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No, they wouldn't pay for that. This is a dumb myth that people use to brush off their guilt. If something can be taken for free with no repercussion, most peop

No, they wouldn't pay for that. This is a dumb myth that people use to brush off their guilt. If something can be taken for free with no repercussion, most people will take it for free. We're in a feedback loop where content is being pulled towards the lowest common denominator of people who don't ad-block, which is a terrible uninformed click-bait hellhole. You can ad block, I do myself (with a pretty big whitelist), but understand that if you are not contributuing (money or ad views) your opinion of the internet is irrelevant. Start paying, then complain as a paying customer.

skummetmaelk 5y ago
I support several content creators on Patreon because I greatly value their content and want them to continue making it. I realise not everyone is in a position to do so and that is fine. > If something can be taken for free with no repercussion, most people will take it for free. This is clearly not true. Netflix found massive success even though it was, and still is, incredibly easy to pirate everything you want to watch. Indie games with poor or non-existent DRM make money on Steam even though pirate copies exist. Yes, of course there is a loss to piracy. Is that loss greater than what surveillance capitalism is pushing onto us? I doubt it, but you may think otherwise.
nescioquid 5y ago
Many sites on the internet provide little more than infrastructure and moderation for the content provided by users of that site. I think every one of those users has a relevant opinion about the internet itself whether or not they are forking over money or being subjected to advertising. The internet did not spring into being for the sake of ad-tech.
foxfluff 5y ago
As long as it is possible to make money with ads, the web will be full of SEO-optimized trash, clickbait, and other worthless "content" full of ads, and it will drown out anything of quality. If you're giving them ad views, you're partly responsible for and contributing towards the sorry state of the internet. Start blocking ads, and ask everyone you know to do the same.

skummetmaelk 5y ago

I support several content creators on Patreon because I greatly value their content and want them to continue making it. I realise not everyone is in a position to do so and that is fine. > If something can be taken for free with no repercussion, most people will take it for free. This is clearly not true. Netflix found massive success even though it was, and still is, incredibly easy to pirate everything you want to watch. Indie games with poor or non-existent DRM make money on Steam even though pirate copies exist. Yes, of course there is a loss to piracy. Is that loss greater than what surveillance capitalism is pushing onto us? I doubt it, but you may think otherwise.

nescioquid 5y ago

Many sites on the internet provide little more than infrastructure and moderation for the content provided by users of that site. I think every one of those users has a relevant opinion about the internet itself whether or not they are forking over money or being subjected to advertising. The internet did not spring into being for the sake of ad-tech.

foxfluff 5y ago

As long as it is possible to make money with ads, the web will be full of SEO-optimized trash, clickbait, and other worthless "content" full of ads, and it will drown out anything of quality. If you're giving them ad views, you're partly responsible for and contributing towards the sorry state of the internet. Start blocking ads, and ask everyone you know to do the same.