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I’m just thankful the team of people working on uBlock Origin and its filters are managing to stay one step ahead of Google. Seeing those anti-adblock popups ma

I’m just thankful the team of people working on uBlock Origin and its filters are managing to stay one step ahead of Google. Seeing those anti-adblock popups made me realize how much of a habit watching YouTube has become for me. Before anyone asks, I don’t care about the moral or ethical concerns of adblocking. Nor do I ever plan to pay Google for YouTube Premium. If Google wins the adblocking war I’ll begrudgingly find another platform.

worklaptopacct 3y ago
I just don't get people who discuss the morality of ad blocking. You see the corporation as a human, while it sees you as an optimization metric.
- Hamuko 3y ago
  Not every website with ads is owned by a corporation though.
  - worklaptopacct 3y ago
    Yes, but we are talking about YouTube, aren't we?
    - Hamuko 3y ago
      I only saw people talking about "morality of ad blocking", not "morality of ad blocking on YouTube".
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
  - plagiarist 3y ago
    They might find a more willing audience if they behaved respectfully. Instead they are partnering with ad networks that use pop ups, automatic redirects, take over scrolling behavior, content overlays, load in ads that shift the content around while I am trying to read it, and so forth.
  - prophesi 3y ago
    Even so, it's the ad platform that is humanized, not the individual YT creators or website owners.
  - rchaud 3y ago
    These days, they pretty much have to be. Buzzfeed was probably the last site to make money on tradtional Google Ads. Adsense premiums are so low now that websites usually have to become a multi-blog syndication network to aggregate a large enough audience to make money.
- throw0101b 3y ago
  > You see the corporation as a human, while it sees you as an optimization metric. I see the corporation as a collection of humans that want to receive a pay cheque to pay their bills.
behringer 3y ago
There is currently no reasonable youtube alternative.
PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
It cracks me up how some people think giving advertisers your time is a moral issue. The hell it is, I don't have to look at billboards while driving down the highway, I sure as shit don't have to look at ads while surfing the internet. It's one of the biggest marketing scams ever.
- dleslie 3y ago
  Indeed; it's my computer, and I choose what software it runs and what data it receives over the internet. If Google doesn't like how I utilize the data it sends to my Computer then they can simply stop sending it.
  - lxgr 3y ago
    On one hand, I really see your point – on the other, that leads us directly to DRM, doesn’t it? Only strong DRM actually gives Google full control over the video playback environment, and that comes with huge (but different) downsides too.
    - Zambyte 3y ago
      I don't see why you would need DRM when you can just send HTTP 403
      - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
        That would make them less popular. Part of the point being missed by those who think it's a moral issue is that these companies _also_ have alternatives but those alternatives have downsides.
      - lxgr 3y ago
        How would they know when to send a 403 and when to deliver the video content?
        paulryanrogers 3y ago
canistel 3y ago
Newpipe and the likes too.
plagiarist 3y ago
I wish ubiquitous advertising was illegal. Adtech has eaten and ruined the internet. I think much of why people are so excited about using LLMs for discovery and writing basic code is because nobody has yet found a way to jam ads in the top three results and SEO listicles for next two dozen organic. "Aha, finally I can write a query and receive seemingly relevant content with no extra effort!"
- samtho 3y ago
  Every since LLMs made it into the mainstream via ChatGPT, it’s really become a matter of time before most of the new content being produced is just generated, SEO nonsense - which we can see the beginnings of right now. Big media companies used to pay interns to write barely legible articles and use word spinners to sub synonyms but now you can create, on the fly, useful-sounding content that neatly accompanies the current article. Advertisers can also use crude prompt queries like “write a maximum N word hook targeting X audience, relating to Y, advertising Z product” and dynamically create A/B (A/B/…/N?) tests and see what performs 0.2% better.
  - plagiarist 3y ago
    Yes. Using the LLM directly is neat. What LLMs are doing to content is a massive tragedy of the commons. I am already finding garbage listicles written by computers in all my searches now. One funny and obvious example: trying to query about a miter slot on a powertool had an article about types of slots but accidentally included casino slot machines in the list.
- rchaud 3y ago
  > I think much of why people are so excited about using LLMs for discovery and writing basic code is because nobody has yet found a way to jam ads in the top three results Agreed. It's the Uberization play. Get everybody hyped up on below-cost service and no tipping, subsidized by VC money. Then go public, jack the prices up and add in a tip screen at the end of every ride. It's coming.
Workaccount2 3y ago
>If Google wins the adblocking war I’ll begrudgingly find another platform. Translation: "I will begrudgingly find another platform that provides free bandwidth and hosting and takes nothing from me in return"
- deadbeeves 3y ago
  Or, more charitably, "I'll begrudgingly spend my time elsewhere".
- rchaud 3y ago
  For just $14.99/mo, you can help sponsor a struggling Alphabet employee whose RSUs did not vest in time to take advantage of the stock's all-time high.

worklaptopacct 3y ago

I just don't get people who discuss the morality of ad blocking. You see the corporation as a human, while it sees you as an optimization metric.

Hamuko 3y ago
Not every website with ads is owned by a corporation though.
- worklaptopacct 3y ago
  Yes, but we are talking about YouTube, aren't we?
  - Hamuko 3y ago
    I only saw people talking about "morality of ad blocking", not "morality of ad blocking on YouTube".
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- plagiarist 3y ago
  They might find a more willing audience if they behaved respectfully. Instead they are partnering with ad networks that use pop ups, automatic redirects, take over scrolling behavior, content overlays, load in ads that shift the content around while I am trying to read it, and so forth.
- prophesi 3y ago
  Even so, it's the ad platform that is humanized, not the individual YT creators or website owners.
- rchaud 3y ago
  These days, they pretty much have to be. Buzzfeed was probably the last site to make money on tradtional Google Ads. Adsense premiums are so low now that websites usually have to become a multi-blog syndication network to aggregate a large enough audience to make money.
throw0101b 3y ago
> You see the corporation as a human, while it sees you as an optimization metric. I see the corporation as a collection of humans that want to receive a pay cheque to pay their bills.

behringer 3y ago

There is currently no reasonable youtube alternative.

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago

It cracks me up how some people think giving advertisers your time is a moral issue. The hell it is, I don't have to look at billboards while driving down the highway, I sure as shit don't have to look at ads while surfing the internet. It's one of the biggest marketing scams ever.

dleslie 3y ago
Indeed; it's my computer, and I choose what software it runs and what data it receives over the internet. If Google doesn't like how I utilize the data it sends to my Computer then they can simply stop sending it.
- lxgr 3y ago
  On one hand, I really see your point – on the other, that leads us directly to DRM, doesn’t it? Only strong DRM actually gives Google full control over the video playback environment, and that comes with huge (but different) downsides too.
  - Zambyte 3y ago
    I don't see why you would need DRM when you can just send HTTP 403
    - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
      That would make them less popular. Part of the point being missed by those who think it's a moral issue is that these companies _also_ have alternatives but those alternatives have downsides.
    - lxgr 3y ago
      How would they know when to send a 403 and when to deliver the video content?
      - paulryanrogers 3y ago

canistel 3y ago

Newpipe and the likes too.

plagiarist 3y ago

I wish ubiquitous advertising was illegal. Adtech has eaten and ruined the internet. I think much of why people are so excited about using LLMs for discovery and writing basic code is because nobody has yet found a way to jam ads in the top three results and SEO listicles for next two dozen organic. "Aha, finally I can write a query and receive seemingly relevant content with no extra effort!"

samtho 3y ago
Every since LLMs made it into the mainstream via ChatGPT, it’s really become a matter of time before most of the new content being produced is just generated, SEO nonsense - which we can see the beginnings of right now. Big media companies used to pay interns to write barely legible articles and use word spinners to sub synonyms but now you can create, on the fly, useful-sounding content that neatly accompanies the current article. Advertisers can also use crude prompt queries like “write a maximum N word hook targeting X audience, relating to Y, advertising Z product” and dynamically create A/B (A/B/…/N?) tests and see what performs 0.2% better.
- plagiarist 3y ago
  Yes. Using the LLM directly is neat. What LLMs are doing to content is a massive tragedy of the commons. I am already finding garbage listicles written by computers in all my searches now. One funny and obvious example: trying to query about a miter slot on a powertool had an article about types of slots but accidentally included casino slot machines in the list.
rchaud 3y ago
> I think much of why people are so excited about using LLMs for discovery and writing basic code is because nobody has yet found a way to jam ads in the top three results Agreed. It's the Uberization play. Get everybody hyped up on below-cost service and no tipping, subsidized by VC money. Then go public, jack the prices up and add in a tip screen at the end of every ride. It's coming.

Workaccount2 3y ago

>If Google wins the adblocking war I’ll begrudgingly find another platform. Translation: "I will begrudgingly find another platform that provides free bandwidth and hosting and takes nothing from me in return"

deadbeeves 3y ago
Or, more charitably, "I'll begrudgingly spend my time elsewhere".
rchaud 3y ago
For just $14.99/mo, you can help sponsor a struggling Alphabet employee whose RSUs did not vest in time to take advantage of the stock's all-time high.