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"Whomever you think is to blame for the sorry state of Web browsing, content blockers have a kind of ratcheting effect: Once you turn one on, chances are you wo

by iaskwhy 11y ago

"Whomever you think is to blame for the sorry state of Web browsing, content blockers have a kind of ratcheting effect: Once you turn one on, chances are you won't see the kind of high-quality ads that might convince you to turn it off again. It also involves the risk that you'll miss whatever advertisers or publishers come up with to make the Web better again.", said no one ever.

Karunamon 11y ago
Yeah. I'd attach many adjectives to the ads I've seen over the years, but "high-quality" is not one of them.
lmm 11y ago
Eh. I noticed web ads got a lot worse exactly when Mozilla started shipping Firefox with a pop-up blocker enabled by default. Not saying it justifies anything, just that the immediate effect is real.
67726e 11y ago
I think StackOverflow is the only site I've visited with relevant ads that are not terribly intrusive. In fact that is the only site I've have Ad Block Plus disabled for. There are sites with good ads, but they are rare to the point that they might as well be considered to not exist.
- dionidium 11y ago
  I actually think the ads on Facebook are done in a transparent and un-annoying way. Unfortunately, they only show me two things: 1. Geeky shirts with "clever" sayings on them (since they know I'm a programmer, I guess). 2. Things I've already recently bought on Amazon (or elsewhere). In the first case, what they know about me leads to a severely mistaken impression regarding something else about me. In the second case, what they know about me is already outdated.
ryandrake 11y ago
That "ratcheting effect" is by design. Similarly, anti-virus software has a "ratcheting effect" in that once you install them, you don't get to see the kind of high-quality viruses and trojans that might convince your computer to encrypt all your files or give up your bank passwords. Installing an ad blocker has become another one of those "hygiene" steps that you do whenever you set up a new PC: Install Anti-virus, install OS-provided updates, install ad-blocker.
- Lawtonfogle 11y ago
  >install OS-provided updates Windows is working pretty hard to reverse this. At the very least you now have to scan through the updates to uncheck the telemetric ones.
pmontra 11y ago
What a high quality ad is supposed to be? If the product is any good I'll get to know it anyway.
- sosuke 11y ago
  There are ads that can be enjoyable. It is just short entertainment. My wife and I both thought of a commercial from Target where Santa was running to the store in the middle of the night in a partially empty parking lot. https://vimeo.com/55792604 https://vimeo.com/55792604 I looked up to watch that one when it would come on. It was fun. I mute the TV when I get too many drug and insurance commercials.
  - Splines 11y ago
    I don't mind ads inside my content, as long as it's not too obvious. My family has been watching The Amazing Race. It's an enjoyable reality show with not much drama. Ford and Travelocity are all over the show, but it fits with the theme and isn't overly intrusive. Now, Nissan's Rogue ad in Heroes? Good god, I hated that.
    - icebraining 11y ago
      My "favorites" were the Bing searches in Hawaii Five-o: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHuZ5qrYX4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHuZ5qrYX4 I guess it worked, since I remember the ads (even though I didn't follow the show). I still don't use Bing, though.

by iaskwhy 11y ago

Karunamon 11y ago

Yeah. I'd attach many adjectives to the ads I've seen over the years, but "high-quality" is not one of them.

lmm 11y ago

Eh. I noticed web ads got a lot worse exactly when Mozilla started shipping Firefox with a pop-up blocker enabled by default. Not saying it justifies anything, just that the immediate effect is real.

67726e 11y ago

I think StackOverflow is the only site I've visited with relevant ads that are not terribly intrusive. In fact that is the only site I've have Ad Block Plus disabled for. There are sites with good ads, but they are rare to the point that they might as well be considered to not exist.

dionidium 11y ago
I actually think the ads on Facebook are done in a transparent and un-annoying way. Unfortunately, they only show me two things: 1. Geeky shirts with "clever" sayings on them (since they know I'm a programmer, I guess). 2. Things I've already recently bought on Amazon (or elsewhere). In the first case, what they know about me leads to a severely mistaken impression regarding something else about me. In the second case, what they know about me is already outdated.

ryandrake 11y ago

That "ratcheting effect" is by design. Similarly, anti-virus software has a "ratcheting effect" in that once you install them, you don't get to see the kind of high-quality viruses and trojans that might convince your computer to encrypt all your files or give up your bank passwords. Installing an ad blocker has become another one of those "hygiene" steps that you do whenever you set up a new PC: Install Anti-virus, install OS-provided updates, install ad-blocker.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago
>install OS-provided updates Windows is working pretty hard to reverse this. At the very least you now have to scan through the updates to uncheck the telemetric ones.

pmontra 11y ago

What a high quality ad is supposed to be? If the product is any good I'll get to know it anyway.

sosuke 11y ago
There are ads that can be enjoyable. It is just short entertainment. My wife and I both thought of a commercial from Target where Santa was running to the store in the middle of the night in a partially empty parking lot. https://vimeo.com/55792604 https://vimeo.com/55792604 I looked up to watch that one when it would come on. It was fun. I mute the TV when I get too many drug and insurance commercials.
- Splines 11y ago
  I don't mind ads inside my content, as long as it's not too obvious. My family has been watching The Amazing Race. It's an enjoyable reality show with not much drama. Ford and Travelocity are all over the show, but it fits with the theme and isn't overly intrusive. Now, Nissan's Rogue ad in Heroes? Good god, I hated that.
  - icebraining 11y ago
    My "favorites" were the Bing searches in Hawaii Five-o: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHuZ5qrYX4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfHuZ5qrYX4 I guess it worked, since I remember the ads (even though I didn't follow the show). I still don't use Bing, though.