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> total wanker. ads do not benefit users So would you be prepared to pay for every site you visit? I visit dozens of sites a day (e.g. by following links to ne
by dmortin 8y ago
> total wanker. ads do not benefit users
So would you be prepared to pay for every site you visit? I visit dozens of sites a day (e.g. by following links to new articles). If you had to pay for all of them it would quickly come up to a hefty bill.
One alternative could be micropayments, so you don't have to pay a monthly bill for the site, you'd only pay for the pages you visit. But until there is no generally accepted solution for this yet, ads are the only way to keep the net free.
- toofy 8y ago> ads are the only way to keep the net free. Do we really believe this? My understanding from people who were around back in the day say the web was far better before the web was a giant shopping mall and ad supported sites took over everything. I don’t know if it’s the usual “back in my day things were better” thing happening or whether they’re correct, but a web full of content produced by people who are hobbyists and do so because they enjoy sharing their passion sounds way better than a web full of garbage that is clickbaited solely to maximize the amount of money coming in from ad support. In my experience hobbyists sharing a passion is almost always more enjoyable and of a higher quality. I do recognize there is a middle ground in there somewhere, but I’m not at all convinced the web would somehow disappear without obnoxious ads. People would still create content just like they did before ads and before tracking had infested everything.
- petepete 8y agoFor most people the web is "better" now, because they can use it. Back in the good old days it was mostly enthusiasts and academics. To people in those groups the old web was a wonderful place gone forever. For regular folks, it bypassed them and the current state of affairs; walled gardens, huge centralised behemoths and adverts everywhere is the norm and has been since the early 2000’s.
- barking 8y agoEverything was better in the good old days, harrumph!
- paulie_a 8y agoAds are fine if they actually individually curated by the website without JavaScript bullshit tracking. Until that day happens again, I am going to aggressively block ads and occasionally turn the filters off and randomly click ads to waste their money.