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I don't understand how ad-blocking is even legal. It's like stealing - stealing content for free, IMHO there's no difference between stealing MP3s and news or a

I don't understand how ad-blocking is even legal. It's like stealing - stealing content for free, IMHO there's no difference between stealing MP3s and news or any other content. There's some kind of user agreement between websites and its users - "you can use our site for free, but you have to watch the ads". Adblock violates this agreement. The people responsible for this should be in prison, they're thieves. And I'm pretty sure the time will come they will.

uptown 13y ago
If you choose not to read billboards displayed alongside highways, is that also stealing?
- Kudos 13y ago
  That's not exactly the same as the billboards effectively not existing for you like with adblock. You still see absorb the advertisement passively.
  - ttt_ 13y ago
    > You still see absorb the advertisement passively. Good thing I have control of my software and can opt out. I'm already assaulted at the senses all day long in different forms. The whole concept of advertising I find abhorrent. A service should only offer itself to me when I want it, otherwise they are just imposing themselves and I will dislike them for that. Any way that I can opt-out of ads I will make use of. Services that rely on just this business model should adapt or fail, simply. If the service is relevant it will come again from a different source with a more acceptable model.
mcintyre1994 13y ago
Do you feel that violating any user agreement should be illegal and those who do it "should be in prison"? Furthermore, where the user agreement isn't specifically given (eg a mandatory ToS), do you feel that any agreement the site owner can claim was implied (use the site for free, watch our ads) should be legally binding?
- kamjam 13y ago
  I'm also pretty sure that in most countries you actually have to agree to the ToS and ensure the user has read it. Just having a T&Cs page on your website somewhere does not count. Most websites don't force me to agree to anything before viewing their content... if that's part of the ToS then they need to make sure I agree to it.
dylangs1030 13y ago
That's a little extreme...there's no law against blocking advertisements. And you're not seeing this from the perspective of AdBlock users. They don't give a shit. To them the ads are just annoying and they're getting rid of them. They don't even read TOS agreements, let alone agree to some implicit contract where advertisements are required. Also: nitpick. The people who created adblock aren't thieves in the same way the founders of the Pirate Bay aren't necessarily pirates. They themselves aren't stealing anything, just mass-producing a method whereby it's possible (in your opinion). I'm not trying to argue semantics, but if they were charged for something, it wouldn't be thievery.
adrianb 13y ago
Your TV's remote control should also not work during commercial breaks, otherwise you might change the channel and illegally watch the show.
dferlemann 13y ago
It's like a shopping a pantry store with a nasal smell blocker. How is that legal to block your nose while shopping here! It is stealing! Your logic is just perfect.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
felipepiresx 13y ago
Damn. Such a reactionary opinion. I can install whatever I want on my PC, include and specially Adblock.
liotier 13y ago
painki11er, I salute your trolling skills !
king_jester 13y ago
> It's like stealing - stealing content for free Blocking ads has deprived nobody of their property unless you believe that a site is owed the revenue from ad impressions from its visitors (it's not). This is the same line of thinking of the MPAA with regard to how it approaches licensing.
xur17 13y ago
I run a site that makes its money from ads, and I personally have no problem with people blocking them. I figure the people blocking them are less likely to click anyways, so I'm not too concerned. Obviously it would be a problem if everyone blocked ads, but I think that is pretty far off. Example: I only bother to block them on my main computer, but don't on my phone, desktop, etc. Your average Joe is unlikely to start doing so soon.
- xur17 13y ago
  Ad blocking will not be a major problem until it becomes the default on a widely used browser. It takes about 30 seconds to block ads in a modern browser, and the majority of people don't do it.
xxxmaster 13y ago
It is like you installed software to mute your TV each time the commercials start.
egeozcan 13y ago
I have a few questions for you: What if there is a more advanced Google-glass which has enough juice to detect real-life ads and ability to remove them from our display? If I read a magazine with it, would it be stealing? What if I just cut the ads before bringing the newspaper to my grandma, because she finds them distracting or just throw away the bundled magazine full of discount coupons and ads? What about tv recorders which automatically skip ads? When I take a coffee break instead of watching the ads, would I still be breaking the law? Can I put a paper on my display, where the ads on my favorite website appear? Should I just avoid those web-sites with ads when I'm using a text-only browser?
abadidea 13y ago
Yeah! Opting not to render the pixel configuration on your screen in the method suggested by the other end is a crime. So is using browsers with the graphics turned off, and being blind.
asteroth 13y ago
If people taped a piece of cardboard in front of the ad on their monitor, is that stealing as well?
SimonZerafa 13y ago
One of the issues with advertising or third party advertising networks comes down to security. They have been and will continue to be the targets for malicious hackers who use them to serve malware to unsuspecting site visitors. Until those ad networks are properly secured and monitored I will treat them as a security liability. In many cases site admins go completely overboard with advertising creating a broken user experience. They choice you have then is to vote with your clicks and go elsewhere or attempt to use the site with an ad-blocker. If any site admin wishes me to go elsewhere they can block users with ad blockers installed. If the site has value then they an ask POLITELY to whitelist their site; which for many sites I do add then to a site wide whitelist. Assuming your site visitors of being thieves is not only stupid but illogical. If I walk past a billboard with my eyes close should I have them surgically removed because their are an adblocker? If I use a PVR to skip ads on TV am I stealing content? No; I am exercising a choice not to look at your pointless adverts. The adverts add nothing to my experience of your site; I don't click on them so you won't be making any money from me for displaying them anyway. Either find some other way to monetize your site (subs, sell merchandise, ask for donations etc) or find something else to do.
majdal 13y ago
Banksy said it best: """ People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you. You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity. Fuck That. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head. You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs. Banksy """ Source: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/01/banksy-manifesto/ http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/01/banksy-manifesto/
aestra 13y ago
Is getting up during a TV commercial break and making a sandwich illegal and stealing?
kamjam 13y ago
So you're telling me that you have never downloaded an MP3? A DivX or streamed a tv series from somewhere? Or skipped those adverts at the beginning of the DVDs? How about recorded something on a PVR and then fast-forwarded when it comes to commercial breaks? Believe it or not, not everybody in the world gets to enjoy super fast internet connection speeds, cos they live in countries that are not so well developed or they are in very rural places. Why should they have to sit through waiting for irrelevant content to load? And the adverts are not relevant to them cos Google has no advertisers in their region? And they are on bandwidth capped plan so they are paying to see these adverts?
Zoomla 13y ago
It's because of people like you that USA's incarceration rate is through the roof.

uptown 13y ago

If you choose not to read billboards displayed alongside highways, is that also stealing?

Kudos 13y ago
That's not exactly the same as the billboards effectively not existing for you like with adblock. You still see absorb the advertisement passively.
- ttt_ 13y ago
  > You still see absorb the advertisement passively. Good thing I have control of my software and can opt out. I'm already assaulted at the senses all day long in different forms. The whole concept of advertising I find abhorrent. A service should only offer itself to me when I want it, otherwise they are just imposing themselves and I will dislike them for that. Any way that I can opt-out of ads I will make use of. Services that rely on just this business model should adapt or fail, simply. If the service is relevant it will come again from a different source with a more acceptable model.

mcintyre1994 13y ago

Do you feel that violating any user agreement should be illegal and those who do it "should be in prison"? Furthermore, where the user agreement isn't specifically given (eg a mandatory ToS), do you feel that any agreement the site owner can claim was implied (use the site for free, watch our ads) should be legally binding?

kamjam 13y ago
I'm also pretty sure that in most countries you actually have to agree to the ToS and ensure the user has read it. Just having a T&Cs page on your website somewhere does not count. Most websites don't force me to agree to anything before viewing their content... if that's part of the ToS then they need to make sure I agree to it.

dylangs1030 13y ago

That's a little extreme...there's no law against blocking advertisements. And you're not seeing this from the perspective of AdBlock users. They don't give a shit. To them the ads are just annoying and they're getting rid of them. They don't even read TOS agreements, let alone agree to some implicit contract where advertisements are required. Also: nitpick. The people who created adblock aren't thieves in the same way the founders of the Pirate Bay aren't necessarily pirates. They themselves aren't stealing anything, just mass-producing a method whereby it's possible (in your opinion). I'm not trying to argue semantics, but if they were charged for something, it wouldn't be thievery.

adrianb 13y ago

Your TV's remote control should also not work during commercial breaks, otherwise you might change the channel and illegally watch the show.

dferlemann 13y ago

It's like a shopping a pantry store with a nasal smell blocker. How is that legal to block your nose while shopping here! It is stealing! Your logic is just perfect.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

felipepiresx 13y ago

Damn. Such a reactionary opinion. I can install whatever I want on my PC, include and specially Adblock.

liotier 13y ago

painki11er, I salute your trolling skills !

king_jester 13y ago

> It's like stealing - stealing content for free Blocking ads has deprived nobody of their property unless you believe that a site is owed the revenue from ad impressions from its visitors (it's not). This is the same line of thinking of the MPAA with regard to how it approaches licensing.

xur17 13y ago

I run a site that makes its money from ads, and I personally have no problem with people blocking them. I figure the people blocking them are less likely to click anyways, so I'm not too concerned. Obviously it would be a problem if everyone blocked ads, but I think that is pretty far off. Example: I only bother to block them on my main computer, but don't on my phone, desktop, etc. Your average Joe is unlikely to start doing so soon.

xur17 13y ago
Ad blocking will not be a major problem until it becomes the default on a widely used browser. It takes about 30 seconds to block ads in a modern browser, and the majority of people don't do it.

xxxmaster 13y ago

It is like you installed software to mute your TV each time the commercials start.

egeozcan 13y ago

I have a few questions for you: What if there is a more advanced Google-glass which has enough juice to detect real-life ads and ability to remove them from our display? If I read a magazine with it, would it be stealing? What if I just cut the ads before bringing the newspaper to my grandma, because she finds them distracting or just throw away the bundled magazine full of discount coupons and ads? What about tv recorders which automatically skip ads? When I take a coffee break instead of watching the ads, would I still be breaking the law? Can I put a paper on my display, where the ads on my favorite website appear? Should I just avoid those web-sites with ads when I'm using a text-only browser?

abadidea 13y ago

Yeah! Opting not to render the pixel configuration on your screen in the method suggested by the other end is a crime. So is using browsers with the graphics turned off, and being blind.

asteroth 13y ago

If people taped a piece of cardboard in front of the ad on their monitor, is that stealing as well?

SimonZerafa 13y ago

One of the issues with advertising or third party advertising networks comes down to security. They have been and will continue to be the targets for malicious hackers who use them to serve malware to unsuspecting site visitors. Until those ad networks are properly secured and monitored I will treat them as a security liability. In many cases site admins go completely overboard with advertising creating a broken user experience. They choice you have then is to vote with your clicks and go elsewhere or attempt to use the site with an ad-blocker. If any site admin wishes me to go elsewhere they can block users with ad blockers installed. If the site has value then they an ask POLITELY to whitelist their site; which for many sites I do add then to a site wide whitelist. Assuming your site visitors of being thieves is not only stupid but illogical. If I walk past a billboard with my eyes close should I have them surgically removed because their are an adblocker? If I use a PVR to skip ads on TV am I stealing content? No; I am exercising a choice not to look at your pointless adverts. The adverts add nothing to my experience of your site; I don't click on them so you won't be making any money from me for displaying them anyway. Either find some other way to monetize your site (subs, sell merchandise, ask for donations etc) or find something else to do.

majdal 13y ago

Banksy said it best: """ People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you. You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity. Fuck That. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head. You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs. Banksy """ Source: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/01/banksy-manifesto/ http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/01/banksy-manifesto/

aestra 13y ago

Is getting up during a TV commercial break and making a sandwich illegal and stealing?

kamjam 13y ago

So you're telling me that you have never downloaded an MP3? A DivX or streamed a tv series from somewhere? Or skipped those adverts at the beginning of the DVDs? How about recorded something on a PVR and then fast-forwarded when it comes to commercial breaks? Believe it or not, not everybody in the world gets to enjoy super fast internet connection speeds, cos they live in countries that are not so well developed or they are in very rural places. Why should they have to sit through waiting for irrelevant content to load? And the adverts are not relevant to them cos Google has no advertisers in their region? And they are on bandwidth capped plan so they are paying to see these adverts?

Zoomla 13y ago

It's because of people like you that USA's incarceration rate is through the roof.