I am just used to forums beings free. I guess we've just grown too big... time to weed out anyone who didn't register before 2010!
There's no reason that that couldn't be done short of it being even more unethical than simply stripping out all ads is. If the ad code is stripped out completely, that traffic just doesn't exist for the advertising providers so the loss only occurs on the side of the website. But if the ads were only hidden, any campaigns that pay per impression would still pay for those page loads, but the advertising providers would effectively be paying for fraudulent traffic, which would also be throwing off the actual click-through rate. Not that I believe that the authors of AdBlock would have any moral qualms about that, it's likely simply because they viewed it as a potential (legal) threat or problem that was easy to avoid. Advertising providers as a rule do everything they can to make sure that they're only paying for legitimate traffic, so something like that wouldn't go down well with them and Google by extension -- and Google's reach is pretty much all-encompassing.
Ah yes, ethics. Indeed, the first list items that spring to mind when I think of ethics are businessmen, corporations, and advert firms, with politicians and car salesmen hot on their heels.
Here, let me have a look at these ads being served up here on the Codex by reputable, upstanding pillars of the community who, I'm sure, are themselves exemplars of ethical conduct. Featuring such classics as:
A shady, likely unaccredited, for-profit online university billing itself as the cat's meow....
INSURANCE COMPANIES HOPE YOU DON'T KNOW THIS EASY TRICK! leading to a hastily designed, fly-by-nite site, most likely a scam....
The ads aren't changing now when I refresh, so that's all I've got. I've never in my life clicked on an Internet advertisement except to investigate it for reasons along these same lines, let alone purchased any product or service as a result. In fact, the more ads I see, the more that company annoys me, and the less likely I am to buy their product. If it's something I want or need, I'll find out about it by seeking it out, or by word of mouth. If not, I definitely don't need it, and I almost certainly don't want it.
People don't only block ads because they're ugly, but also because they don't want all the borderline malware today's ads come with running on their systems. That's why I think "run, but hide" blocking isn't popular.
However, we're not asking anyone to click on any ads if they don't want to, merely to let them load and merrily ignore them. That's really not asking much.
You're not getting any malware from any of the standard banners these days. You're more likely to get infected by visiting a site that's been hacked or otherwise exploited than through an ad, really. This at least has cleared up significantly in the last few years from what I've seen.
However, we're not asking anyone to click on any ads if they don't want to, merely to let them load and merrily ignore them. That's really not asking much.
Asking me to watch flashy, annoying bullshit is asking a lot. That's why I appreciate the Codex's Patron status. I don't mind supporting the site, and I try to be understanding that DU can't afford the hosting and bandwidth costs for a single niche Internet forum while he saves up to finally move out of his mom's house. I will pay not to see ads and commercials, even though I personally feel that people should be able to block or opt out of ads and commercials pretty much at will.
Whenever I need to deposit more judengilde into the Codex coffers, something always comes up to make me hesitate. Last time, DU was in the midst of a highly entertaining abuse-of-power spree (which I approve of in principle, for what it's worth) in which he redirected GD to RPG Watch and banned a bunch of people who said things he didn't like. I became convinced that the banished accounts were ultimately ousted for shitposting rather than for being DU's ideological enemies, so that was all right. I'm intensely anti-censorship.
This time, I'm simply annoyed by the obnoxiousness of huge ads smack in the middle of forum indices. I'll probably deposit judengild anyway. I just wanted to complain.
You're not getting any malware from any of the standard banners these days. You're more likely to get infected by visiting a site that's been hacked or otherwise exploited than through an ad, really. This at least has cleared up significantly in the last few years from what I've seen.
In fairness, not too long after our family first got dial-up in 1993 (mid- to late-1990s? early 2000s?), ads and pop-ups were a HUGE problem. There'd be banners and windows popping up all over the place, and not just from visiting porn sites or Russian mail-order bride listings, either. Those memories are hazy, though.
So help me Taluntain, this had better be sorted before 2019.
Banners trigger my PTSD.
2019 sounds a lot like distant future right now.
I just hate how the whole thing works. I click on some stupid product somebody sends me a link to as a joke or something, and then I'm getting spammed with ads for it. Or I'm shopping for a product and decide not to get it and am getting spammed with ads for it all the time. Shit is annoying as hell. It's intrusive imo. Like a stalker watching you constantly and keeping track of everything you do. It's the same with youtube. Someone posts a link to a video making fun of something crazy, then I'm getting recommended videos on that stupid topic. It just doesn't make any sense, and they aren't providing a better service imo.People don't only block ads because they're ugly, but also because they don't want all the borderline malware today's ads come with running on their systems. That's why I think "run, but hide" blocking isn't popular.
Why would I move out? I love my mum.I don't mind supporting the site, and I try to be understanding that DU can't afford the hosting and bandwidth costs for a single niche Internet forum while he saves up to finally move out of his mom's house.
Why don't you love your mum Blaine? Tell me that.
just noticed I have 643 potato. Thats almost 7 years ad-free, in addtion to my current ad-free status expiring only in 2020. I'm on the safe side.
So help me Taluntain, this had better be sorted before 2019.
Banners trigger my PTSD.