I think that users try to clarify the porpose and goals of ABP project before discussing Criteria for "acceptable" advertising.
purpose
changing the whole Internet
- quantity : Good ads↑, bad ads↓
- quality : The ads on the web pages harmonize with the contents.
Goals
- internal goal : solving problem of inconvenience due to intrusive and annoying ads.
- external goal : making sites to change their Ad Policies.
- filter subscription policies for creteria and maintenance/management (option : precedent or policy applied case)
- feedback by blocking/allowing ads
goal : providing sites with creteria of allowing ads. it affects to their Ad Policy and make the Internet to reduce the number of bad ads. that's it will help changing the Internet.
necessity of allowing ads
users properly are need to meet Ads which harmonious with contents of the Internet.
- allowing ads makes users to use useful production/service information.
- the sites displays good and useful ads will be fairly rewarded for their effort.
- advertising profit help sites and users a lot in many ways.
◆ internet service
- fee internet service
- free internet service
profit from :
- donations
- advertising revenue
- focused using content the role of ads
- providing contents continously
- improving content-using environment e.g. webdesign
- make the number of contents increaing and their quality high
It's never easy to keep a banlance between blocking and allowing. At least Filter Maintainers maintain a well-balanced filter list.
because allowed ads give users a help actually. on the other hand excessive blocking wihout proper allowing ads might be not a win-win game in the long term.
after advertising industry is damaged users also might suffer damage. and we should minimize
side effect of blocking ads as much as possible.
general principle
- users have priority
When Users and site owners' intrests run counter to each other users have prior. that is that filter maintainers select blocking ads instead of allowing ads.
- technical efficiency priority : the priciple of allowing ads can't be applied due to the issue of technical efficiency even though good ads should be allowed.
e.g. general filter rules : an blocked ad which is applied by the filter rule can't be allowed due to unavoidable circumstances. filter maintainers need this principle for giving the good reason for not allowing the ad.
acceptable ads criteria
- third-party ads (which is not intrusive and annoying).
the number of ads on a web page is a basic and essential creterion which can judge their intrusion and annoyingness. though each ad is good some sites have many good ads. but many ads makes users to feel ill at ease. Users can't controle the number of third party ads on each site. So the number of ads should be controled. I think the proper number of ads is 5 unit at the most. the ad units mean ad sections. for example thumnail image banner have some images. so the ad section is a ad unit.
- third party adservers : third party ads which we can't control or expect the number of ads should be blocked. and almost the servers host mass ads.
exceptively good third party adservers should be allowed. but this needs strict conditions. e.g : an adserver which has only desirable advertising method can be allowed.
- very useful and valuable third party ads should be allowed. e.g. a donation banner for poor countries, shopping section
* We will leave the decision about allowing 3rd-party ads to filter maintainers' discretion.
* you would be better to make 'allowing ads list'. it might be domains list related 3rd-party ads
- first-party ads (which is not intrusive and annoying).
- text ads : e.g - google's search advertising (at the right side of the page), google custom search
- banner ads which just is image files)
- Static banners
- Animated banners(gif formatted files) : If uses click on the ESC key you can make its motion stopped.
- first party adservers : condition - limited the number of the ads on their pages at least.
* exceptively good first party adservers should be allowed. this needs relaxer conditions than that of third-party.
* If flash banners are not intrusived some should be allowed exceptively. e.g a flash banner is not dynamic it might be allowed.
* For animated banners If users suffer from them such as visual tiredness they should be blocked.
method of allowing ads
- Active allowing : whitelisting blocking/element hiding filters. that's add whitelisting filters to filter list.
- passive allowing : doesn't add blocking/element hiding filters to filter list.
effectiveness
- the number of filters should be reduced.
- Sound blocking action
the new role of filte maintainer
the role as a consultant. fitler maintainers can be available be at any time for consultation about changing their Ad Policy.
- blocking is based on filter subscritption policies.
- filter maintainers should have every reason to block their ads. and if web site owners want to know it they can tell the reasonable reason.
- For allowing ads on a specific site filter maintainers give them a way for allowing blocked ads.
the good cases will be reference materials for change their Ad Policy. It is useful for them to find key to success by referencing successful case of other sites.
- introducing exemplary sites or model advertising regardless of blocking ads partly.
- investigating extensively know-how to maintain sites have low level of dependance on advertising revenue.
* first of all We need to grasp the exact state of affairs regarding creteria of ad-blocking and the Ad Policy of major sites as well. and find out real good ads on many sites(case research).
We want to make the Internet better for everyone. Purging bad ads is a good start.
Adblock Plus is an open-source project addressing the problem of annoying and intrusive online advertising by putting users in control.
and we try to clarify the concept of good/bad advertising as well. I think the concept should be considered with relation with contents on a web page.
of course we should block ads contain bad content which can negatively affect on users. and block advertising expression method like "annoying and intrusive" ads.
especially annoying and intrusive ads mean disturbance of user's using contents. that's the standard of judgment is influence which ads affect on using contents.
problems for solution
this issue affects the way of writing filters. general filters have a wide range of applications. there is quite a possibility that they will block ever good ads over wide sites against our project's purpose and goals.
the side-effect of general filters makes excessive blocking problem on many sites. we should minimize the side-effect. general filter rules are very useful but might be necessary evil.
site-specific filter rules↑ , general filter rules↓
measures
Extension description, to be displayed in the add-on manager "Ads were yesterday!"
- For this sentence there is quite apossibility that many users will mistake Adblock Plus for just ad blocker to block all the ads instead of blocking selectively.
"annoying and intrusive ads are yesterday"
- preparing a document about allowing ads on adblockplus.org.
[plus] about animated image banners
Visuals:
Static, no animations
i think these days animated image banners which is gif formmated file is general way. if it is not dynamic, it excessively doesn't disturbance users' using contents.
example site : image rotated banner at the low and right side of the page. its name is "wemakeprice"
[test] rotation speed of banner image :
link
Maximum number of ad units per page? AdSense allows three, so I don't think that limiting it to five ad units (per maybee's suggestion) is too much to ask for.
for adsense I agree with you. the ad unit of the ad might be enough to be displayed. althouth there are more than 3 ad units with great layout or in its small size or very good ads
it doesn't affect on using contents.
So I think its limit is 5 ad unit. it is important to consider the level of disturbance of using contents than limiting number of it. I think proper number is
3~5 ad unit.
about full-page ads or in-video ads
actually 'annoying' and 'intrusive' is Abstract concept. So I would like to find a shape.
- disturbing to access or Navigate contents on a website.
- blocking the flow of reading content due to covering or being located in the middle of contents.
- Spreading attention due to the number of too many ads.
1. full-page ads
this should be blocked completely. because it clearly disturbes to access or Navigate contents on a website.
a wbsite determines an order that users will view ads and contents. only after viewing ads Users can access to contents.
2. in-video ads
when users usually can't control ads they feel frustrated. the level of intrusion or annoying is determied by its location on timelin.
timeline
intro ad ----------------------- overlay ad ---------------------------ending ad
- intro ad : blocking with reserve. because it disturbes to access or Navigate contents on a website. if there is a ad-skip button it might be allowed.
- overlay ad : it must be blocked.
- ending ad : good! because users can use contents or video without distrubing. and users can decide to view video ads. it can be allowed.