Here’s The Thing With Ad Blockers

Sh1tbag OToole

We get it: Ads aren’t what you’re here for. But ads help us keep the lights on.

After seeing the above message one time too many, I decided to install an adblock-blocker-blocker and I'm already looking forward to the day that I need to install an adblock-blocker-blocker-blocker-blocker in order to make browsing a simple website tolerable.


I say bring back https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_%28protocol%29 , which is inherently ad-free yet a perfectly good means of transferring information over the interwebs but it doesn't leave creative hipsters free to create increasingly spiffy looking websites. Boards.ie can become a USENET group and we can all collectively troll the bejaysus out of anyone who tried to flog their wares on it



Not so terrible awful long ago most of the Almighty Gúg's ads were only text and somewhat tolerable. Then they changed their motto from 'Do no evil' to 'Do evil when there is a chance of increased profits'.



How have you been getting on with ads, blockers, and blocker-blockers. Which ones do you use?

The One Doctor

I need some of what you're smoking.

Fr_Dougal

Subscribe, you won't see any ads then.

A subscription to boards costs less than a pint a month.

whatawaster81

I'm on adblock plus, works a charm.

Turtyturd

But the ads aren't boards' fault, they're Google's.

Lights On

If I had an ad blocker I never would have met my Muslim wife.

Sh1tbag OToole

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Subscribe, you won't see any ads then.

A subscription to boards costs less than a pint a month.

But I only had one pint this month, don't want next month to be 0 pints

Graigmanliam

ublock origin is probably the best of them all. Because every single step of our web usage is being tracked, stacked, collected and monitored to sell ads to us (use our info to make profits for companies) I say use them until they cop themselves on.

hatrickpatrick

Ad companies have only themselves to blame.

Nobody minds ads which are simply a static part of the web page. The following are what piss people off enough to install blockers, and essentially violate a fundamental programmers principle of putting user friendliness first:

1: Ads which cause flash to start using an absolute sh!teload of CPU and spinning fans up for no legitimate reason
2: Ads which play sound. F*ck the people who add these to their websites, they're the absolute bane of anyone who listens to music while they're working.
3: Ads which expand to fill the whole screen after you've already had a few seconds to start reading it. That's just interrupting users and is exceedingly annoying - a good example of this is when you look up song lyrics, and after a few seconds "GET THIS ON YOUR PHONE" rolls across the screen and obscures what you were reading.
4: App spam. Your website has a perfectly usable mobile site. Disk space on my phone is a valuable resource and I'm not going to waste it installing an entirely redundant alternative to just using the f*cking web browser.
5: Related to the above - app hijacking. When a website forces you to switch to the App Store to look at its app, or forces you to switch to the company's app (YouTube and Google Maps, f*ck yourselves) - especially for people with older phones that aren't that fast, this is a right pain in the hole.
6: Click - to - popup. Most file sharing and streaming video sites use this technique which was invented by Megaupload - clicking anywhere on the page opens several popups the first time you do it, instead of actually performing whatever action was supposed to be performed by you clicking on what you clicked on.

If developers would stay away from these toxic forms of advertising, adblock would die a death overnight. I never installed it before autoplay sound in particular became so endemic.

DareGod

I'm using the most popular ad blocker for Chrome and for the past couple of months it has gone from being 100% effective to being maybe 70% effective only. I don't know what changed. I keep it updated.

Anyway it's not the ads on reputable sites that I mind, it's the crazy barrage of nonsense popups that gets shoved in your face and threatens to destroy your computer and entire life when you end up on those less than reputable sites every once in a while that I'm trying to block.

Fr_Dougal

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

But I only had one pint this month, don't want next month to be 0 pints

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057563256

Senna

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Subscribe, you won't see any ads then.

A subscription to boards costs less than a pint a month.

You still see adverts on the mobile site, which I'm on 90% of the time.

Sh1tbag OToole

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057563256

I remember that thread

Liberosis

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

3: Ads which expand to fill the whole screen after you've already had a few seconds to start reading it.

I cannot put into words how much I hate those. Piss off and let me read the webpage in peace!!!

Bongalongherb

I use AdBlock Edge for firefox and don't get any adds at all, no adds on youtube or anywhere. It works great just like it always has for years.

circadian

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

Ad companies have only themselves to blame.

Nobody minds ads which are simply a static part of the web page. The following are what piss people off enough to install blockers, and essentially violate a fundamental programmers principle of putting user friendliness first:

1: Ads which cause flash to start using an absolute sh!teload of CPU and spinning fans up for no legitimate reason
2: Ads which play sound. F*ck the people who add these to their websites, they're the absolute bane of anyone who listens to music while they're working.
3: Ads which expand to fill the whole screen after you've already had a few seconds to start reading it. That's just interrupting users and is exceedingly annoying - a good example of this is when you look up song lyrics, and after a few seconds "GET THIS ON YOUR PHONE" rolls across the screen and obscures what you were reading.
4: App spam. Your website has a perfectly usable mobile site. Disk space on my phone is a valuable resource and I'm not going to waste it installing an entirely redundant alternative to just using the f*cking web browser.
5: Related to the above - app hijacking. When a website forces you to switch to the App Store to look at its app, or forces you to switch to the company's app (YouTube and Google Maps, f*ck yourselves) - especially for people with older phones that aren't that fast, this is a right pain in the hole.
6: Click - to - popup. Most file sharing and streaming video sites use this technique which was invented by Megaupload - clicking anywhere on the page opens several popups the first time you do it, instead of actually performing whatever action was supposed to be performed by you clicking on what you clicked on.

If developers would stay away from these toxic forms of advertising, adblock would die a death overnight. I never installed it before autoplay sound in particular became so endemic.

This and don't forget the "you won't believe what happens next!" Clickbait.

I browsed the net recently without adblock. Terrible experience.

Sh1tbag OToole

Does anyone remember searching for "WaReZ" in the early 2000's? 10s of popups, pages plastered with ads, click on about 5 or 6 "download" links only to get back to be sent around in a loop back to the same site you started on?

Diabhal Beag

The Chrome Adblock is one of the greatest inventions of all time.

andekwarhola

Chrome UBlockOrigin and Ghostery extensions.

Flaccus

If your on Safari, Adguard which uses the new content blocker API is very effective. Especially good at blocking ad blocker blockers. Even blocks that awful MacKeeper site which I consider malware.

Forbes forced users to disable their ad blockers and then let malware infected ads to show.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3021113/security/forbes-malware-ad-blocker-advertisements.html

I have zero faith in that company boards.ie uses to be able to catch bad ads.

The Randy Riverbeast

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Forbes forced users to disable their ad blockers and then let malware infected ads to show.

http://www.networkworld.com/article/3021113/security/forbes-malware-ad-blocker-advertisements.html

I have zero faith in that company boards.ie uses to be able to catch bad ads.

There was a situations a few weeks ago where the company that's meant to provide safe ads allowed malware through to boards. I made sure the option to allow pre approved ads was turned off after that.

bur

I will normally turn it off for sites that ask me to and as long as the ads then aren't obnoxiously placed(sorry boards.ie).

Alf Stewart.

Ya wouldn't download a handbag.

Discodog

The "your phone is infected scan now" ads are the worse. Even responsible apps seem to have them.

charlietheminxx

The touch site is what I use most frequently and the ads drive me bonkers. I don't want to go to a Dylan McGrath restaurant... Stop taking me away from the thread I am reading to the fecking ad when I haven't touched anywhere near it!

Del2005

DareGod wrote: »

I'm using the most popular ad blocker for Chrome and for the past couple of months it has gone from being 100% effective to being maybe 70% effective only. I don't know what changed. I keep it updated.

The ad block companies discovered that they could make money by allowing advertiser's to pay to get through their ad block software.

Samaris

I don't use adblocks at all, I admit. I figure the site needs a certain amount of people viewing to be able to keep the lights on indeed.

But any site that uses any of the things hatrickpatrick mentioned, I leave that site and don't return.

Infini

I've used ad-blocks as standard after the iframe ad exploit was used to install keyloggers back in 2007ish. Alot of people got hit by account jackings over that on several games until the introduction of 1time password fob keys. Fact is I wont allow ads to be displayed period because you don't know if they'll be clean or a malware injection.

The Moldy Gowl

I don't get any ads on touch boards.

I have subscribed twice but even then, never had ads. Maybe I'm just lucky?

I only noticed when I saw someone else's boards and was like wtf are those. Same if I'm logged out and browsing.

mass_debater

Pihole folks, it's a pretty easy thing to setup with a raspberry pi that blocks all ads on your network. Doesn't just block them, stops them downloading completely saving bandwidth and delivers a blank page from a local server so your page load times get faster. Works on all platforms, Windows, Android, iOS by blocking them at the router.

https://pi-hole.net/

pickarooney

I'm getting stupid Google sponsored ads in searches now when I never was before on Android Browser. Adblock is going downhill.

puckmymuskie

I use adguard and privacy badger for chrome. They work perfectly and don't pass on your data like most other adblocking software

BlibBlab

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

2: Ads which play sound. F*ck the people who add these to their websites, they're the absolute bane of anyone who listens to music while they're working.

To add to this, sites that play videos, usually news sites. Especially annoying when you've a few tabs open and don't know where it's coming from.

Web design has gone downhill lately, even the BBC have a big popup that takes up a third of the screen telling you the latest news story as soon as you click into the story you actually want to read.

For Forks Sake

BlibBlab wrote: »

To add to this, sites that play videos, usually news sites. Especially annoying when you've a few tabs open and don't know where it's coming from.

If you're using Chrome, a little speaker icon appears on the tab that the video is playing in.