To Adblock, or not to Adblock...

[Lake-Effect]

I went for many years without too much irritation from seeing ads on sites I frequented. Heck, I was making my living from working on interactive projects for major corporations. So I know the importance and utility of advertising.

But I reached my limit when I kept seeing those gross ads with a woman stretching her face like silly putty, or endless scam dating/cheating sites, or images of skin disease... boom! I installed AdBlock.

Recently I've been considering the economics of web publishing, and whether I should consider disabling Adblock when viewing sites that I often benefit from, as a way of helping fund them. So I've disabled it for CF... and today I get a lovely little ad for the next generation of sex-doll.

Guess what? I'm adblocking CF again. Which means I still see your sponsor ads... no problem there, but not the other ad space you 'lease' to ad brokers.

There's two sides to this. As a user of the site, I want you to benefit financially. I want to see relevant ads. The flip side of this is that you need to respect me as a consumer. You shouldn't carry ads that insult or offend me.

You have the same responsibility as print magazines when it comes to advertising. When was the last time you opened a sailing magazine and saw an ad that was actually offensive or revolting? The online publishing industry needs to fix this.

[sailorboy1]

Seems if you are keep going to sites that result in these types of ads it is a tough choice. I just apply ad block to everything.

[StuM]

Ads these days are very much targeted based on your browsing history and what Google etc have recorded about you! The website owner doesn't choose which ads are displayed. They just point your browser to the ad server (Google?)

If you keep seeing those sort of ads, then Google thinks that fits your profile. It sounds as though someone has been using your computer to visit a lot of dubious websites.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by StuM

Ads these days are very much targeted based on your browsing history and what Google etc have recorded about you! The website owner doesn't choose which ads are displayed. They just point your browser to the ad server (Google?)

If you keep seeing those sort of ads, then Google thinks that fits your profile. It sounds as though someone has been using your computer to visit a lot of dubious websites.

Yes and no.

I know how tracking works. I do see follow-up ads for the things I tend to purchase online (electronic components mostly). Whether you believe me or not, I haven't been seeking... simulated company, or a little something on the side. Or wrinkle cream or fake diet pills for that matter. I also know how to remove or f* up my ad profile. And our home network is secure.

The website owner doesn't choose which ads are displayed.

And this is the problem. If it was a print magazine, the ads would be vetted. I don't think it's unreasonable for online viewers to expect ads that are appropriate for the site. It's a problem that most sites have, not just CF.

Until website publishers exert some control over the type of ads that their viewers see, or lean on their ad providers for some control, viewers like me will simply block ads.

(and next rain day, maybe I'll delete all tracking cookies and see what ads come up after that)

[goat]

Keep ad-block, become a forum supporter. Best of both worlds.

goat

[Mike OReilly]

Adblock, and just for fun, Ghostery as well.

Yes, CF is a private, for-profit enterprise that I value. It makes income from ads and click-throughs, and by selling my data (via third-party tools), to others. But its most valuable asset is the free content constantly provided by its thousands of participants like you and me. Without all our free work, this site is nothing.

If the ads weren't constantly annoying and intrusive would I disable Adblock? ... maybe. Much like the Vendor ads, and the other stuff down the side, I'm fine with that. I have no desire to view inserted ads or popups of any kind, no matter what the topic. The ads I do value are from vendors who actually contribute to the life of this site. Those are the vendor ads I pay attention to.

[Captain Bill]

I did not have ad block running while most adds were static. In the last year or two most ads have gone to video. I am on a metered connection and in a year my byte usage doubled with no change in use habits. I put on ad block and my byte count dropped back to what it used to run. I simply will not pay to watch someones full motion commercial. I also will not buy from a vendor who presents full motion commercials on the web page. I am willing to turn ad block off if I could only see static ads. At the moment the software does not seem sophisticated enough to allow me to block one and not the other.

[socaldmax]

I never get any ads for sex dolls.

Maybe because I don't allow my sex doll access to my computer to shop for a companion.

I use ABP, I don't know if it's necessary for me to see the ad for the site to get paid, but I click on it a lot, and that should count for something.

[weavis]

Originally Posted by socaldmax

I never get any ads for sex dolls.

Maybe because I don't allow my sex doll access to my computer to shop for a companion.

You dont? Thats just cruel.

[Kenomac]

My life must be very dull. The only adds I see on pop ups are for solar panels, watermakers, digital cameras or cycling related gear.

[zboss]

Don't feel bad about using adblock.

The reality is that ad publishers and websites are starting to realize they can't do anything about adblockers and are wondering if there is even a future in this type of monetization.

You won't see it going away but it is increasingly likely that adverts are not the primary income driver for most web sites these days. Things like custom content for subscribers or selling products, or lead generation... these are the ways websites are making money now. There are a gazillion ways to make money on facebook and other social media websites that does not include advertising but it helps if you are in the business of selling something substantial.

Substantial can be a book, public speaking, using your site as lead generation for your real bread-and-butter business, etc.

[CarinaPDX]

I use AdBlock Plus, without guilt. I also use NoScript to protect against a host of attack vectors. I had to turn off Ghostery as it broke a web site I used (I'll be looking into a whitelist there.) Increasingly the problem with such protections is that the web site developers detect ad and tracker blocking and intentionally break the page until the ads are allowed. I used to block Google Analytics always, but some sites now need that to work for the page to load. In any event blocking Google is pointless - they track all of us in multiple ways, and consolidate the info. They own us, like it or not, and they sell us for more than $500/year (the average revenue they receive for selling filtered access to advertisers). Of course most of us are too cheap to actually pay for the "free" services that we receive from advertising support, so this is the world we deserve. Abandon hope...

Greg