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There's a huge but subtle difference between the prevalence of ad blockers vs an ad blocker that is both backed by an ad company and built into the browser (pre

There's a huge but subtle difference between the prevalence of ad blockers vs an ad blocker that is both backed by an ad company and built into the browser (presumably with no way to turn it off). We've seen examples of ad blockers becoming problematic when they have too much market share (AdBlock Plus).

user5994461 9y ago
AdBlock is fine except for not blocking google top links and amazon recommendation. It's still blocking everything else, which is a HUGE LOT.
- epicide 9y ago
  The fact that AdBlock receives money to break the very thing they're supposed to fix (at the user's expense) is pretty messed up. Sure, it's better than nothing, but that's really not saying much. There are better options out there that (currently) give you fine-grain control over what goes into your machine, so there is pretty much no reason to give over that control to a corrupt group.
  - user5994461 9y ago
    I agree that AdBlock getting paid is messed up. I can't say that it entirely ruined the purpose though. My parents don't need fine controls. They just need something to block most of the malware, adware and popups. That's the world we live in.
    - epicide 9y ago
      I understand your point that they don't need fine grain controls, but does uBlock Origin require anything beyond the defaults? I'm just not seeing the benefit from using AdBlock Plus, anymore.
      - user5994461 9y ago
        Depends what you mean by require. There are some important blacklists on both ublock and adblock that are off by default, they can be enabled.
    - jrnichols 9y ago
      i agree. i don't think it ruined the purpose. the purpose (in my eyes, yours may see it different) was to reduce offensive, dangerous, and just plain obnoxious advertising. I don't mind a few unobtrusive ads. I really do mind those stupid ad overlays, ads that unroll themselves on top of the content I'm trying to read, and "scroll here for more" junk.

user5994461 9y ago

AdBlock is fine except for not blocking google top links and amazon recommendation. It's still blocking everything else, which is a HUGE LOT.

epicide 9y ago
The fact that AdBlock receives money to break the very thing they're supposed to fix (at the user's expense) is pretty messed up. Sure, it's better than nothing, but that's really not saying much. There are better options out there that (currently) give you fine-grain control over what goes into your machine, so there is pretty much no reason to give over that control to a corrupt group.
- user5994461 9y ago
  I agree that AdBlock getting paid is messed up. I can't say that it entirely ruined the purpose though. My parents don't need fine controls. They just need something to block most of the malware, adware and popups. That's the world we live in.
  - epicide 9y ago
    I understand your point that they don't need fine grain controls, but does uBlock Origin require anything beyond the defaults? I'm just not seeing the benefit from using AdBlock Plus, anymore.
    - user5994461 9y ago
      Depends what you mean by require. There are some important blacklists on both ublock and adblock that are off by default, they can be enabled.
  - jrnichols 9y ago
    i agree. i don't think it ruined the purpose. the purpose (in my eyes, yours may see it different) was to reduce offensive, dangerous, and just plain obnoxious advertising. I don't mind a few unobtrusive ads. I really do mind those stupid ad overlays, ads that unroll themselves on top of the content I'm trying to read, and "scroll here for more" junk.