4 ms·

I just stop using sites that gimp themselves when I use an adblocker. There's tons of alternatives for most things.

ogre_codes 6y ago
How do you use the web when you can't click on links? I can't effectively keep a mental black list of all the sites which I don't want to click on.
- biryani_chicken 6y ago
  I don't. I mean, if it's a news site just search for the title in a search engine and you'll find other articles. If it's a web application I search for an alternative and bookmark that. If you really want to avoid even loading it, you can just block the whole site with your adblocker but I don't go that far.
  - ogre_codes 6y ago
    That is what I currently do. It turns casual browsing into a frustrating scavenger hunt. The whole point of the web was to make links effortless so you could browse sites. This breaks that whole model.
- monadic3 6y ago
  > I can't effectively keep a mental black list of all the sites which I don't want to click on. It gets easier over time.
- oivey 6y ago
  Very few sites are broken with ad blocking. If you click on one, you just press the back button. No need for a mental blacklist.
pradn 6y ago
There aren't always alternatives - think shopping for certain items, government forms.
- tux1968 6y ago
  Why would a site that hopes you'll send them money in exchange for product, refuse your traffic if you have an ad blocker enabled? That just costs them money. Same for government forms, why would they refuse your traffic if you're blocking ads?
  - pradn 6y ago
    I wonder, too. Yet I still see these issues.
  - vaduz 6y ago
    It might not be intentional to break the site experience for adblock users - but there is a number of sites that has implemented link tracking in a way that overrides the normal click (though sometimes not keypress) events, to let the tracking code do its thing. If the tracking code is blocked or fails to load, that means a lot of actions break. Best part? Trying to convince the operators of such sites that users they cannot see in their "analytics solution" are worth fixing their site for is not exactly a straightfoward job - from their narrow view, these users simply do not exist, because the tracking does not show them!
- contravariant 6y ago
  You have adds on your government forms?
  - pradn 6y ago
    Ad blockers have false positives.
GuB-42 6y ago
It is not what GP asked. An no, there isn't "tons of alternatives". In theory there is. But in practice, they can really make your life harder. Some may say that Signal is an alternative for WhatsApp, but if people you communicate with don't want to use anything but WhatsApp, then Signal is useless. I hate Facebook but when I want to plan an event, I found nothing better, simply because that's the platform that reaches the most people. Network effects... But also, your favorite show may not be on "alternative" streaming platforms, sometimes your job, or worse, the government may require a specific website. There are extremists who are ready to find alternative friends, shows or jobs just to avoid using some website. It is a good thing these people exist, that's how progress is made. But for most people you have to make compromises.
- JKCalhoun 6y ago
  > I hate Facebook but when I want to plan an event… Ah! That's why I haven't missed Facebook. I am old enough that I don't plan events any longer. (Or maybe I have no social life. Actually, that's right, I don't. ;-))

How do you use the web when you can't click on links? I can't effectively keep a mental black list of all the sites which I don't want to click on.

biryani_chicken 6y ago
I don't. I mean, if it's a news site just search for the title in a search engine and you'll find other articles. If it's a web application I search for an alternative and bookmark that. If you really want to avoid even loading it, you can just block the whole site with your adblocker but I don't go that far.
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  That is what I currently do. It turns casual browsing into a frustrating scavenger hunt. The whole point of the web was to make links effortless so you could browse sites. This breaks that whole model.
monadic3 6y ago
> I can't effectively keep a mental black list of all the sites which I don't want to click on. It gets easier over time.
oivey 6y ago
Very few sites are broken with ad blocking. If you click on one, you just press the back button. No need for a mental blacklist.

pradn 6y ago

There aren't always alternatives - think shopping for certain items, government forms.

tux1968 6y ago
Why would a site that hopes you'll send them money in exchange for product, refuse your traffic if you have an ad blocker enabled? That just costs them money. Same for government forms, why would they refuse your traffic if you're blocking ads?
- pradn 6y ago
  I wonder, too. Yet I still see these issues.
- vaduz 6y ago
  It might not be intentional to break the site experience for adblock users - but there is a number of sites that has implemented link tracking in a way that overrides the normal click (though sometimes not keypress) events, to let the tracking code do its thing. If the tracking code is blocked or fails to load, that means a lot of actions break. Best part? Trying to convince the operators of such sites that users they cannot see in their "analytics solution" are worth fixing their site for is not exactly a straightfoward job - from their narrow view, these users simply do not exist, because the tracking does not show them!
contravariant 6y ago
You have adds on your government forms?
- pradn 6y ago
  Ad blockers have false positives.

GuB-42 6y ago

It is not what GP asked. An no, there isn't "tons of alternatives". In theory there is. But in practice, they can really make your life harder. Some may say that Signal is an alternative for WhatsApp, but if people you communicate with don't want to use anything but WhatsApp, then Signal is useless. I hate Facebook but when I want to plan an event, I found nothing better, simply because that's the platform that reaches the most people. Network effects... But also, your favorite show may not be on "alternative" streaming platforms, sometimes your job, or worse, the government may require a specific website. There are extremists who are ready to find alternative friends, shows or jobs just to avoid using some website. It is a good thing these people exist, that's how progress is made. But for most people you have to make compromises.

JKCalhoun 6y ago
> I hate Facebook but when I want to plan an event… Ah! That's why I haven't missed Facebook. I am old enough that I don't plan events any longer. (Or maybe I have no social life. Actually, that's right, I don't. ;-))