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If ads are the biggest problem you face in the world, you have had a pretty easy life. I wish people had half as much passion as they do against ads, against mo

If ads are the biggest problem you face in the world, you have had a pretty easy life. I wish people had half as much passion as they do against ads, against more impactful things like hunger, disease and war. Also, ads really don't bother me that much. Perhaps, I can afford to pay for everything I consume without ads, but some people don't have the means to. I am glad that ads allow some people to access content freely or provide them cheaper goods. There are actually times ads have helped me find a product I enjoy, I assume for most normal people this is true also. What I find more annoying than ads, is all the self-righteous complaining about ads.

tibyat 8y ago
whataboutism
- rocketpastsix 8y ago
  this isnt any kind of whataboutism.
  - tibyat 8y ago
    you’re kidding right? you think ads are bad?! whatabout hunger, disease, and war?! Yes, they are all bad, and so are ads.
anthony_romeo 8y ago
To be fair, I don’t think the original poster ever suggested that ads were the biggest problem they faced in the world. You’re not wrong in some respects, but I think it’s useful to have a dialogue on the subject of increasing (and perhaps invasive) advertising, rather than dismiss it because there are also people starving in the world.
jaehoony 8y ago
This is also the person who would flip out if his internet speed goes to shit and Comcast representative said hey, it's not as bad as 10 years ago.
TheTruth1234 8y ago
Pretty weak argument, I'm afraid. Practically everything pales into insignificance in the face of hunger, disease and war. Let's just give up on everything! And I note your positive points on ads, and agree. But come on, generally they're absolute sh!t. They slow the web down, they interfere with productivity, they deceive, they aren't clever. One in 1000 is actually funny. They're crap. I could go on.
bogomipz 8y ago
Nowhere in the OP's post did they suggest that ads were their "biggest problem." You took it upon yourself to project that onto them and their comment. This post is about one of the world's most valuable companies getting into the ad business, the OP's comment is not out of place. There's was also nothing even remotely "self-righteous" about their comment. Lastly your own sentiment that you are glad that "ads allow some people to access content freely" is completely absurd and wildly misplaced in the context of Amazon. Exactly nothing on Amazon is free.
devmunchies 8y ago
I'm a Deep-Ecologist who is concerned about the large human population of consumers impacting global biodiversity so I see "things like hunger, disease and war" as natures way of keeping a species at bay. Although we seem to have outsmarted the laws of nature in the last 500 years. No i don't think killing people is the best option. I obviously would rather reduce human consumption through other means. > I am glad that ads ... provide them cheaper goods There's always a cost to indulgence or easy living. Our children will pay it if we don't. (I know my comment is dark but the parent comment mentioned "disgust towards the world we live in" so its relevant.)
- syndacks 8y ago
  I completely agree. The thing that bothers me isn't so much ads themselves, but the implicit meaning behind them: consumption. It's simply not a sustainable business or ecological model.
justaguyhere 8y ago
What I find more annoying than ads, is all the self-righteous complaining about ads. Don't those mega billboards annoy you? Don't the auto playing audio/video ads annoy you? You get on the subway, there are ads (and you've paid for the ticket, it is not even you are traveling free). You drive on the street, there are huge billboards everywhere. You switch on the TV, there are ads. You open a bank account, the bank sells your address and the very next week you get junk in the mail. How many of these are voluntary? How is it self-righteous to expect a quiet, clutter free life/atmosphere? Almost all ads are ugly, annoying and they are full of lies. There are actually times ads have helped me find a product I enjoy How often is this true? Maybe one ad in a thousand is useful, it isn't worth watching the other 999 junk
- throwawaymath 8y ago
  Not the person you responded to, but I'll take a stab: > Don't those mega billboards annoy you? No. They don't impact my life whatsoever. > Don't the auto playing audio/video ads annoy you? The auto-playing ones like what you get on a news page, yes. The ones that play before a video on YouTube, no. > You get on the subway, there are ads (and you've paid for the ticket, it is not even you are traveling free). Don't even notice them most of the time. Sometimes they're mildly funny. Can't remember ever being bothered by one. > You switch on the TV, there are ads. I don't really watch TV (I guess that's a pretentious response), but when I do I just ignore the ads I'm not interested in. They don't annoy me. > You open a bank account, the bank sells your address and the very next week you get junk in the mail. Are you sure it's the bank doing this, and not the post office? In any case it's moving the goal posts a bit, because this is not advertising per se. It's data collection in service to advertising. I find it annoying, but not because I get junk mail. I don't find junk mail annoying, I throw it out without reading it. In fact I don't really read any physical mail. > How is it self-righteous to expect a quiet, clutter free life/atmosphere? Yeah but that's not the claim, is it? The person is saying it's self-righteous to constantly complain about advertising because it feels like a soapbox. In point of fact, I consider my life to be plenty quiet and clutter-free and I live in the same advertising-filled world you do. There are legitimate reasons to dislike advertising. Sometimes ads are a vector for spreading malware, and the peripheral incentive structures are arguably unethical (particularly concerning the use and collection of consumer data). But quite a lot of complaining about advertising doesn't treat the subject with that level of intellectual engagement or nuance. Instead it's just impassioned yelling into a void about how unfair advertising is, or how unaesthetic the world is because of it. I can see how that would become grating after a while, because on sites like HN and reddit you don't find nearly as many people e.g. crusading against climate change, disease, destitute poverty or hunger. It's actually a downvotable offense for someone to say, "Hey, I'm actually pretty okay with ads though!" This is why the person you're responding to reacted that way. It's hard to take seriously the idea that the world is "disgusting" because of billboards. That's kind of a hyperbolic way of saying the world isn't the way you want it to be, isn't it?
roberttod 8y ago
If people being upset about ads is the biggest problem you face, you have had a pretty easy life. What about more impactful things like war and disease? (Literally this the same argument you just made)
zjaffee 8y ago
Advertising is often a form of propaganda that leads us to inadvertently allow the issues of hunger, disease and war to continue. Advertisers basically say whatever they want to us skirting on the edge of any existing regulation to get ahead. The fact that corporations can use advertising as a tool to manipulate your emotions is something that is fundamentally undemocratic.
kadendogthing 8y ago
> against more impactful things like hunger, disease and war. Ads drive consumption of needless products that are harmful to human populations and the environment at large.

tibyat 8y ago

whataboutism

rocketpastsix 8y ago
this isnt any kind of whataboutism.
- tibyat 8y ago
  you’re kidding right? you think ads are bad?! whatabout hunger, disease, and war?! Yes, they are all bad, and so are ads.

anthony_romeo 8y ago

To be fair, I don’t think the original poster ever suggested that ads were the biggest problem they faced in the world. You’re not wrong in some respects, but I think it’s useful to have a dialogue on the subject of increasing (and perhaps invasive) advertising, rather than dismiss it because there are also people starving in the world.

jaehoony 8y ago

This is also the person who would flip out if his internet speed goes to shit and Comcast representative said hey, it's not as bad as 10 years ago.

TheTruth1234 8y ago

Pretty weak argument, I'm afraid. Practically everything pales into insignificance in the face of hunger, disease and war. Let's just give up on everything! And I note your positive points on ads, and agree. But come on, generally they're absolute sh!t. They slow the web down, they interfere with productivity, they deceive, they aren't clever. One in 1000 is actually funny. They're crap. I could go on.

bogomipz 8y ago

Nowhere in the OP's post did they suggest that ads were their "biggest problem." You took it upon yourself to project that onto them and their comment. This post is about one of the world's most valuable companies getting into the ad business, the OP's comment is not out of place. There's was also nothing even remotely "self-righteous" about their comment. Lastly your own sentiment that you are glad that "ads allow some people to access content freely" is completely absurd and wildly misplaced in the context of Amazon. Exactly nothing on Amazon is free.

devmunchies 8y ago

I'm a Deep-Ecologist who is concerned about the large human population of consumers impacting global biodiversity so I see "things like hunger, disease and war" as natures way of keeping a species at bay. Although we seem to have outsmarted the laws of nature in the last 500 years. No i don't think killing people is the best option. I obviously would rather reduce human consumption through other means. > I am glad that ads ... provide them cheaper goods There's always a cost to indulgence or easy living. Our children will pay it if we don't. (I know my comment is dark but the parent comment mentioned "disgust towards the world we live in" so its relevant.)

syndacks 8y ago
I completely agree. The thing that bothers me isn't so much ads themselves, but the implicit meaning behind them: consumption. It's simply not a sustainable business or ecological model.

justaguyhere 8y ago

What I find more annoying than ads, is all the self-righteous complaining about ads. Don't those mega billboards annoy you? Don't the auto playing audio/video ads annoy you? You get on the subway, there are ads (and you've paid for the ticket, it is not even you are traveling free). You drive on the street, there are huge billboards everywhere. You switch on the TV, there are ads. You open a bank account, the bank sells your address and the very next week you get junk in the mail. How many of these are voluntary? How is it self-righteous to expect a quiet, clutter free life/atmosphere? Almost all ads are ugly, annoying and they are full of lies. There are actually times ads have helped me find a product I enjoy How often is this true? Maybe one ad in a thousand is useful, it isn't worth watching the other 999 junk

throwawaymath 8y ago
Not the person you responded to, but I'll take a stab: > Don't those mega billboards annoy you? No. They don't impact my life whatsoever. > Don't the auto playing audio/video ads annoy you? The auto-playing ones like what you get on a news page, yes. The ones that play before a video on YouTube, no. > You get on the subway, there are ads (and you've paid for the ticket, it is not even you are traveling free). Don't even notice them most of the time. Sometimes they're mildly funny. Can't remember ever being bothered by one. > You switch on the TV, there are ads. I don't really watch TV (I guess that's a pretentious response), but when I do I just ignore the ads I'm not interested in. They don't annoy me. > You open a bank account, the bank sells your address and the very next week you get junk in the mail. Are you sure it's the bank doing this, and not the post office? In any case it's moving the goal posts a bit, because this is not advertising per se. It's data collection in service to advertising. I find it annoying, but not because I get junk mail. I don't find junk mail annoying, I throw it out without reading it. In fact I don't really read any physical mail. > How is it self-righteous to expect a quiet, clutter free life/atmosphere? Yeah but that's not the claim, is it? The person is saying it's self-righteous to constantly complain about advertising because it feels like a soapbox. In point of fact, I consider my life to be plenty quiet and clutter-free and I live in the same advertising-filled world you do. There are legitimate reasons to dislike advertising. Sometimes ads are a vector for spreading malware, and the peripheral incentive structures are arguably unethical (particularly concerning the use and collection of consumer data). But quite a lot of complaining about advertising doesn't treat the subject with that level of intellectual engagement or nuance. Instead it's just impassioned yelling into a void about how unfair advertising is, or how unaesthetic the world is because of it. I can see how that would become grating after a while, because on sites like HN and reddit you don't find nearly as many people e.g. crusading against climate change, disease, destitute poverty or hunger. It's actually a downvotable offense for someone to say, "Hey, I'm actually pretty okay with ads though!" This is why the person you're responding to reacted that way. It's hard to take seriously the idea that the world is "disgusting" because of billboards. That's kind of a hyperbolic way of saying the world isn't the way you want it to be, isn't it?

roberttod 8y ago

If people being upset about ads is the biggest problem you face, you have had a pretty easy life. What about more impactful things like war and disease? (Literally this the same argument you just made)

zjaffee 8y ago

Advertising is often a form of propaganda that leads us to inadvertently allow the issues of hunger, disease and war to continue. Advertisers basically say whatever they want to us skirting on the edge of any existing regulation to get ahead. The fact that corporations can use advertising as a tool to manipulate your emotions is something that is fundamentally undemocratic.

kadendogthing 8y ago

> against more impactful things like hunger, disease and war. Ads drive consumption of needless products that are harmful to human populations and the environment at large.