I’m ambivalent about ad blockers:
– I understand why people use them—most ads have become nasty and obtrusive.
– There really aren’t many good alternatives to ads for content creators: People aren’t willing to pay for content but don’t like ads either.
@rauschma
I think calling them ads is fraudulent advertising.
If I want my name on a train, I can pay the owner of the train to put my name on it. That's an ad.
Or I can go to the rail yard at night with a spray can. That's called grafitti.
The two options are the same, except in one case I pay the owner of the train.
In my opinion, the same thing applies to the digital world. Those who pay the owner of my computer/monitor (i.e. me) are ads. The ones that don't are grafitti.
Hence I use a grafitti-blocker, and anyone who manages to bypass it can pay me.
@leeloo@rauschma Not a good metaphor if you ask me. Those who see the ad (or graffiti) on the trains aren't the train owners, they're people who didn't ask for anything and see the train pass by (and train spotters of course, they're not there for the ad either), or passengers at the train station before getting on the train.
Ad networks pay site owners to show ads to whoever "passes by"; they come for the content, and see the ads (more like billboards, that don't move, rather than trains though I'd say).
I do use a blocker because of abusive behaviors. I wouldn't mind less intrusive and more secure and privacy friendly ads.
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