Do you use ad blocking software?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I just read a news article and got to wondering…

Ad blockers rise as ads annoy, bog down websites

The poll isn’t limited strictly to ad blocking software, it’s meant to include script blockers and any other addons designed to stop advertisers from annoying or slowing you down.

I broke down earlier this year because of auto playing video ads and because of the performance hit I was taking. A close runner up is just how annoying those ‘One simple trick’ ads are.

In one of my RL conversations someone tried to argue that advertisers have a first amendment right to have ads delivered to my browser.

So before anyone starts that here, let me stop you now. It ain’t so. The first amendment only prevents the government from limiting you. Your first amendment rights literally end at my property line. Or in the case of the internet, at my modem. If you come to my house blathering some nonsense or selling some snake oil that I’m not interested in hearing about, you have two choices. STFU or get off my property.

[QUOTE=Linked article]
“The market wouldn’t be robust for ad blockers if some ads weren’t intrusive, creepy, hold you hostage or slow down your experience,” said Jed Hartman, the Post’s chief revenue officer. “Everything should be on the table: fewer ads, different types of ads, no ads.”
…

Randall Rothenberg, [Interactive Advertising Bureau] CEO, called ad-blocking practices “definitely immoral and unethical,” yet he acknowledged that consumers turn to blockers because they are fed up.

“Consumers are speaking and you’ve got to listen to them,” he said.
[/QUOTE]
Calling ad blockers ‘immoral and unethical’ implies that ads are somehow moral and ethical. I don’t see advertisements falling into either of those categories. To me, ad blockers are the equivalent of Terminex for the internet.

(Poll follows)

2

no

if you block ads, you’re literally stealing from content providers

3

[Sheldon] Literally?[/Sheldon]

4

I don’t mind ads that are easy to scroll through and unobtrusive, such as the stuff that shows up in my facebook and twitter feeds. I just scroll past it. Though sometimes it actually is something I’m interested in and will click through to check it out. The crap that blinks, strobes, and gifs at me? No. That shit gets blocked, that’s what slows everything down and carries viruses. No thanks.

5

No, I don’t. I’ve never bothered to install or download it…or whatever you do to get it on your computer.

6

Always, for many years. I tried whitelisting some sites I use a lot, but after removing the second or third instance of malware (in not a very long period of time) I gave up and started blocking everything again.

I’m not really moved by the idea that I’m obligated to run any particular code on my personal property in exchange for visiting a publicly-accessible website (IMO, if your server freely sends my computer a file based on nothing but my computer’s request to see it, I am then free to execute the parts I want to execute and block the parts I don’t want), but even if I was, ads are so dangerous to the user’s property that there is no meaningful contract.

7

I voted “Other”.
Hopefully my membership fee makes up for not clicking on the ads if I were just a Guest.
(I do not click on ads on any other site either)

ETA: It is getting ridiculous on many sites now…load the page and wait for the ads to load, then all the analytics to load … pfft … I’m gone

8

I do on this website because I got tired of cleaning malware off every couple of months.

9

I love the SDMB. I don’t mind paying for it.
Read the stickies about preventing malware, good advice there as it will help you with other sites also.

10

The internet was meant to be free. If I don’t want to see an advertiser, that is my choice.
If your website would not allow me to visit without ads … bye bye.

11

I don’t either, but I don’t buy this objection. It’s no more stealing than walking away and making a coffee during an ad break on TV is stealing or turning up to a movie theatre after the ads have finished is stealing.

12

Voted before my morning coffee.

I meant to click “Always” not “no.”

I will disable my adblocker for any website that indemnifies me against any loss caused by malware transmitted through ads.

As no website would do this, my adblocker is always enabled. Always.

13

The main reason I got adblock was to bypass ads on youtube videos (it’s ok to steal from Google because they’re a big corporation)

14

Richard Pearse has already pointed out to you its not theft.

I’m not sure if you’re being facetious now, but if not, why do you think its theft?

15

One simple trick for blocking ads! Download AdBlock.

If you don’t block ads, but you never buy anything from an ad, aren’t you still stealing?

The purpose of ads is to sell products and services. If they fail to do that, they have no value. You may or may not buy something from an ad, but someone somewhere does, and that’s why they made the ad. You’re not doing them any kind of service by looking at an ad and then opting not to buy (“Pay-per-click” type things notwithstanding - they only pay for clicks because some percentage of those clicks lead to sales. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t)

16

The implicit agreement when you view a website with ads is that you are getting the content of the website in exchange for viewing the ads

there’s no expectation that everyone who views the ad will buy the product

17

Do you apply the same logic to TV ads?
Are you “stealing” when you make coffee during an ad break?

If not, why not?

18

No, but there’s an expectation (by advertisers) that ads will lead to sales. It’s true that the content providers get paid ultimately based on how many people they are exposing to the ads without promising sales. But if you watch an ad and don’t buy anything from it, then the net result to the advertiser is still the same as if you didn’t watch it at all.

19

That’s sure as hell one they don’t want you to know about. :smiley:

20

At this point ad blocking software is a basic necessity for safe internet browsing, not using one is downright foolish. It wasn’t the ad blockers that ruined internet advertisement as a revenue stream, it was the ad companies who made the relationship antagonistic and their product unsafe. As the normal go-to computer guy in my family and circle of friends i install ad block software as a default on any computer i “fix”, so technically i should count for like 40-50 votes.