> Maybe this is just a weak example but an ad that's like "do shoes hurt your feet for some reason? Maybe it's this! Buy our shoe to fix it!" seems a hell of a

> Maybe this is just a weak example but an ad that's like "do shoes hurt your feet for some reason? Maybe it's this! Buy our shoe to fix it!" seems a hell of a lot less likely to be useful than finding out why your foot hurts and getting informed advice on what will help. You're absolutely correct. It is also true that many people will not have the means (insurance, for example!) to do that, nor will they have the motivation to do that in every case (think of how few people employ personal financial advisors, for example). Also: an environment free of ads would almost necessarily eliminate (or corrupt, via paid placement) product review sites that seek to help people make informed decisions. De-monetizing impartial information sites seems like a bad outcome. Also: an environment free of ads would also by necessity eliminate