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I'm just wondering how many people use adblockers with their browsers? According to what I have read hundreds of millions of people do, including myself. Adblockers almost make Yahoo and other news sites bearable. I have also read that Google, Microsoft, and other publishers are suing the adblocker people:
"There's no doubt that ad blockers indeed reduce publishers' revenues, and Laure de Lataillade, CEO of GESTE, a company that represents publishers in several industry sectors, claims that this loss sometimes reaches 40 percent. All because of third-party apps that users install to block ads, she says."
In case you didn't know the adblockers look for Google tracking code, advertising keywords, and such. We have been playing with ads on SemiWiki and have found the blockers to be very effective. It looks to be a giant legal and technical battle which I would bet the blockers will win.
I use adblockplus. View attachment 14411
This brings to question the media sites that have ad based business models. How are they going to make money if the ads are blocked? Most of these sites with full time professional journalists are hurting already. Take away the ad revenue and more consolidation will be coming, absolutely.
I use an adblocker. If ads get through I don't even look at them. And I use a DVR and skip all the ads (and never watch live TV). And I always turn the radio down when the ads are on. I pretty much never see and ad that I notice. One of my ex-girlfriends would sit patiently through the ads even on a DVR and gradually she got more and more intolerant of them. "OMG I'm turning into you!" she said to me one night as she skipped the block of ads.
I don't see how the lawsuit can win. We own our computers and the adblock is just an agent since we can't all write an adblocker ourselves. If Comcast was braver they would make it possible to simply delete the ads from the recording (saving disk space for more recordings) like MythTV (open source DVR) does.
Talking of Comcast, you can program your remote to skip 30 seconds (one ad). Pick a button you don't use. Then do this:
1. Press the Aux button 2. Press and hold the Setup button until the Aux button blinks twice 3. Type in code 01376 (the Aux button will blink twice) 4. Press the Aux button again 5. Press and hold the Setup button again until the Aux button blinks twice 6. Type in code 994 (the Aux button will blink twice) 7. Press (but do not hold) the Setup button 8. Type in code 00173 9. Press the Cable button 10. Press whichever button you want to be your 30-second skip button (the Cable button will blink twice).
I use Adblock Plus, and the interesting thing there is that it actually allows relatively inoffensive "acceptable" ads through by default. It's nice that they're setting an intermediate bar, in my opinion.
I don't. But block popups as by default. And I swear when sloppy media provider wants you yo watch 30sec ad to see a 2:00 clip that is already available for free on reddit (so I dont click on clickbait)
Now and then I jump in my chair when some stupid advertizer does audio on mouseover with no volume control. I only end up with negative attitude to the advertizer, and I think they get the message from users.
Why I dont block? I suppose the media will just get even more agressive, ending up having to give you news as a bitmap with ad embedded, or even more horrific ways. The level of ad is tolerable now, but I guess it depends on your internet use pattern.
I use an adblocker (AdBlock Plus) and also tracking coockie blocker (Ghostery, firefox built-in one). I do pay for a few selected digital and paper magazines. For the rest I am a freerider and sites that make it difficult to read with an adblocker are not read. Also ignored are sites that require (free) registration.
At work I don't have an adblocker as I don't seem to frequent sites there that are not bareable without an adblocker.
Same way popups blocked by default, or no flash on iOS has crippled the industry... Apple has to be worried people will start using Safari alternatives on iOS.
I use Google Chrome on my iPad every day because I like how it works better than Safari. I don't see Apple blocking me from making a browser selection on iOS.
