4 ms·

A big issue with paid subscriptions is that it dilutes the strength of the ad network, since you're specifically excluding desirable target customers.

jerf 10y ago
I think that argument is aging fast; it dates from before ad blockers were the increasingly big deal they are now. You've got two basic choices with a user who has demonstrated their passion to remove ads, spend money to play an arms-game race with the ad blockers to pound through their defenses, or directly make money from that passion, possibly an order-of-magnitude more money per user. Is it really so obvious that the arms race is the correct solution? If I were a major shareholder of Facebook, I would be asking this question in a pointed manner. There's an argument to be made that they're leaving billions on the table here, and the argument is getting better every month that goes by.
- rlidwka 10y ago
  There is another basic choice: write a code that is intentionally incompatible with ad blockers. They can name an important navigation element "ad", so ad blocker will hide it for example. Then, when a bunch of users start complaining that the website does not work, point out that it's all ad blocker's fault (because without it everything works). I've seen a few precedents already.
  - hajile 10y ago
    That works for small websites, but big sites will simply have exceptions listed.
  - sleepychu 10y ago
    I'm happy to continue to modify my ad blocker until it allows me to use enough of facebook to be happy. How I choose to render the data Facebook sends me, is up to me.
    - fwn 10y ago
      While I think that this is a very bad idea, one could dynamically name them in a defective way. The relevant information (blocking lists) are openly available.
      - sleepychu 10y ago
        This just demands a new strategy for blocking.
pbhjpbhj 10y ago
<evil-mode> I'd imagine you - by which I mean morally void publishing execs - take money for reduced ads and then charge a premium for reaching the people who are paying to remove ads.
- linkregister 10y ago
  Even better, form an ad blocker company, get successful, and charge large advertisers for white listing their ads. https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads-agreements https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads-agreements
flukus 10y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if many of those desirable customers are also the ones using ad blockers.

jerf 10y ago

I think that argument is aging fast; it dates from before ad blockers were the increasingly big deal they are now. You've got two basic choices with a user who has demonstrated their passion to remove ads, spend money to play an arms-game race with the ad blockers to pound through their defenses, or directly make money from that passion, possibly an order-of-magnitude more money per user. Is it really so obvious that the arms race is the correct solution? If I were a major shareholder of Facebook, I would be asking this question in a pointed manner. There's an argument to be made that they're leaving billions on the table here, and the argument is getting better every month that goes by.

rlidwka 10y ago
There is another basic choice: write a code that is intentionally incompatible with ad blockers. They can name an important navigation element "ad", so ad blocker will hide it for example. Then, when a bunch of users start complaining that the website does not work, point out that it's all ad blocker's fault (because without it everything works). I've seen a few precedents already.
- hajile 10y ago
  That works for small websites, but big sites will simply have exceptions listed.
- sleepychu 10y ago
  I'm happy to continue to modify my ad blocker until it allows me to use enough of facebook to be happy. How I choose to render the data Facebook sends me, is up to me.
  - fwn 10y ago
    While I think that this is a very bad idea, one could dynamically name them in a defective way. The relevant information (blocking lists) are openly available.
    - sleepychu 10y ago
      This just demands a new strategy for blocking.

pbhjpbhj 10y ago

<evil-mode> I'd imagine you - by which I mean morally void publishing execs - take money for reduced ads and then charge a premium for reaching the people who are paying to remove ads.

linkregister 10y ago
Even better, form an ad blocker company, get successful, and charge large advertisers for white listing their ads. https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads-agreements https://adblockplus.org/acceptable-ads-agreements

flukus 10y ago

I wouldn't be surprised if many of those desirable customers are also the ones using ad blockers.