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I've been blocking ads for over two decades at this point. In all that time I have not had any ads, apart from very recently when YouTube made some changes. I d

I've been blocking ads for over two decades at this point. In all that time I have not had any ads, apart from very recently when YouTube made some changes. I disabled the ad blocker for YouTube and was absolutely shocked at what I saw. It's like a cesspit with the ads on. I had been seeing a different version this whole time. But here's the thing: I've never seen ads. Yet it's these companies, the richest in the world, that want me to. It's not about being unsustainable for them. It's about making even more money. Stuff I read and watch on the internet should be free. I don't want to pay for it. It's as simple as that. Things I do pay for is quality long-form works. I have shelves full of books. I've bought video tutorials in the past and I would do it again. But I won't engage with DRM. All of my ebooks are DRM free. This is what I'm prepared to do. But the "town square"? Blogs, YouTube videos etc? No, that should be free. It's just sharing and being a part of a community. I will not pay any Google tax for the public town square.

ryandrake 2y ago
When you successfully block ads for a long time, and acclimatized yourself to an Internet without them, and then suddenly turn off the blocking, it's jarring. Like, my-brain-hurts jarring. It stinks like getting suddenly tossed into a sewer. The first thing that comes to mind when I browse a non-blocked web is "how do people without ad blockers even live like this?" I've kind of lost the ability to concentrate with them all over the page. It's almost headache-inducing.