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Ok, if it makes you happier, I'll turn off adblock the handful of times a year I'm shopping online. The signal-noise ratio is so bad, I doubt it'll make a diffe

by Herring 18y ago

Ok, if it makes you happier, I'll turn off adblock the handful of times a year I'm shopping online. The signal-noise ratio is so bad, I doubt it'll make a difference to either of us. "Also, it's pretty probable that some of the forums you look at are in fact just adverts..." I ask on the sites I usually post.

axod 18y ago
How about a better idea - only enable adblock for sites that annoy you with their ads.
- Tichy 18y ago
  Isn't that a bit like giving money to beggars? I mean not that one shouldn't donate, but I think economists recommend donating to causes you actually want to support. In India beggars can get their limps removed to get more donations out of pity - by giving to them, one gives them an incentive to cut off their limps??? That was a bit sidetracked, I guess one should also help the occasional beggar. But switching off adblock would give more sites an incentive to put up ads, which is definitely not something I would like to encourage. TipJoy to the rescue?
  - axod 18y ago
    I'd actually say the reverse is true. By using adblock you're decreasing pageviews for certain ads, which may make some websites put more adverts up for those not using adblock. I really don't get the 'tipping' idea. You seem to see adverts as an evil begging tool rather than an extremely useful device that connects an advertiser with an interested consumer. Advertising is supposed to be useful to you. If it's not, then it's just bad advertising. But don't assume all advertising is bad.
    - Tichy 18y ago
      Advertising is first of all supposed to be useful to the advertiser. In theory it would be fascinating to create useful advertising, but I don't think the technology is quite there yet. That is why I watch Google, because in my opinion they compete with themselves. On the one hand they want to be the best search engine, on the other hand they want to live off advertising. But if their search was perfect, there would be no more need for advertising. OK, even if there was perfect search, it might still be interesting to get interesting cross-references (ie you are looking for cars and get adverts for car insurance). But then the problem remains that there would only be advertising for commercial things. The perfect search engine would also cross-reference me to non-commercial things. As for begging, I don't think ads work that way (less ad viewers implies more ads). In the long run, the ads would go away if nobody would be watching them (beggars can't go away if they truly have no other choice, so here the analogy falters). Maybe along with the ads, many "free" services would disappear, too. On the other hand, if ads weren't an option, maybe other payment schemes would suddenly gain traction.
      - axod 18y ago
        "But if their search was perfect, there would be no more need for advertising." A percentage of their revenue is from adverts generated from searches, but a ton is generated from adsense on peoples websites, in gmail, etc etc I really don't put much hope on other payment schemes taking off. Advertising is a pretty good proven model, with premium options for the smaller set of users willing to pay.

by Herring 18y ago

axod 18y ago

How about a better idea - only enable adblock for sites that annoy you with their ads.

Tichy 18y ago
Isn't that a bit like giving money to beggars? I mean not that one shouldn't donate, but I think economists recommend donating to causes you actually want to support. In India beggars can get their limps removed to get more donations out of pity - by giving to them, one gives them an incentive to cut off their limps??? That was a bit sidetracked, I guess one should also help the occasional beggar. But switching off adblock would give more sites an incentive to put up ads, which is definitely not something I would like to encourage. TipJoy to the rescue?
- axod 18y ago
  I'd actually say the reverse is true. By using adblock you're decreasing pageviews for certain ads, which may make some websites put more adverts up for those not using adblock. I really don't get the 'tipping' idea. You seem to see adverts as an evil begging tool rather than an extremely useful device that connects an advertiser with an interested consumer. Advertising is supposed to be useful to you. If it's not, then it's just bad advertising. But don't assume all advertising is bad.
  - Tichy 18y ago
    Advertising is first of all supposed to be useful to the advertiser. In theory it would be fascinating to create useful advertising, but I don't think the technology is quite there yet. That is why I watch Google, because in my opinion they compete with themselves. On the one hand they want to be the best search engine, on the other hand they want to live off advertising. But if their search was perfect, there would be no more need for advertising. OK, even if there was perfect search, it might still be interesting to get interesting cross-references (ie you are looking for cars and get adverts for car insurance). But then the problem remains that there would only be advertising for commercial things. The perfect search engine would also cross-reference me to non-commercial things. As for begging, I don't think ads work that way (less ad viewers implies more ads). In the long run, the ads would go away if nobody would be watching them (beggars can't go away if they truly have no other choice, so here the analogy falters). Maybe along with the ads, many "free" services would disappear, too. On the other hand, if ads weren't an option, maybe other payment schemes would suddenly gain traction.
    - axod 18y ago
      "But if their search was perfect, there would be no more need for advertising." A percentage of their revenue is from adverts generated from searches, but a ton is generated from adsense on peoples websites, in gmail, etc etc I really don't put much hope on other payment schemes taking off. Advertising is a pretty good proven model, with premium options for the smaller set of users willing to pay.