Ad blocking. Is it right to do?
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Ad blocking. Is it right to do?
The issue of ad blocking – using widely available programs to block advertisements from your favourite websites and blogs – has become a major battleground for web advertisers, website owners and the general public. But how does this affect you and your online experience?
Ad blocking 101
We all know the pain of online ads. Here you are, reading an article on your trusted online news publication, when out of nowhere a pop-up for the latest toothpaste flashes across your screen. Okay, maybe not all online ads are this blatant, but chances are even tastefully placed ads have taken away from your online experience in one way or another.
Enter, ad blocking. These apps automatically seek out obvious online advertisements and block them from your view, giving you a cleaner representation of the real site content. There are numerous free versions available and most can be added as a plugin to your favourite browser with a click of a button.
Ad blocking technology is possible due to intrinsic technical cues that differentiate a third-party ad from its site’s editorial content. Think of an advertorial in a print magazine – sure, it looks like a normal article, but the layout, font or spacing doesn’t quite match.
Essentially, ad blockers are making your web experience simpler and more enjoyable. So, what could possibly be the problem with that?
Point: ad blocking is like eating at a restaurant – and not paying
The reality is that internet content is not free. Even though you can visit your favourite blogs or websites and generally read as much as you like without paying a dime, that doesn’t mean that there are not thousands of dollars going into bandwidth, storage cost, editorial talent and more. So where does the money for all this come from?
For better or worse, most websites are ad-driven. That is, advertisers pay the site owner to display their ads based on the number of views the website generates in a given day or hour. Blocking ads denies this revenue, even though you are still absorbing the content; an act, some argue, akin to eating in a five-star restaurant and then skipping out when the bill comes.
This was obviously the sentiment of online tech publication, Ars Technica, when they launched a social experiment to test the intentions of the estimated 40% of total site visitors that employ ad blocking technology. When visitors had an especially popular ad blocking plugin turned on, the program blocked not only the ads, but the rest of the site content as well. The result was outrage from user rights supporters and a re-ignition of this polarising topic.
Counterpoint: the internet is a library, not a bazaar
On the other side stand the general public and user rights proponents. The argument here is that the web is designed to be a source of information and collaboration, not the income-obsessed marketplace and political soapbox that it has become. Viewers have no contract with site owners that require them to be a source of revenue in any way, shape or form.
Ad blocker proponents also argue that there are ways to tastefully display ads on websites and that blocking ads simply penalises site owners that don’t. This is not the moral, social-imperative issue that opponents make it out to be – it’s simply an extension of citizens’ rights to choose not to be marketed to.
To block or not to block
Both sides make viable arguments and there’s no doubt that the jury is still out on alternatives to the ad-based online economy. In the end, it’s up to you whether you think allowing ads supports web entrepreneurs or devalues the online experience.
If it makes any difference, Ars Technica eventually reversed its little experiment, bowing to the onslaught of comments and criticism from user rights proponents. However, they did manage to win over some users to subscribe to their fee-based premium services, so maybe there is a happy medium in the argument. The web is a vast and still evolving space, after all. -
I understand and respect forum and website owners for putting ads on their website.
This helps to pay the bills for the forums.. which can be alot..
However i do have certain issues with the type of ads that are placed... some are just inappropriate and some are just irritating.
Let's take for example a education forum (not sgf's homework forum) Generally speaking these forums are catered to teens and learners.. so if you were to get an ad whose content is about a lonely person seeking company .. for example - im sure many people have seen such ads, it's highly inappropriate..
The ads that are irritating are the ones that can't be closed, or are fradulent - these ads for example state that you have won an iphone 4S with a small "X"to close it. However sometimes these "X" are hard to close.. cause when you do get to close them.. and your mouse accidentally brushes over it. It pops back up again... at times.. Certain "Xs" are not even real "Xs"..
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Actually oni Ang Mo countries got the time to discuss these, for a lotta people from China, they have an on-hand burning issue regarding humanity, which is "The Great Firewall of China. Is it right to do?"
Till now, the citizens of China and the government of China has not reached a consensus yet.
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Just look at the Nat Geo ads here. Blocks screen, plays sound, impossible not to roll over.
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After I installed Ad Blocker few months ago, suring the net has become that much faster and non-intrusive. I am okay with ads as long as they are not the invasive kinds. Those forcing u to click on it or it will play music, on repeat over n over again. Or those popping up ur screen following your scroll. And lame ads that says u are a winner. lol
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Oh.. and u love Ad Blocker. PLS DONATE ! :P They definately got my monthly support!
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Originally posted by BadzMaro:
After I installed Ad Blocker few months ago, suring the net has become that much faster and non-intrusive.
I am okay with ads as long as they are not the invasive kinds. Those forcing u to click on it or it will play music, on repeat over n over again. Or those popping up ur screen following your scroll. And lame ads that says u are a winner. lol
"U are a winner~~~"
ahhh, it brings back memories... -
U are a winner after two weeks. Not to mention ... visitor number 999,999 ! Which makes ! The WINNER ! 1millioneth customer ! Congrats! Now click, sign up, enter your credit card details, and u will recieve your free prize !! An iPHONE 4 !! But WAIT ! You have to do this... sign up for that, enter into this draw... THEN, u MAY get ur iPhone 4. B Seriously, if that is not in your face deception and misleading...mmmmm..... than I suppose I dunno what is and what is not anymore.