3 ms·
It sounds like you're saying that once you give something to someone then you have an ethical right to dictate how they use that thing. For example, if I buy a
by skewart 9y ago
It sounds like you're saying that once you give something to someone then you have an ethical right to dictate how they use that thing. For example, if I buy a pillow for my sofa and the pillow-maker intended that I rest my head on that pillow every day, then it's unethical of me to keep the pillow in the closet because I don't really need it all the time?
Websites give people HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files for free. Once I take these files home (download them into my browser) then I'm free to do what I want with them. If that means only interacting with part of the content then I don't see anything wrong with that.
I understand the practical situation that many content providers find themselves in. They have become dependent on display ads for revenue. So I get the argument for unblocking ads on some favorite publisher's site to help them out. But I don't see anything unethical in blocking ads in general. And, if it disincentives content providers from relying on aggressive ads that create horrific user experiences then good!
- Denzel 9y agoYou're misunderstanding what it means to own vs. to license... the latter being dictated by a contract known as ToS (terms of service) which you implicitly agree to when using a website.
- mirimir 9y agoSome of us remember when the very idea of commercial operations on the Internet was controversial. That debate is, obviously, long dead. But still, the concept of ToS for websites is bizarre.
- chillwaves 9y agoI defeat this mechanism by offering my own ToS for interactions with any website. They implicitly agree by granting access to my browser to their content.
- lazylizard 9y agois there a browser extension or plugin that can do this for everyone?
- skewart 9y agoWhere are these terms of service? I don't think most websites explicitly state that looking at ads or making your browser execute all of the scripts on the page is part of a terms of service. I mean, there are plenty of disclaimers about getting revenue from ads and referrals - especially on affiliate marketing sites - but I don't think I've seen anything dictating that I must perform certain actions with the files I download. I certainly don't think I've ever seen those terms stated before I download the site files. And informing someone of the terms of what they are agreeing to after they perform the action that implies agreement is incredibly shady. Maybe I have technically stepped into some kind of legally defensible contract by accident. However, I don't think tricking people into signing contracts that they don't want to sign is ethically defensible.