4 ms·

Am I the only one here that doesn't care about Gmail ads? I don't even notice them.

masnick 13y ago
My point is that if you don't like Gmail ads, you should investigate switching to something else. I feel like many people are uncomfortable with the ads but might feel locked in. I actually don't care that Google is machine-reading email to serve ads (see http://www.maxmasnick.com/2012/02/12/gmail_paranoia/ http://www.maxmasnick.com/2012/02/12/gmail_paranoia/), but I do care about polluting the interface with ads that look like email for the same reason I don't like the new compose interface. Both make the interface worse, and email is bad enough as it is without bad UI.
- warcode 13y ago
  Or just, you know, block the ads for a fraction of the effort.
  - masnick 13y ago
    With what? I _do_ care about running random plugins in my browser that update in the background. There's nothing stopping a malicious plugin from scraping stuff out of your email, and I feel like _that_ is a legitimate security concern!
    - gohrt 13y ago
      There's nothing stopping a malicious webmail provider from scraping stuff out of your email, which, BTW, is the whole point of this post. Fastmail isn't even under the control of your local firewall.
    - Karunamon 13y ago
      >I _do_ care about running random plugins in my browser that update in the background. Then turn that function off [1]. There's no more security threat from well-known browser plugins from Mozilla's site than well-known packages from your OS's apt repo. And both are open source. [1] http://imgur.com/tivq9o8 http://imgur.com/tivq9o8
djim 13y ago
i pay for my gmail (google apps) so I don't have any ads.
- ronaldx 13y ago
  Is there anything (for example in the T&Cs) that stops Google from creeping ads to paying customers in the future? I bet not.
  - jrkelly 13y ago
    Yeah, this is the problem. I pay for Hulu but there is no way to get out the ads. Google is going for an interrupt-based ad model here so you should expect it in the paid version too.
  - djim 13y ago
    Yes. Google Apps business model, and all Google Enterprise products for that matter, do not rely on ads for revenue. Google sells their business customers a product and generates revenue through those sales. The TOS protects your data.
    - ronaldx 13y ago
      Perhaps you didn't understand my point. Google could easily decide to serve ads to paying customers, and it seems likely that they've left this option open to exercise later. The fact that they apparently "do not rely on ads" is irrelevant. There are plenty of existent services that have revenue from customers, but still serve ads (visible examples include: pay-TV, public transport)
      - deleted 13y ago
        [deleted]
      - psbp 13y ago
        So what are my options if I can't use a service that can potentially serve ads? None?
      - 13y ago
s3r3nity 13y ago
I don't really care either -- it's a free service that I'm able to access on pretty much any web-accessible device on the planet. Sometimes maintaining a service like that requires a way to pay the bills (FastMail is a paid service.) Why would I be 'uncomfortable' with ads? Sometimes I feel like the issue with ads in Google/other services falls victim to the 'Nickelback Effect', where a few other very vocal people hate the subject at hand and it spreads virally to the point where people can't describe why they hated the subject in the first place.
- ryanmcbride 13y ago
  Please be fair, people hate Nickelback because they make bad music.

My point is that if you don't like Gmail ads, you should investigate switching to something else. I feel like many people are uncomfortable with the ads but might feel locked in. I actually don't care that Google is machine-reading email to serve ads (see http://www.maxmasnick.com/2012/02/12/gmail_paranoia/ http://www.maxmasnick.com/2012/02/12/gmail_paranoia/), but I do care about polluting the interface with ads that look like email for the same reason I don't like the new compose interface. Both make the interface worse, and email is bad enough as it is without bad UI.

warcode 13y ago
Or just, you know, block the ads for a fraction of the effort.
- masnick 13y ago
  With what? I _do_ care about running random plugins in my browser that update in the background. There's nothing stopping a malicious plugin from scraping stuff out of your email, and I feel like _that_ is a legitimate security concern!
  - gohrt 13y ago
    There's nothing stopping a malicious webmail provider from scraping stuff out of your email, which, BTW, is the whole point of this post. Fastmail isn't even under the control of your local firewall.
  - Karunamon 13y ago
    >I _do_ care about running random plugins in my browser that update in the background. Then turn that function off [1]. There's no more security threat from well-known browser plugins from Mozilla's site than well-known packages from your OS's apt repo. And both are open source. [1] http://imgur.com/tivq9o8 http://imgur.com/tivq9o8

djim 13y ago

i pay for my gmail (google apps) so I don't have any ads.

ronaldx 13y ago
Is there anything (for example in the T&Cs) that stops Google from creeping ads to paying customers in the future? I bet not.
- jrkelly 13y ago
  Yeah, this is the problem. I pay for Hulu but there is no way to get out the ads. Google is going for an interrupt-based ad model here so you should expect it in the paid version too.
- djim 13y ago
  Yes. Google Apps business model, and all Google Enterprise products for that matter, do not rely on ads for revenue. Google sells their business customers a product and generates revenue through those sales. The TOS protects your data.
  - ronaldx 13y ago
    Perhaps you didn't understand my point. Google could easily decide to serve ads to paying customers, and it seems likely that they've left this option open to exercise later. The fact that they apparently "do not rely on ads" is irrelevant. There are plenty of existent services that have revenue from customers, but still serve ads (visible examples include: pay-TV, public transport)
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
    - psbp 13y ago
      So what are my options if I can't use a service that can potentially serve ads? None?
    - 13y ago

s3r3nity 13y ago

I don't really care either -- it's a free service that I'm able to access on pretty much any web-accessible device on the planet. Sometimes maintaining a service like that requires a way to pay the bills (FastMail is a paid service.) Why would I be 'uncomfortable' with ads? Sometimes I feel like the issue with ads in Google/other services falls victim to the 'Nickelback Effect', where a few other very vocal people hate the subject at hand and it spreads virally to the point where people can't describe why they hated the subject in the first place.

ryanmcbride 13y ago
Please be fair, people hate Nickelback because they make bad music.