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Forget micro-payments. Ban web advertising at the browser level. Create a browser that thoroughly and intentionally integrates ad blocking and has a statements

Forget micro-payments. Ban web advertising at the browser level. Create a browser that thoroughly and intentionally integrates ad blocking and has a statements of how it renders HTML with UX constraints (think Google AMP but actually good). What happens? Most content sources dry-up and stop. I no longer see that as a bad thing. Out every every 100 content mills that are re-aggregating and summarizing someone else's original reporting you can wipe off 90 of them and still be fine. Those that have a foot-hold, brand, or better reach survive through affiliate marketing (see WireCutter), donations, or subscriptions (NYT, WaPo, etc.) I'm not saying there won't be casualties in this approach but you lose the alt-right and other reality-bending publishers pretty quickly.

kbenson 7y ago
> What happens? What happens if you do that without enough market share is that the browser gets detected and banned/redirected with a message about it being hostile to the people making the content. To some degree, they would be correct. If chrome, Firefox and Safari all did that all at once, many web properties would go under before the dust settled. It would probably cause a recession with how many people it affected, if not an outright depression, as it reverberated throughout the economy. There's a reason some things happen slowly, and why puahback against the better future isn't always a bad thing. Too much change all at once is far more destructive overall than if spread out over time (for the exact same reason having two cars need major repairs the same month can put a family in dire straits).
- donohoe 7y ago
  All very good points and you could have a detailed discussion on many of them. I still think that this is a situation where the bandaid/knife needs to be pulled off quickly. Chrome will never go that path voluntarily but you could push Safari and Firefox to do so (unlikely). I've worked with publishers big and small and I know where this would hurt the most with smaller sites shuttering. That said, after working in advertising for over a decade its clear to me that it is manipulative, abused, and ultimately harmful and directly/indirectly funding several hateful voices that have influence on the world.
- bryan_w 7y ago
  Don't forget that it would also make bezos even richer as amazon.com is the only place people know off the top of their heads to buy anything

kbenson 7y ago

> What happens? What happens if you do that without enough market share is that the browser gets detected and banned/redirected with a message about it being hostile to the people making the content. To some degree, they would be correct. If chrome, Firefox and Safari all did that all at once, many web properties would go under before the dust settled. It would probably cause a recession with how many people it affected, if not an outright depression, as it reverberated throughout the economy. There's a reason some things happen slowly, and why puahback against the better future isn't always a bad thing. Too much change all at once is far more destructive overall than if spread out over time (for the exact same reason having two cars need major repairs the same month can put a family in dire straits).

donohoe 7y ago
All very good points and you could have a detailed discussion on many of them. I still think that this is a situation where the bandaid/knife needs to be pulled off quickly. Chrome will never go that path voluntarily but you could push Safari and Firefox to do so (unlikely). I've worked with publishers big and small and I know where this would hurt the most with smaller sites shuttering. That said, after working in advertising for over a decade its clear to me that it is manipulative, abused, and ultimately harmful and directly/indirectly funding several hateful voices that have influence on the world.
bryan_w 7y ago
Don't forget that it would also make bezos even richer as amazon.com is the only place people know off the top of their heads to buy anything