First of all let me say that I love to block ads as much as anyone.
Much of the time I'm using a slow connection through my mobile phone, so being able to block ads really helps my web experience.
I especially hate those intrusive ads that do something or pop up something when you mouse over them. And the worst of all are the Flash ads which eat up bandwidth and even trigger the dreaded Firefox-Flash-PlugIn 100% CPU bug.
However I also can't forget that a lot, even most of the sites I visit are paid for by advertising. The reason I'm able to read the NY Times, Washington Post and L.A. Times online and not have to buy it at a newstand is that advertisers pay the cost.
And again, while I have no love for the advertising biz, but my concern is that if everybody starts blocking ads, who will pay for all of the content that we currently enjoy for free?
This paragraph from a CNET News article sums up the problem.
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When Web software firm ClearWay Technologies posted the final beta version of its ad blocking product to its site this week, it naturally hoped to create an industry buzz. What it got was more like a hornet's nest.
A community of small, independent Macintosh-oriented Web sites--ClearWay's base of support--bombarded the company with calls and email. They said the new product, AdScreen, potentially could help kill their sites by destroying their ability to sell ads. Many threatened a boycott of ClearWay.
In response to the outcry, Mark Kriegsman, president and founder of ClearWay, removed the AdScreen beta and wrote an open letter to the community.
"We have terminated the AdScreen software and we strongly recommend that Web users do not use any ad blocking software now or in the future," Kriegsman wrote. "Simply put: If you love free Web sites, don't block the ads."
The ad-blocking controversy
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helping ghost
http://www.mactech.com/news/?p=1001706
Good old days. Where did you unearth this "news"?December 4, 1998
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Peter Piper
The point is still relevant, though, isn't it?
Anyway, as you can see from my post, I'm definitely not writing in support of the advertisers.
I quoted the article, not to say that is my opinion, but to say, here's an interesting point of view, and to stimulate some discussion about this topic.
Since we all (including myself) like to block ads, we ought be open to some discussion about whether it could have any long-term consequences for "free" content on the web.
It seems to me that as long as a relatively small number of internet-savvy people block ads, it won't make much difference to the advertising-supported content model.
But what would happen if ad-blocking really caught on, or if a major browser such as Firefox introduced ad-blocking capability as a standard feature of the browser?
I quoted the article, not to say that is my opinion, but to say, here's an interesting point of view, and to stimulate some discussion about this topic.
Since we all (including myself) like to block ads, we ought be open to some discussion about whether it could have any long-term consequences for "free" content on the web.
It seems to me that as long as a relatively small number of internet-savvy people block ads, it won't make much difference to the advertising-supported content model.
But what would happen if ad-blocking really caught on, or if a major browser such as Firefox introduced ad-blocking capability as a standard feature of the browser?
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Peter Piper
Sorry that "news" item was a bit old!
I'll try to find something more recent to quote.
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Peter Piper
Is AdBlocking Ethical?
This item is more current and relevant:
A discussion of the issues surrounding AdBlocking, pros and cons
Is AdBlocking Ethical?
http://www.adblock.org/2006/02/is-ad-bl ... l/#more-33
A discussion of the issues surrounding AdBlocking, pros and cons
Is AdBlocking Ethical?
http://www.adblock.org/2006/02/is-ad-bl ... l/#more-33