Is Adblock Unethical?

[dragonslayer2k12]

Ads spread viruses and java exploits are everywhere. People will click on anything and certainly anything with a picture of a big butt or boobies on it. I get a lot of calls for removal of the usual ransomware that locks down the computer until they pay to release it kind of thing. This stuff reaches the highest point of activity in the winter usually around december and finally slows down again around march.

[Sync182]

AdBlock software is simply the electronic version of putting a No Junk Mail sign on your letterbox at home.

 

It's just filtering the crap.

[JimboUK]

It's about as unethical as muting your TV and going to get a beer during the commercials.

 

Honestly, that 's it in a nutshell ... I couldn't care a less how the ad company feels or about how many gazillions

they've spent on the ad or which social group they support.

Don't make your problem my problem, I'm also in business and the money we spend monthly on ads are very

wisely spent.

We only spend in our specific niche market and not scatter shot like a shotgun hoping to get a hit somewhere by

going to grey areas.

Too many companies hire lousey ad agencies who waste their money.

 

My philosophy is this; instead of spending more money and time looking for new customers, just try to sell more to

the existing ones, after all your foot is already in the door.

Or reinvent yourself like Kentucky Fried Chicken did.

 

Besides most ads are uninspired and boring.

 

If you look after existing customers not only will they come back but they'll also bring new ones with them, word of mouth is a very powerful medium.

[BlackBaron2]

It's not unethical. I don't need it here but I do need it on other sites, specifically if they have very invasive and/or loud ads. Loud auto-playing videos are so not my thing.

[tredmillion]

It's not unethical. I don't need it here but I do need it on other sites, specifically if they have very invasive and/or loud ads. Loud auto-playing videos are so not my thing.

 

oh god i hate them, i hate them SO. MUCH.

 

they just give me a vision of the future where you cant get rid of them too and you constantly have to filter out irritating adverts on the computer every site you go on :P

[JanusForbeare]

It's not unethical. I don't need it here but I do need it on other sites, specifically if they have very invasive and/or loud ads. Loud auto-playing videos are so not my thing.

 

oh god i hate them, i hate them SO. MUCH.

 

they just give me a vision of the future where you cant get rid of them too and you constantly have to filter out irritating adverts on the computer every site you go on :P

 

And then of course when you go to close them, you get a million pop-ups saying, "What? Don't you want to MAKE $200 BAJILLION EVERY NIGHT? How dumb are you? Click 'OK' to continue watching this great video!!!!1!!!".

 

Really makes me wish there was a way to track these advertisers back to whatever hole they hide out in. :wallbash:

[Dan3345]

There are some cases where I actually go out off my way to turn of ABP on chrome. For the reason that some sites I really like and the owners have promised never to allow intrusive ads and they need the money. A good example of this is Logan from Tek Syndicate. They need the money, they asked nicely, they don't put on ads that yell at me, and take control of the screen.

 

AS for the Nexus, I don't know anymore. Honestly I have had ABP on in some form or another for three years now, and I blocked the nexus ads a while ago because they didn't just come on the screen, they would have some voice that I couldn't mute. It got a bit annoying. :( I don't like taking money away from the nexus though as I do like these sites and want to keep them around. I guess I counter this by paying for premium service every so often. Should do it more though.

 

Anyways... In general yeah its always on for me and I think nothing of it.

[Korodic]

Here is my take:

 

Ad blocking is unethical in the way that some websites need it as a form of revenue.

 

However... ads may contain malware, or be completely annoying/intrusive in these following ways.

[1] sound - sound is a great way to grab attention, or make a user close a window instantly, block their ads, wake up people who are sleeping nearby, or ruin the song they were listening to. The "smiley" websites are notorious for this.

 

[2] expanding ads - These are ads that expand over the content you wanted to view, either by you mousing over it, scrolling down the page, or by doing nothing... By expanding over the content it is not only annoying, but extremely intrusive and a waste of time by making you interact with it usually to close it.

 

[3] pop ups - These are annoying for some of the very same reasons expanding ads are. They can sometimes open up multiple tabs/windows. Chrome once asked me if I wanted to open 16 tabs when i clicked a link. It was a very firm "no" btw.

 

[4] video ads (not in mid video) - So you ever gone on youtube and watched a video and an ad came up? That's not what I'm referring to. I'm talking about when you go on a webpage and it has a video just start playing. Well.... not only is it catching your attention because its in motion... but it can be annoying making you lose your focus, playing sound... etc.

 

So with all this in mind, you may find several types of these on a single web page... Ads do not make me want to buy a product, it makes me hate their product instantly. Not to mention that ads tend to take too much attention away from the content in general, it ruins the web viewing experience in many ways. Simply put, it is fair to block them, and in my eyes... ethical.

 

EDIT: lets not forget all the awkward porn ads that come w/ pop ups and what have you...

[Meeps]

Its okay to use Adblock because it really helps people with very slow internet connection on sites with heavy add content and some times it even make the site more usable if its overloaded with adds.

[Meeps]

Also when using mobile phones like i do some sites with huge adds makes them unreadable and the loading times are mostly way too long. If you are using data capped network and have Addblock enabled it will save some of your money when using it too.