The day I remember is the day when the NSF announced their scheduled withdrawal from oversight of the Internet, and the corresponding end of the prohibition of

The day I remember is the day when the NSF announced their scheduled withdrawal from oversight of the Internet, and the corresponding end of the prohibition of commercial use of same. 1994? You asserted a tight relationship between the existence of marketers and the existence of the web. The direct quote is visible above, but I see that it can be interpreted more than one way. Let's assume you meant to say that "the web would be radically altered if it wasn't an advertising medium". Then, we can agree. You have a good point: the amplification of the good aspects of marketing is a worthwhile goal. It's not going away, so is it possible to make it suck less? The problem with your argument, in my eyes, and the cause for my lapse into condescension, for which I apologize, is that your examples are so extraordinarily cherry-picked that they seem absurd to bring up. Advertising, even at its best, is a distraction from my intent. This is generally a negative thing. It's pretty important, but I'm not so fragile that it's going to derail my whole afternoon. But it's not ingratiating, and it's not necessary. You were arguing for the "necessary" angle, and I think we won't reach agreement on that one.