldn't exit the damn thing and it kept scrolling with me, overlapping the site. Then again, it was only on the Escapist, so. But nonetheless, I'm glad such ads aren't prevalent. Sitting through a few seconds of ads isn't such a pain, and if the TV/Internet comparison has anything, it's that you can still 'change the channel' as it were, thanks to the magic of tabbed browsing.