I think all ads should be blocked. If billions in funding is going to be put to use it should go towards offsetting environmental impact and developing products that are actually better, instead of just convincing people to settle for a cute jingle

Isn’t ad blocking, as the industry magazine AdAge has called it, “robbery, plain and simple”?

Robbing corporations is based, though, actually.

The same reason why it is ok to not eat shit.

It’s not like these ads have any respect.

Still true a decade later.

Advertising should be illegal. It should be considered harassment.

If you want people to find your product then we need to log that in a public database site. If you want to find a product go there, nobody ever wants to find a product while driving or watching movies or existing in public.

It’s my network. I control what does or does not go through it.

Here’s why it’s okay to block ads in pretty simple terms:

Ads can contain ransomware; that is to say, a seemingly innocent ad can deliver a payload which will run on your computer, lock your files, and demand you pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars anonymously.

Now if you go to the website that served the ad and tell them, “I allowed ads on your site because I support your right to monetise your content, and now I have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars, will you help me pay that” or “will you pay that for me since your site served the ransomware,” you know what they will tell you, every single time, without fail? Whether they actually answer you, or more likely, just delete your email. They’re telling you that it’s your problem. That you should have secured your computer better.

So secure your computer better now. Block all the ads.

Getting a little more technical, use Firefox or a fork of it. Use Linux if you can. Use a Mac if you can’t. If you really must use Windows, know how to secure it. I use Windows 11 at work, I’d never use it at home, but I had a talk with the IT guy, and he let me do a few things to it. I know more than he does, but he’s the one with the job, so I told him what I’d do before I did it, I did exactly what I said I was going to do, nothing more nothing less, and I still think my home computer is more secure, but I’m a lot less worried about using the work machine. I think it’s wild that so many companies just use Windows. I’m not trying to hate on Windows. It’s good for gaming and it’s accessible. I’d love to see more companies roll their own *nix or just use Macs (which run macOS which is UNIX certified).

I used ad blocker but I cannot imagine a world without ads. What does discoverablity look like in a world without ads?

I think ads have the same issue as content recommendation algo, that being that they’re bad but useful.