5 ms·

This is how I feel about people who religiously use AdBlock.

lowboy 14y ago
If they didn't want to see ads on site X, they just shouldn't go on site X? How do you feel about people who change the TV channel when a commercial comes on? What about PVRs that automatically skip commercials on playback?
- whichdan 14y ago
  Yeah. The website owner makes a conscious decision to fund their website using ads, and if the ads are so offensive that you literally need to block them, why go to the site? What sites are so crucial that you absolutely must use AdBlock? I also don't pay for cable TV partly for similar reasons - I buy shows I like directly on Amazon, and use Netflix as a filler. Do you disagree with nickpresta's comment? The less traffic Quora gets, the more likely it is that people will move to a more open platform. The solution isn't to just bypass their design choices.
  - phildeschaine 14y ago
    This mentality bothers me a bit. Not everything is all or nothing. Things can be made to be better, or worse. It's like if you had a jetski, but it was the wrong color. From your approach, you'd say "I'll never ride on that jetski! I'm perfectly fine not riding it." Yes, clearly you are. You totally, completely, without question have the right to go on living without it. No problem. But the real question isn't whether or not you'll be fine without it. The real question is: are you missing out on pleasure you could be experiencing?
    - nwienert 14y ago
      But if you were rented a free jetski for the day from someone who had painted some ads on the sides to cover his expenses would you go and tape over the ads before riding? Oh, you would?
      - lowboy 14y ago
        To make that comparison more fair, the ads need to be canvas that flapped in the wind, slowing you down occasionally (as ads on websites will do) and every once and a while one would lift up in front of the control panel so you had to clear it out of your view (popups).
        whichdan 14y ago
        If that was the case, I wouldn't rent a jetski from that company. Now, if that was the only company offering jetskis at that particular location, and there was no paid option available.. well, I'd question whether or not they're owned by YouTube, who I sincerely wish I could pay a few bucks a month to, to get rid of their awful ads.
        lowboy 14y ago
        I'd just get my ideal tape out (waterproof, no residue) and strap those ads down and enjoy my free jetski time. But this comparison will always be flawed, like so many digital/real world ones are today. I don't see running AdBlock as immoral. If I can change something in my browser to better suit my browsing experience I will, and I feel that's my right. A site can serve up content, but it's my choice as to what portion of that content I choose to view, just as people with PVRs or VCRs can choose to skip ads. Impressions are shit for revenue anyway and I don't think I've ever intentionally clicked on a banner ad so I'm not taking much away from content owners. I skip sites that have an interstitial ad with a 5 second countdown, so I'm choosing to not ride that jetski. And agreed on YouTube.
  - lowboy 14y ago
    It's not that they're offensive, it's that they slow my browser down and often distract from the content of the site itself. I'm also wary of third party cookies and scripts running that don't strictly need to be. I don't disagree with his comment, but I don't feel like I need to be an activist to get people off of Quora. Quite the opposite of harming Quora, I'm changing my own preferences so I still want to use the site, instead of participating in a move to a more open platform (although I support that move).
wpietri 14y ago
I see it as part of a negotiation process. There are certain ads I'm willing to put up with. There are plenty I'm not. If a publisher is going to force dancing monkeys and video bullshit on me and not give me an option to pay for the content in cash, I will happily block their ads until they get a clue. If this were a neighborhood business, I'd just have a pleasant discussion with the owner and we'd work something out. But since their publishing and customer service is automated out the wazoo, so is my approach to negotiating which ads show up on my screen.
nuttendorfer 14y ago
I don't look at ads or register them, why should I let them destroy the page layout? I was on a public computer recently and was shocked to see almost half the screen of a newspaper site was full with ads. I would very much like a pay-to-remove-ads business model on free sites.

If they didn't want to see ads on site X, they just shouldn't go on site X? How do you feel about people who change the TV channel when a commercial comes on? What about PVRs that automatically skip commercials on playback?

whichdan 14y ago
Yeah. The website owner makes a conscious decision to fund their website using ads, and if the ads are so offensive that you literally need to block them, why go to the site? What sites are so crucial that you absolutely must use AdBlock? I also don't pay for cable TV partly for similar reasons - I buy shows I like directly on Amazon, and use Netflix as a filler. Do you disagree with nickpresta's comment? The less traffic Quora gets, the more likely it is that people will move to a more open platform. The solution isn't to just bypass their design choices.
- phildeschaine 14y ago
  This mentality bothers me a bit. Not everything is all or nothing. Things can be made to be better, or worse. It's like if you had a jetski, but it was the wrong color. From your approach, you'd say "I'll never ride on that jetski! I'm perfectly fine not riding it." Yes, clearly you are. You totally, completely, without question have the right to go on living without it. No problem. But the real question isn't whether or not you'll be fine without it. The real question is: are you missing out on pleasure you could be experiencing?
  - nwienert 14y ago
    But if you were rented a free jetski for the day from someone who had painted some ads on the sides to cover his expenses would you go and tape over the ads before riding? Oh, you would?
    - lowboy 14y ago
      To make that comparison more fair, the ads need to be canvas that flapped in the wind, slowing you down occasionally (as ads on websites will do) and every once and a while one would lift up in front of the control panel so you had to clear it out of your view (popups).
      - whichdan 14y ago
        If that was the case, I wouldn't rent a jetski from that company. Now, if that was the only company offering jetskis at that particular location, and there was no paid option available.. well, I'd question whether or not they're owned by YouTube, who I sincerely wish I could pay a few bucks a month to, to get rid of their awful ads.
        lowboy 14y ago
        I'd just get my ideal tape out (waterproof, no residue) and strap those ads down and enjoy my free jetski time. But this comparison will always be flawed, like so many digital/real world ones are today. I don't see running AdBlock as immoral. If I can change something in my browser to better suit my browsing experience I will, and I feel that's my right. A site can serve up content, but it's my choice as to what portion of that content I choose to view, just as people with PVRs or VCRs can choose to skip ads. Impressions are shit for revenue anyway and I don't think I've ever intentionally clicked on a banner ad so I'm not taking much away from content owners. I skip sites that have an interstitial ad with a 5 second countdown, so I'm choosing to not ride that jetski. And agreed on YouTube.
- lowboy 14y ago
  It's not that they're offensive, it's that they slow my browser down and often distract from the content of the site itself. I'm also wary of third party cookies and scripts running that don't strictly need to be. I don't disagree with his comment, but I don't feel like I need to be an activist to get people off of Quora. Quite the opposite of harming Quora, I'm changing my own preferences so I still want to use the site, instead of participating in a move to a more open platform (although I support that move).

wpietri 14y ago

I see it as part of a negotiation process. There are certain ads I'm willing to put up with. There are plenty I'm not. If a publisher is going to force dancing monkeys and video bullshit on me and not give me an option to pay for the content in cash, I will happily block their ads until they get a clue. If this were a neighborhood business, I'd just have a pleasant discussion with the owner and we'd work something out. But since their publishing and customer service is automated out the wazoo, so is my approach to negotiating which ads show up on my screen.

nuttendorfer 14y ago

I don't look at ads or register them, why should I let them destroy the page layout? I was on a public computer recently and was shocked to see almost half the screen of a newspaper site was full with ads. I would very much like a pay-to-remove-ads business model on free sites.