Sensible Ad Block
Hey there,
So I typically don't use ad block. I enjoy a lot of the internet and 99% of it comes free to me (outside of my ISP charges, but that doesn't go to my favorite websites anyway). Recently I was reading an article, however, of which the administraters decided would be best presented with ads that nearly made me epileptic. So I downloaded ad-block.
But I wish there was an option to sensibly ad block, not completely remove all ads, but just trim it. If we want to argue the morality of whether or not the content providers deserve any ad revenue from their content then that is best done somewhere else. My only question is whether it is possible to make people like me, who aren't opposed to ads but don't want sensory overload, feel more comfortable using this product. Maybe only showing 10% of the total page's ads (selected at random) or something similar?
Thanks!
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Support Staff 1 Posted by Neelfyn on 05 Nov, 2014 05:40 PM
Hi Dave,
Thank you for the suggestion! We are looking into ways of implementing something like this.
Currently, other than whitelisting websites they want to support, some of our users set AdBlock to display ads everywhere except on certain sites that they consider having particularly obnoxious ads. This can be done by going to AdBlock button > Options > Customize > Show ads everywhere except for these domains…
Neelfyn closed this discussion on 05 Nov, 2014 05:40 PM.
Dave re-opened this discussion on 05 Nov, 2014 06:56 PM
2 Posted by Dave on 05 Nov, 2014 06:56 PM
Those are nice ideas but they ignore the cause of the discomfort. I see the whole system of online advertising to be entirely missing a system of reinforcement. Typically we're shotgunned at - as many advertisements as possible, each one trying to be more bombastic than the last in order to grab your attention. Because of our missing reinforcement system, that is absolutely the best method because it clearly works to provide the content to the end user - but ignores the cost to the user. This cost cannot be measured either because if a user doesn't like the ads on a website, they simply stop going. They get self-selected into "non-users" with the rest of the people that simply don't like the content, without being able to identify as content-users dismayed by intrusive advertising.
Adblock has a unique position to provide a tool to the consumer that allows ad reinforcement. By creating a "smart block" option, you give the tools to the consumer to say "I don't like ads that speak to me" or "I don't like popup ads, I prefer banner ads" or any other reinforcement. That signals back to the advertisers that suddenly are able to say "well every single ad of THIS type is blocked, but these aren't...."
This is incredible because it creates a partnership in the way the internet is used. Rather than being passive in the way we're force-fed the glut of advertisements, we can browse and select ads that are both appeasing to the senses and to our wants/needs. This essentially turns the entire internet into a focus group. Adblock (and the entire adblocking industry) can be a bridge between the two sides of the internet that are clearly at war with one another right now, rather than a weapon for one side against the other.
Advertisers clearly hate adblock, and so do content providers. But users hate ads, and right now it is a do-or-die commitment to one or the other. A smart-block option would provide an end to the tug-of-war that is "internet browsing"
Dave
3 Posted by bob loblaw on 23 Nov, 2014 02:02 AM
I am torn when it comes to this. I feel like obviously the site host/maintainer deserves compensation and ad revenue is certainly a common way. But now days advertisers pay based on click count. I can count on one hand the number of times I have (intentionally) clicked on an ad (aside from google ad search results). So blocking the ads 100% just makes it a better experience for me without decreasing my share of the revenue to the host which was zero even with ads showing. Same with skipping TV commercials. I was never going to buy anything from those advertisers anyway so it makes no difference to them if I watch their drivel or not.