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I wouldn't be blocking ads if they weren't so trash. For a long time I had YouTube whitelisted, but they kept abusing their users.

DoctorOW 2y ago
Same here. I'm sympathetic to the argument that creators use the ads to survive, but I'm not a woman of unlimited patience.
compootr 2y ago
this basically summarizes the advertising industry + the internet
- mitthrowaway2 2y ago
  There's something about Youtube ads that are particularly bad. Straight-up pyramid scams promising free money from Amazon or Elon Musk preying on the vulnerable, offensive videos, and so on. It's much worse than the ads I see in magazines, billboards, or on network television.
  - MichaelZuo 2y ago
    That’s one of the things I never understood about proponents of the open internet. The most gullible decile of society has to spend their free time somewhere… and there will always be millions of scammers, scoundrels, lunatics, etc., looking for places to set up shop. So it seems inevitable that the open part of the internet will eventually consist mostly of the worst parts of human society preying on the bottom decile. And even the best parts of the open internet will get drowned out by 800 million voices…
    - compootr 2y ago
      Ill tell you my secret about how I made infinite money! Just sign up for my course!!
christianqchung 2y ago
Yep, I used to advocate against using adblock on youtube. Seriously. My original logic may not have been sound (ads support the platform, indirectly the creator[0]), but I would absolutely never make that argument today. The decline in user experience has made unhinged ads being shoved in your face intolerable for me. [0] sure this still applies, but sponsors and Patreons exist at a far higher rate than in 2015 when I first thought this, and it's on Google/youtube to figure out their monetization policy, not me.
- eviks 2y ago
  The quality of "ad user experience" (and the inevitable end state for the new platform) was well known back when you've come up with your original logic (and the challenge with sponsors/patreons of not having micro-transactions and having more friction from users is also still there)
  - christianqchung 2y ago
    Yeah that's true. I was arguing with people about this in secondary school for what it's worth, all the while getting what I would call misfitting undergarment ads. Would you elaborate on what you mean by friction with micro transactions?
    - eviks 2y ago
      If you watch 100 creators and have a budget of $100, not only is it tedious to set up (and update) 100 subscriptions (high friction) But also it's impossible to allocate $1 to some creator you rarely watch because there are no micro transactions that are use-based (unlike with ads)
      - christianqchung 2y ago
        That makes sense. I know youtube has added channel memberships as a built-in now, but it doesn't seem easy to toss a one-time payment outside of livestream superchats. And even that isn't particularly use based.
hinkley 2y ago
I installed an ad blocker because a webcomic I liked was letting ads at the top of the page click jack users for an extended period of time and I’d finally had enough.
yoyohello13 2y ago
I just pay for YouTube premium now.
cudgy 2y ago
True. The long ads are mostly scams or Chuck Norris fitness plans for 70+ year old people.

DoctorOW 2y ago

Same here. I'm sympathetic to the argument that creators use the ads to survive, but I'm not a woman of unlimited patience.

compootr 2y ago

this basically summarizes the advertising industry + the internet

mitthrowaway2 2y ago
There's something about Youtube ads that are particularly bad. Straight-up pyramid scams promising free money from Amazon or Elon Musk preying on the vulnerable, offensive videos, and so on. It's much worse than the ads I see in magazines, billboards, or on network television.
- MichaelZuo 2y ago
  That’s one of the things I never understood about proponents of the open internet. The most gullible decile of society has to spend their free time somewhere… and there will always be millions of scammers, scoundrels, lunatics, etc., looking for places to set up shop. So it seems inevitable that the open part of the internet will eventually consist mostly of the worst parts of human society preying on the bottom decile. And even the best parts of the open internet will get drowned out by 800 million voices…
  - compootr 2y ago
    Ill tell you my secret about how I made infinite money! Just sign up for my course!!

christianqchung 2y ago

Yep, I used to advocate against using adblock on youtube. Seriously. My original logic may not have been sound (ads support the platform, indirectly the creator[0]), but I would absolutely never make that argument today. The decline in user experience has made unhinged ads being shoved in your face intolerable for me. [0] sure this still applies, but sponsors and Patreons exist at a far higher rate than in 2015 when I first thought this, and it's on Google/youtube to figure out their monetization policy, not me.

eviks 2y ago
The quality of "ad user experience" (and the inevitable end state for the new platform) was well known back when you've come up with your original logic (and the challenge with sponsors/patreons of not having micro-transactions and having more friction from users is also still there)
- christianqchung 2y ago
  Yeah that's true. I was arguing with people about this in secondary school for what it's worth, all the while getting what I would call misfitting undergarment ads. Would you elaborate on what you mean by friction with micro transactions?
  - eviks 2y ago
    If you watch 100 creators and have a budget of $100, not only is it tedious to set up (and update) 100 subscriptions (high friction) But also it's impossible to allocate $1 to some creator you rarely watch because there are no micro transactions that are use-based (unlike with ads)
    - christianqchung 2y ago
      That makes sense. I know youtube has added channel memberships as a built-in now, but it doesn't seem easy to toss a one-time payment outside of livestream superchats. And even that isn't particularly use based.

hinkley 2y ago

I installed an ad blocker because a webcomic I liked was letting ads at the top of the page click jack users for an extended period of time and I’d finally had enough.

yoyohello13 2y ago

I just pay for YouTube premium now.

cudgy 2y ago

True. The long ads are mostly scams or Chuck Norris fitness plans for 70+ year old people.