Why We Use AdBlock (And how you can be a "better" person)

[Grippentech]

We live in an age where most websites are free to use. The price we pay for this "openness" is that we have website adds. I see nothing wrong with Ads, as long as they don't track me and as long as they are not invasive. Yet, I am an AdBlock users, its pretty much the first thing I install after the browser and drivers. 

 

I just came back from HopeX where they gave a number of excellent presentations on similar subjects. 

 

We can all agree that ads are not going anywhere, they are too deeply embedded in the way in which the internet works nowadays. The one thing that DEEPLY OFFENDS ME LINUS is that you would even consider words like "scummy". And while you did apologize for it, and apology granted BTW, there are things that you are not considering. 

 

The main problem with ads, other than being simply annoying sometimes, is the fact that they are profoundly creepy. Most ads out there use cookies and other tracking methods to track you across the web. They gather RIDICULOUS amounts of data about you and your browsing habits. And for everyone out there saying they don't care, you are creeped out by the NSA but not this?!

 

The only solution until recently was to use Adblock, it simply did not run the java-script code of these ads and therefore their trackers. Great, right?

 

Well as it turns out, yes and no.

 

Firstly: You're not supporting the producer of the article. While I'm not necessarily saying that you should "support" every media outlet out there, what I am saying is that you are getting a free service in exchange of having these ads present. Now before you say anything, there is another side to this, the fact that IT SHOULD BE THE JOB OF THE WEBMIN to use non intrusive ad platforms and to actually help the consumer help you. Nevertheless. 

 

Secondly: While Adblock will actually take care of blocking a good chunk of these tracking cookies and other semi-malicious bits of code, it will only block VISIBLE CODE, in other words, any kind of tracker that is not visible in the actual website is not going to be blocked. There is a way to change this, but it only helps a little bit and it involves manual configuring and manually adding blacklisted items to Adblock.

 

Ok, so you've read this rant, what's the solution?

 

Well, as it turns out there is this really cool new tool, in Alpha stage right now (More of a 90% working Beta really, I've talked to the creator) and which is semi-sponsored by the EFF which will actually learn about how cookies behave and eventually block them as well as most other web tracking services.

 

https://www.eff.org/privacybadger

 

There was a long discussion about the algorithms used and the features but the gist of it is this:

 

1. Its Open Source, its all on GitHub.

2. It stops you from being spied on better than AdBlock

3. It does not make you a bad person by not supporting others.

 

I hope Linus reads this and  I can't wait to see what you guys think. 

[NInety]

Wrong sub-forum. See: Software

[Syntaxvgm]

Well for one thing I'm tired of it being called scummy, and being compared to piracy. Choosing to not to render certain content in your browser is not piracy. While you may agree or disagree wether it's morally right to do that, especailly to content creators, ad blocking is no differnt then popup blocking back in the day. Nor is it different than using tivo to skip ads on TV. People are suddenly OK with it if it's not "the little guy".

I don't use adblock on all browsers myself, but I make custom scripts for some websites like youtube ads and others to selectively block things that annoy me from certain ad provider. Agree with it or not, it's my right to block content on my computer, and sometimes I browse with adblock. 

[Shd0w2]

CAN WE ALL JUST STOP FIGHTING? THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE, ADBLOCK USERS, AND NON ADBLOCK USERS.

 

WE SHOULD ALL BE TREATED EQUALLY

 

 

 

I AM THE NEW MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

[Syntaxvgm]

CAN WE ALL JUST STOP FIGHTING? THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE, ADBLOCK USERS, AND NON ADBLOCK USERS.

 

WE SHOULD ALL BE TREATED EQUALLY

 

 

 

I AM THE NEW MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

lolol

[ericlee30]

I AM THE NEW MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

Four score and 7 years ago, our 4 fathers........ oh wait wrong speech lol.

[DoubleY]

Scums. 

 

In reality though, I do agree. Ads shouldn't track us.

 

However I do not use Adblock. Because I watch 2-4 hour videos on Youtube (usually podcasts) 50% of the time. And to watch one 5 or 30second add for 3ish hours of content, I'm going to be able to live. As for Twitch, same thing goes. I don't use Adblock (usually, see below). I see one add for a few hours of content. I'm fine with that

 

BUT, I fucking can not stand the Twitch streamers who run ads at just random times. Can NOT stand it. They will just run it on a 15 minute schedule and it often interferes with the content. I like the streamers who run ads during breaks. 

 

If a Twitch streamers spams adds at random times, I switch a browser that has Adblock installed. 

[Syntaxvgm]

Four score and 7 years ago our 4 fathers........ oh wait wrong speech lol.

that guy actually got shot by a content creator.So it's relevant in a way. 

[ericlee30]

that guy actually got shot by a content creator.So it's relevant in a way. 

LMAO, that made me almost roll off my chair.

[Shd0w2]

Four score and 7 years ago, our 4 fathers........ oh wait wrong speech lol.

what year is it again? 9001?

[ericlee30]

what year is it again? 9001?

9002  to be exact

[XTankSlayerX]

The ads I find the most fukin annoying are the ones you can skip, Dollar Shave club, Hulu, Square space. They have taken over the internet. All of the youtube channels I watch have them as sponsors. It just gets annoying.

[c3p0]

Try to use a normal news site without adblock. Welcome epilepsy.

 

The internet isn't useable anymore without an adblocker

 

There are users with limited datausage. Ad's create useless traffic for them displaying things they don't want anyways.

Possible malware. Pointing at those fance downloadbuttons that gave you bs

Ad's with sound. Well thank you my volume isn't on 80% when listening to yt right and this piece of ... starts playing out of nowhere?!

Also OP you realize you can allow ads an the sites you want to support? There's an option. Use it for yt all day, no doubt.

Could add more..

[Syntaxvgm]

Try to use a normal news site without adblock. Welcome epilepsy.

 

The internet isn't useable anymore without an adblocker

 

There are users with limited datausage. Ad's create useless traffic for them displaying things they don't want anyways.

Possible malware. Pointing at those fance downloadbuttons that gave you bs

Ad's with sound. Well thank you my volume isn't on 80% when listening to yt right and this piece of ... starts playing out of nowhere?!

Also OP you realize you can allow ads an the sites you want to support? There's an option. Use it for yt all day, no doubt.

Could add more..

exactly. I allow ads on ltt and ocn for example. I frequent both sites and the ads are non intrusive. But if I didn't, my choice. 

[ForsakenLive]

There are lots of post that debate this, but the reality is that there is a lot more to it.

We live on changing times for society and communication, where business is trying to adapt, rules are outdated and we face controversy all the time. Rights, security and laws are in debate, until we don't make business laws for the internet we are going to be flooded with adds, publicity, information farming software and much more. Once society advances and we don't get heavily annoyed by ads anymore, adblock will be a thing of the past. Adblock is not the answer, fair laws, agreements and control standarized in OSs and browsers are.

[Grippentech]

Try to use a normal news site without adblock. Welcome epilepsy.

 

The internet isn't useable anymore without an adblocker

 

There are users with limited datausage. Ad's create useless traffic for them displaying things they don't want anyways.

Possible malware. Pointing at those fance downloadbuttons that gave you bs

Ad's with sound. Well thank you my volume isn't on 80% when listening to yt right and this piece of ... starts playing out of nowhere?!

Also OP you realize you can allow ads an the sites you want to support? There's an option. Use it for yt all day, no doubt.

Could add more..

 

I know. And I do disable ads for sites that I like. Or I did anyway. Now I just use Privacy Badger without adblock most of the time, except where there are ads that are downright distracting.

[Misanthrope]

Actually this looks like a good compromise: nobody, not even Linus himself, can object to: If the ads are not actually damaging they wouldn't get blocked, but I know for a fact that ads in this forums DO track me since I now get ads from a computer web store I visit a lot.

[cpy]

Google uses adblock on taxes and evade milliards EUR in taxes via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Irish_arrangement so unless big companies will start paying taxes, i will be happy for every ad i blocked.

[Santa_Dwarf]

This is all good and well in an ideal world, but I'd take not supporting a website over having some random MMO trailer playing in the background any day.

If you want to support a website, there are other ways.

[ConfusedDolphin]

In my opinion if you are using adblock you are choosing not to support the content producers you visit on the net. I think it is understandable that content producers look more favorably on people who support them than the people who are not supporting them...

[ConfusedDolphin]

Scums.

In reality though, I do agree. Ads shouldn't track us.

However I do not use Adblock. Because I watch 2-4 hour videos on Youtube (usually podcasts) 50% of the time. And to watch one 5 or 30second add for 3ish hours of content, I'm going to be able to live. As for Twitch, same thing goes. I don't use Adblock (usually, see below). I see one add for a few hours of content. I'm fine with that

BUT, I fucking can not stand the Twitch streamers who run ads at just random times. Can NOT stand it. They will just run it on a 15 minute schedule and it often interferes with the content. I like the streamers who run ads during breaks.

If a Twitch streamers spams adds at random times, I switch a browser that has Adblock installed.

I think what happens is that many streamers use automated programs to control their ads. Usually the ad is set to run after X lines of text in the chat. So when there are spikes in the chat activity, the ads get obnoxious.

[DigitalHermit]

Adblock user here... I just need to save on data and block all the annoying flash-based and animated ads that appear everywhere... As much as I'd like to ignore them, when they move, make noise, or flash bright colors, I get too annoyed and distracted from the content that I intend to focus on... Also, with a crappy connection such as mine (2Mbps down 384kbps up) the ad-blocker helps the page load faster and minimize memory usage...

 

I'd like to help, but I'd like to do it without compromising too much...

[K_c1n]

what ad blocker should i get i hear some give u a virus

[Mooshi]

This is why I run noscript and adblock on all sites I do not trust. Internet is a mine field with digital stds..I need protection.

[rambi36]

When I'm using older devices such as my grandma's laptop, ads slow down my web browser