The ethics of adblockers.

[88V8]

LSE have begun a popup asking me to disable my adblocker.

I use one because ads are annoying and make sites slow to load. Newspaper sites used to be the worst offenders.

However, ads are an important revenue stream and help make sites such as LSE effectively free to me as a user.

Where do you stand on this issue?

V8

[Leothebear]

I've paused my adblocker for TLF and the icon is the thumbs up and green but TLF doesn't recognise this and continues to the request.

[UncleEbenezer]

I allow ads if and only if they are unobtrusive. Which means sitting quietly in the page, not scrolling, or animating, or playing anything, or popping up. What it looks like, and whether there's a hope in hell I might be interested, is immaterial.

Anything that violates the above (and my screen) by moving or popping up gets instantly blocked. No ifs, no buts.

[Lanark]

I once did a test where I turned off adblocking and loaded a page with a single google ad, the browser loaded over 400 different URLs and set half a dozen cookies.

I am sympathetic to the need for websites to make money somehow, but until the advertising giants stop behaving like my bandwidth and storage are "free" Im going to keep on blocking them.

A second issue is that the biggest source of computer viruses these days is "drive by" malicious adverts. Blocking adverts will do more to protect your computer than running anti-virus software.

Daring Fireball get around all these problems by having a sponsor each week for $10,000
The sponsor gets a static image on the website, no trackers, no javascript.

I don't know why more websites don't just do something like that?

[JohnB]

I pay for ads with the extra cost of the products from those advertisers. I don't see why I should also pay with my time and attention, so block as much as possible. I also use element pickers to hide annoying bits of websites too.

[Gerry557]

I use add and popup lockers. It's turned into silly season on some pages.

You try to have a quick look at a Web page and you are bombarded with them. Constantly asked to sign up, pop ups with a 1st time discount or a full page advert for something with a different to find close option.

The adds, for me have begun to be a don't buy that product now. Achieving the opposite of what was the initial plan.

As suggested upthread, simple out of the way advertisement that isn't overly intrusive would be allowed.

I have also started to stop using sites that you have to switch off 40 or 50 individual cookie rejections instead of a single reject all. I assume they make it so difficult that you just click allow.

[jaizan]

The adds, for me have begun to be a don't buy that product now. Achieving the opposite of what was the initial plan.

Exactly. There are certain brands that I deliberately avoid because they run intrusive adverts on apps or websites.

Put a reasonable advert that's not flashing at the side or bottom of the page and I can accept it. Have flashing ads or pop ups & I will either use and ad blocker or leave the site/app.

[Rhyd6]

I hate flashing ads so use an adblocker especially when reading a paper on line. I still get notices blanking out articles telling me that I'm using an adblocker even though I've subscribed to the paper. OH, who thank goodness is a computer engineer, has installed something called "Reading Pane or Page" not sure which and he isn't here to confirm but you need Firefox to use it. If you get a notice telling you that you're using adblocker and can't read this particular article I just click on the icon and read away to my hearts content. No doubt they'll come up with something else one day but so far he's been able to circumnavigate all their tricks.

R6

[stevensfo]

The adds, for me have begun to be a don't buy that product now. Achieving the opposite of what was the initial plan.

Exactly. There are certain brands that I deliberately avoid because they run intrusive adverts on apps or websites.

Put a reasonable advert that's not flashing at the side or bottom of the page and I can accept it. Have flashing ads or pop ups & I will either use and ad blocker or leave the site/app.

I have memories of once visiting a few tabloid press sites. Never again! On such websites, I tend to just close the site immediately, but your comments reminded me of TV ads years ago. There were some, usually the noisy, silly, overacted ads that pushed me completely off the product. Then there are those ads, e.g. banks, that are not so much there to make you want to bank with them, but just to remind people that they still exist.

Of course, there were also those ads that were so well designed, with amazing music, that I could never remember what they were advertising.

Then those ads that were incredibly well done and fun to watch for products that clearly had a high profit margin but were nothing special. e.g. Old Spice with the Carmina Burana music. A cheap EDT that smells like old-fashioned talcum powder. High-Karate! Remember? A deodorant that showed a man having to fight off the women?

Tried it in the sixth form. Didn't work.

Though Mr O'Halloran, our English teacher seemed to like it! He should be due for parole about now.


Steve