Sites blocking people using Adblock

[Legit101]

removed.

[weesh]

I consider certain extensions, namely adblock and fasterfox to be evil. The internet is largely free because of ads. If the only cost to you consuming information on a website is to put up with the ads, you are getting off pretty good. By blocking the ads, you are basically stealing from that website. They are providing bandwidth for you, but have no chance to recoup the cost. You don't walk out of a store without paying for a candy bar, neither should you fail to "pay" for the information you pull off a site by allowing the ads to load.

If a site doesn't want you there if you are going to take bandwidth without checking out their sponsors, that seems like something they have the right to pursue if they want to do so.

[RarityDash]

Yeah. I agree with weesh.

These sites have every right to block you. Ad revenue keeps most sites alive.

Not being able to put up with the occasional annoying advertisement is kind of just silly to me anyway.

[Legit101]

Yeah. I agree with weesh.

These sites have every right to block you. Ad revenue keeps most sites alive.

Not being able to put up with the occasional annoying advertisement is kind of just silly to me anyway.

Of course they have the right.

[Parker_Izing]

weesh is right in the money, but the problem is that nowadays, ad's are contracted to ad farms, quite frequently guilty of sleazy business ways, including gain publishing and it's gator/claria adware/spyware, pieces used to install themselves without user knowledge, like virus or trojans does, and eventually bricking a computer . The legal way against those enterprises, are weak to unexisting , so It's a crime worth committing... Of course this got users quite ticked off about ad's, and we just blocked the buck out of them all.

It's fault of said enterprises, or some of those enterprises, who milked the cash cow to the death, and now they complain. "We just wanted to force a thousand of adverts down user's throat. Not they blocked us, so not fair!!"*Rarity whining*

[Ashton]

weesh is right in the money, but the problem is that nowadays, ad's are contracted to ad farms, quite frequently guilty of sleazy business ways, including gain publishing and it's gator/claria adware/spyware, pieces used to install themselves without user knowledge, like virus or trojans does, and eventually bricking a computer . The legal way against those enterprises, are weak to unexisting , so It's a crime worth committing... Of course this got users quite ticked off about ad's, and we just blocked the buck out of them all.

It's fault of said enterprises, or some of those enterprises, who milked the cash cow to the death, and now they complain. "We just wanted to force a thousand of adverts down user's throat. Not they blocked us, so not fair!!"*Rarity whining*

This. I had to install adblock after getting a virus from DEVIANT ART!

Only site I've had a problem with is Bronyville's player broke... Otherwise, none of the sites I visit seem to have a problem.

[TheColtofPersonality]

The main reason why I use something like adblock is to stop things like flash ads, that can slow down even the most powerful computers.

Plus some people like to listen to music when browsing, I know I do and I get annoyed when I am listening to a song by Aerosmith and have to pause it beacause some website desides to play an ad where I cant disable the sound.

So instead of listening to Dude (Looks Like a Lady) , I am listening to a swiffer commercial.

Very frustrating, there is a difference between ad revenue and having adds that are impossible to deal with without some add on.

[weesh]

Full disclosure: My previous computer had firefox and adblock installed and I used it extensively. I am now using firefox without adblock.

The main reason why I use something like adblock is to stop things like flash ads, that can slow down even the most powerful computers.

Plus some people like to listen to music when browsing, I know I do and I get annoyed when...

Adblock is a tool, and just like any tool, it has the potential to be use for good and evil. A sledge hammer is a tool as well, but it is challenging to use constructively for a task like hanging pictures on your wall.

If you are using it to make a site useable (your definition: stop viruses or flash ads or music ads) you are doing one or more of four things:

1. Using the program ineffectively (looking at and blocking ads one at a time) (ethically grey, but I won't fault you)
   
2. Using the program to block huge swaths of ads (sledge hammer approach) (evil, or at best, fighting evil with evil)
   
3. Visiting websites that you should be writing off.
   
4. Not purchasing the subscription from the site that removes ads.
   

I don't think there is a fifth option, but perhaps the modern users can clue me in?

Personally, the only site, on the entire internet, that I visit that has annoying ads is Ultimate-guitar.com, and they are pretty bad. Not evil though, because you can buy a cheap subscription to the site that gets rid of them, and it is such a powerful resource that I am willing to put up with them until I decide to pay for it.

[Legit101]

snip

I block everything, I'm a bad guy, though I've donated to a ton of sites because their awesome, I'm not all evil I guess.

[Tempest Rime]

Protecting your computer from intrusive ads is not something I'd ever call evil. It's self-defense. Is it also evil to mute your TV when commercials come on, or fast-forward through the commercials if you've recorded it? Or to skip the ads they cram into the front of your DVDs? If the advertisement is only serving to aggravate you, it's not doing what is supposed to be doing, and plenty of ads on the internet are downright malicious.

Now granted, plenty of web sites only manage to stay afloat because of ads, and I wouldn't block the ads from sites I trust not to give my computer viruses or be overly aggressive, but for unfamiliar sites, or sites with particularly aggressive ads, I have no problem with people using an blocker. I'd never block Canterlot's ads, for example, as not only are they safe, they're also usually relevant to the site, and not even particularly intrusive. The talking ads or infinite popup chains on the other hand I would have no moral issues with squashing.

So I guess that would actually be sort of a 5th option. Rather than blacklisting ads after you've seen them, whitelist the sites you trust and actually want to support with ad revenue. And while you're at it, it's also helpful to actually click said ads occasionally, too.

[Davroth]

I think using adblock is despicable. No offence.

[weesh]

If the advertisement is only serving to aggravate you, it's not doing what is supposed to be doing...

...The talking ads or infinite popup chains on the other hand I would have no moral issues with squashing.

So I guess that would actually be sort of a 5th option.

Firstly, if an ad is aggravating you, it is getting through to you. I'm not quite sure on the psychology, but I don't think that the agencies consider that a loss.

As far as your fifth option, you are choosing rationalization? I don't think that is mutually exclusive from the last three options that I posted earlier.

[Frain Breeze]

I use adblock, but could probably tone my settings down a bit. If ads were limited to just simple ones that didn't jump out at me, take over my screen, play sudden noises, or any of that nonsense, I would be fine leaving them there. But they do. Any product or service that advertises itself by such aggravating measures has basically just ensured that they will never receive money from me. Thus, blocking the ad just cuts out the middle step and eliminates annoyance.

[Tempest Rime]

Firstly, if an ad is aggravating you, it is getting through to you. I'm not quite sure on the psychology, but I don't think that the agencies consider that a loss.

As far as your fifth option, you are choosing rationalization? I don't think that is mutually exclusive from the last three options that I posted earlier.

I mean whitelisting sites to let through an adblocker for a 5th option, rather than blacklisting specific ads. A lot like in your first option, but allows for greater security when going to an unknown site. Admittedly, I don't actually use an adblocker myself, so I don't know if any available ones allow for that, but it doesn't sound like an unreasonable option.

As for aggravation, yes, it is getting through to me, but it's not necessarily getting the product through. I see a pop-up, and all I look at is the pop-up window in order to close it. I hear a loud "CONGRATULATIONS, YOU'VE WON" and I mute my sound immediately, or close the window. What is that ad even for? I couldn't say. I just assume it's just a virus or something.

[Doc Hoof MD]

I have thought about using one before. I don't mind an ad once or twice. What annoys me is when I see the same ad so many times that I pretty much memorize all the details. (I HATE that stupid "discount double check" ad that I see everywhere I go) I also hate ads that make me play hid and seek to find a way to close it.

I think the main thing that keeps me from using it is the fact that the sites need the revenue.

[TheColtofPersonality]

Full disclosure: My previous computer had firefox and adblock installed and I used it extensively. I am now using firefox without adblock.

Adblock is a tool, and just like any tool, it has the potential to be use for good and evil. A sledge hammer is a tool as well, but it is challenging to use constructively for a task like hanging pictures on your wall.

If you are using it to make a site useable (your definition: stop viruses or flash ads or music ads) you are doing one or more of four things:

1. Using the program ineffectively (looking at and blocking ads one at a time) (ethically grey, but I won't fault you)
   

I Tweaked adblock just enough so it blocks enough but doesnt block everything.

The one website I use it for the most is deviantart and sometimes some sites that I occasional visit.

Make no mistake I know why ads exist on these websites however that doesnt mean I have to like it.

Now small ad banners I dont mind, but load your page with all kinds of flash ads that are set to autoplay then then we have troubles.