this post was submitted on 27 Jun 2023
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I posted this question because I once saw a tweet that said something like:

"If you use adblock, you don't care about creator's point blank"

What is your opinion on this? Do you agree with them?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

It is the one universal truth. Viewers do not want ads.

Why then should I care about a content creator who doesn't care about their viewers?

If you have built your business model on giving people what they don't want, AND have the audacity to insist that people make it easier for you to give them what they don't want, then you can fuck right off.

No. I do not care about creators who rely on ads. You'll take my Ublock Origin from my cold, dead hands.

[–] LeafTheTreesAlone 3 points 2 years ago

I use PiHole on my home network to block ads across all devices. I mostly use it specifically for our smart TV as our Samsung loves to display Big Mac ads and track the hell out of everything. This way I can still stream to it. I have my phone and computer routed through it but my girlfriend doesn’t like how it slows down TikTok. Probably a reason for that 😁

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Supposedly this is about YouTube ad blocking but this applies everywhere.

Anyone who thinks you ought to unblock ads for the creator's sake is propagandized to hell and back by advertisers who exploit creators by monetizing their content.

Oh! Milord is so good! He lets me paint in his shed but only if I paint 5 paintings a day with my own paint and he'll even let me keep a penny a week from his sales of my paintings!

[–] onTerryO 3 points 2 years ago

I use Pi-hole, which is great since it is network wide. Doesn't do much for youtube, so for that I just download videos using yt-dlp. Downloading the video has the added bonus that you get the highest video quality for 100% of the video.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Oh yes, I use ad blockers. Some of the stuff that some ads have going on today feel like a form of malware, tracking you all over the internet. Not to mention the occasional actual malware that no one seems to screen ads for. No thank you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

If a creator is really useful, I support them directly through donations or paid subscriptions. Other than that, I can't stand ads.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Ads are bad for me, and for the most part, they're bad for the planet. So I use an ad blocker everywhere.

I'm aware that the web has a monetization problem without ads. But not blocking them doesn't help address the problem in any ways. I donate a little bit to creators I really like instead.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Absolutely. I can still support a creator without watching terrible ads, and I really don't like selling my soul to DoubleClick.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I've never used them.

If I like an app or site, but the ads are annoying me, I do one of these:

  • If there's an option to pay the creator/aggregator to eliminate the ads, and the cost/benefit is worth it, I'll pay.

  • If there is no option to pay, but the app/content is worth the ads annoyance, I'll keep using the app/site and watch/skip/ignore the ads.

  • If there is no option to pay, or there is, but the price is higher than what I perceive as the app/content value, I'll stop using the app/site.

For example, I paid for Baconreader Premium, but I watch YouTube ads, and I removed several sites from my google home page feed because they had more ads than content.

I'm also stop using Reddit, as I don't think it's worth enduring their obnoxious native app.

And no, I don't use pirated software, nor watch or listen to pirated movies or music. If something is priced above what I consider it's worth, I just don't use it.

Yes, Baconreader Premium could be consider as a "reddit ad blocker", but it operated within Reddit's approval. Now Reddit changed their rules, and it's their rules.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

If something is priced above what I consider it's worth, I just don't use it.

Tell that to every student who has to pay unreasonable amounts every semester for textbooks...

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Partially ibecause I hate ads. part of it is personal security along with ads AdguardHome server blocks malware and porn for the kids. There's a ton malware that gets delivered through ads

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I use Adblock because YouTube has too many ads, and anywhere else makes me feel like I'll get malware if I turn it off.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Yeah I use adblock.

If you use adblock, you don't care about creator's point blank

Depending on what kind of content they serve, they usually still make a lot of money.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

ublock-origin all the way. I hate ads.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

uBlock origin on my PC, AdGuard on my Google Pixel

I do want people to make their money but not to the point I get malware from a single click.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

to block ads

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I'll buy merch and/or donate to the creator but I won't watch ads

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I use an tracker blocker, because the way advertising is done today by google and similar is immoral, and its shocking that it is not illegal.

The way ads are put on duckduckgo, based on your search terms, or the way companies sponsor creators is great, that's the way advertising should be, and Iwant to support that.

But if you are going to be a creepy company (Google, Meta, ...) who wants to unconsensually track and profile me when my browser explicitly includes do not track requests, in order to manipulate my beliefs of purchasing habitats. As somebody who is aware of the problem, not using a tracker blocker like privacy badger would be wrong and immortal, because by allowing them to make money though abusing me, i would be supporting and aiding them in the evil they engage in.

Use a tracker blocker, don't help google be evil, and don't support anyone who demonizes you for refusing to support modern evil for their personal gain.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

By default I have AdBlock (uBlock origin) on, but I generally turn it off for YouTube and Twitch to support content creators (except when the creator is unmonetized, then I leave it on).

And I also turn it off for a some websites that are free of corporate BS and have interesting content. Funny enough, most of these websites happen to not have any ads or trackers in the first place.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I use it because the advertising industry is trying to gobble up as much personal info about you. Ad banners are more than just displays for ads, they’re embedded trackers surveilling your browsing activity. I’d be happy to see some ads if they were truly privacy preserving.

For now, I just donate to my favourite creators or use subscriptions like YouTube Premium to pay creators for the content I consume.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

This is the pcgamer website without adblock!

I discovered this this morning as I was trying out a Lemmy app (thunder) instead of my ad blocked Firefox and followed an article link.

In less than 600 words there were:

  • 3 full page ads to dismiss
  • an auto playing video taking up 1/4 of the screen that follows as you scroll
  • a sticky animated footer banner
  • and a half page animated ad between each paragraph.

Fuck that. Fuck any organizational that does that to it's product or has that level of contempt for it's users.

I support content creators but ad block is necessary for safety, privacy, and the overall usability of the Internet.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I do, I hate fucking ads.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

I just whitelist ads/domains which follow EFF DNT standard (Automatically via AdNauseaum but should be working with any Adblock Plus/uBlock Origin standard adblockers https://github.com/dhowe/AdNauseam/wiki/FAQ#how-and-why-does-adnauseam-make-exceptions-for-non-tracking-ads). https://www.eff.org/files/effdntlist.txt As you can see, this whitelist isn't that long, hence I do block most of the ads with my ad blocker. Outside individual exceptions, that's the only whitelist I have. Other than that, It's no pity. Doing so, I don't think I really ruin other individual's revenue, which are still done via ads online. Nowadays, it's more of sponsored content or affiliation links it seems, as advertisers adapt to the popularity of adblocker users instead of trying to fight them by being more and more aggressive with them (Which has been found to just reduce actual potential website users if it's too aggressive with pop-ups and all).

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I use them. And I won't pretend that I do it for moral reasons - it's because I do not want to see ads or waste my bandwidth with ads, period.

And I don't usually whitelist content creators because I know that most money won't get in their pockets, it'll go for Google or Meta or whatever. In a few cases however I might buy some stuff from the creator (if I got the money...), specially if it's a book or similar.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 years ago

Ads annoy me to no end so yes. I use NextDNS on all of my devices + uBo in my browsers

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Of course. Parts of the internet are basically unusable without it, and others are much less safe. Any creator who moans about this is just taking out their frustration about their chosen line of work on you, or guilt tripping you to make a penny. Plus, lots of creators have found ways to run ethical and safe do that don't put the user at risk.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Fuck ads. They always fuck me when I try to make money online. If the only way I'm allowed to make money is with "a real job" then they should "get a real job" too. Fuck 'em.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (3 children)

Yes. I have a whole house dns adlock AND iuse a browser adblock as well.

Too many websites are COMPLETE SHIT TO NAVIGATE without adblock. They will be slow to load because of all the ad servers loading in. They fill so much of their space with ads that the main Co tent you're there to see is obfuscated. They break content up with ads, so you're forced to scroll past them.

I have never understood why we legally allow advertising at all. Why should we let companies harass literally anyone with advertisements? I know literally nobody who likes seeing ads on any kind of content. It's an incredibly annoying thing we have normalized, and it needs to get cut back.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

I use adblock (uBlock origin) because the internet is nigh unusable otherwise. It's incredibly risky (even irresponsible) to not have adblock turned on given the danger of malware, or malware in the guise of advertisements. However, I'd whitelist sites that are decent about it--though in practice, I find it risky to temporarily disable my adblock just to test things, much less to whitelist them.

Most of all, there are other, better, ways to support content creators in the internet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

I even sometimes walk out of the room to do something else when the TV adverts come on, otherwise I ignore them. No one has ever accused me of denying a tv channel of revenue.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

uBlock Origin or the built-in adblocker, depending on the browser I use. On iOS I use AdGuard.

I treat adblockers the same as an antivirus at this point, there have been multiple times that I've seen ads for scams and malware, so I save myself the headache and use an adblocker. I believe it was Linus from Linus Tech Tips who said adblocking YouTube ads is piracy, if so then call me a filthy pirate.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago

Absolutely. Not using adblock is just asking to get malware, on top of ads being wildly obnoxious. And most sites are CRAMMED with ads to the point that they're basically ureadable.

I also subscribe to a lot of patreons and such because I want to support creators. But I'd stop consuming someone's content before I turned off my ad blocker, if they decided that was the hill they wanted to die on.

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