4 ms·

Not all of us block ads because they are annoying to look at. They are also a very real threat to privacy because ad companies track us across multiple websites

by skue 13y ago

Not all of us block ads because they are annoying to look at. They are also a very real threat to privacy because ad companies track us across multiple websites (yes, I block Google Analytics and other trackers as well). OTOH, I also feel tremendous sympathy towards websites trying to survive on ad revenue. I'm actually the type of person who still buys music to support artists. I don't know what the solution is. We are forced to choose between being watched as we browse the web, staying completely offline, or blocking ads but not supporting the websites we visit.

ianlevesque 13y ago
Would you pay to subscribe to a service that paid the sites you use instead of them showing you ads?
- JoshTriplett 13y ago
  No. Not because I won't pay certain sites for their content (I subscribe to LWN, for instance), but because I don't want to pay some aggregating middleman service that by necessity can then track across all the sites I visit. In principle I like the concept of paying a fixed amount per unit time and splitting that across the sites I care about. In practice I don't see any obvious privacy-respecting way to do that.
  - skue 13y ago
    That is an excellent point about micropayments. Creating a system that pays sites without a middleman that tracks visits would be challenging (though I imagine it's technically feasible).
- skue 13y ago
  Sure, I was always intrigued by the micro payments idea. Heck, if that we're the norm I wonder if it wouldn't promote better web content. I'd be more likely to spend more time on sites I wanted to support than the sensational sites I may feel guilty about having clicked through to. But I don't think most folks think this way, so practically speaking I don't see micropayments ever working. Would love to be proven wrong.

4 ms·

Not all of us block ads because they are annoying to look at. They are also a very real threat to privacy because ad companies track us across multiple websites

by skue 13y ago

ianlevesque 13y ago
Would you pay to subscribe to a service that paid the sites you use instead of them showing you ads?
- JoshTriplett 13y ago
  No. Not because I won't pay certain sites for their content (I subscribe to LWN, for instance), but because I don't want to pay some aggregating middleman service that by necessity can then track across all the sites I visit. In principle I like the concept of paying a fixed amount per unit time and splitting that across the sites I care about. In practice I don't see any obvious privacy-respecting way to do that.
  - skue 13y ago
    That is an excellent point about micropayments. Creating a system that pays sites without a middleman that tracks visits would be challenging (though I imagine it's technically feasible).
- skue 13y ago
  Sure, I was always intrigued by the micro payments idea. Heck, if that we're the norm I wonder if it wouldn't promote better web content. I'd be more likely to spend more time on sites I wanted to support than the sensational sites I may feel guilty about having clicked through to. But I don't think most folks think this way, so practically speaking I don't see micropayments ever working. Would love to be proven wrong.