4 ms·

While I fully agree with the sentiment here, paying or donating doesn't necessarily prevent ads. Some software and entertainment providers just jam ads into eve

While I fully agree with the sentiment here, paying or donating doesn't necessarily prevent ads. Some software and entertainment providers just jam ads into everything, even for paying customers. But yes, I do agree that paying for FOSS should be the norm, where possible. And hopefully this will indeed prevent ads in many cases. It's a shame that advertising has become so normalised that is reflexively added to so many fledgling projects. Most startups fail, but there are always others being born in their place, churning out more ads into the gap. Another niggle, which is admittedly at a tangent from what I took as your main point. Not everyone in the "HN crowd" is in a position to donate. Recently I read a comment here from someone who said they're homeless, for example. But for those HNers who are employed, yes, donation to FOSS should be far more common.

ianai 4y ago
If there’s money in forking a project that just added advertisement solely to remove the ads and take donations away then there’s an avenue of counterbalance. And of course there’s an inappropriate audience to my original comment. That’s life. Edit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33175839 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33175839
ttymck 4y ago
> Some software and entertainment providers just jam ads into everything, even for paying customers. Sorry, but who are you referring to?
- ianai 4y ago
  Cable companies. But that fight should have been had in the 80s I think.
  - ttymck 4y ago
    Are you referring to commercials on TV?
    - yuubi 4y ago
      part of the deal with cable tv a few decades ago was that the cable channels didn't have ads because you paid for them directly every month. (local stations obviously had their usual ads).
- carlmcqueen 4y ago
  Hulu is one, if you need an example.
  - ttymck 4y ago
    Mmm, indeed. Although they began as a free ad-supported service. Certainly a peculiar case.
  - celestialcheese 4y ago
    They have an ad-free tier still - it's just more expensive.
    - horsawlarway 4y ago
      And it's still not "ad" free. They show all sorts of material that they can only license with ads in place in that tier. And that's not even going into the whole "It's not an ad - it's a promotion for another one of our shows" crock of bullshit they pull.
- robertlagrant 4y ago
  Microsoft was putting ads in the Start Menu for a while, if I remember correctly.
  - thfuran 4y ago
    They stopped?
    - nine_k 4y ago
      AFAICT you just have to pay enough: Windows Professional versions can switch all such stuff off, also control the installation of updates, reboots, etc.
      - thfuran 4y ago
        Sure, but as far as I know, they haven't stopped loading up the home editions with trash.
- prirun 4y ago
  Paramount+ has ads in both their Essential and Premium plans: From https://help.paramountplus.com/s/article/PD-What-plans-are-available-for-Paramount-and-how-much-do-they-cost https://help.paramountplus.com/s/article/PD-What-plans-are-a...: Essential - Stream with limited commercial interruptions for $4.99/month Premium (formerly Commercial Free - all the benefits remain the same!) Watch with no ads for just $9.99/month...live TV streams have commercials, and a few shows include brief promotional interruptions to keep you in the loop on new and upcoming Paramount+ programming
  - smileybarry 4y ago
    > and a few shows include brief promotional interruptions to keep you in the loop on new and upcoming Paramount+ programming I absolutely hate this trend. Whenever Prime Video does it I just get annoyed and skip either way.
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    So, they want to force us back to torrenting. Twist my arm, why don't you?

ianai 4y ago

If there’s money in forking a project that just added advertisement solely to remove the ads and take donations away then there’s an avenue of counterbalance. And of course there’s an inappropriate audience to my original comment. That’s life. Edit: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33175839 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33175839

ttymck 4y ago

> Some software and entertainment providers just jam ads into everything, even for paying customers. Sorry, but who are you referring to?

ianai 4y ago
Cable companies. But that fight should have been had in the 80s I think.
- ttymck 4y ago
  Are you referring to commercials on TV?
  - yuubi 4y ago
    part of the deal with cable tv a few decades ago was that the cable channels didn't have ads because you paid for them directly every month. (local stations obviously had their usual ads).
carlmcqueen 4y ago
Hulu is one, if you need an example.
- ttymck 4y ago
  Mmm, indeed. Although they began as a free ad-supported service. Certainly a peculiar case.
- celestialcheese 4y ago
  They have an ad-free tier still - it's just more expensive.
  - horsawlarway 4y ago
    And it's still not "ad" free. They show all sorts of material that they can only license with ads in place in that tier. And that's not even going into the whole "It's not an ad - it's a promotion for another one of our shows" crock of bullshit they pull.
robertlagrant 4y ago
Microsoft was putting ads in the Start Menu for a while, if I remember correctly.
- thfuran 4y ago
  They stopped?
  - nine_k 4y ago
    AFAICT you just have to pay enough: Windows Professional versions can switch all such stuff off, also control the installation of updates, reboots, etc.
    - thfuran 4y ago
      Sure, but as far as I know, they haven't stopped loading up the home editions with trash.
prirun 4y ago
Paramount+ has ads in both their Essential and Premium plans: From https://help.paramountplus.com/s/article/PD-What-plans-are-available-for-Paramount-and-how-much-do-they-cost https://help.paramountplus.com/s/article/PD-What-plans-are-a...: Essential - Stream with limited commercial interruptions for $4.99/month Premium (formerly Commercial Free - all the benefits remain the same!) Watch with no ads for just $9.99/month...live TV streams have commercials, and a few shows include brief promotional interruptions to keep you in the loop on new and upcoming Paramount+ programming
- smileybarry 4y ago
  > and a few shows include brief promotional interruptions to keep you in the loop on new and upcoming Paramount+ programming I absolutely hate this trend. Whenever Prime Video does it I just get annoyed and skip either way.
- ncmncm 4y ago
  So, they want to force us back to torrenting. Twist my arm, why don't you?