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[Goro Majima]

Some websites often lockup on my iPhone 6 plus just because the ads are so demanding. Nothing worse than starting to read an article and then you can't scroll anymore because some shitty ad is trying to load which sometimes causes the browser to crash. Fuck that.

 

[werks]

Nilay and The Verge have to take a decent amount of blame for this. It's sites like theirs that served up obtrusive and bandwith/speed hogging ads without thinking about how it hurt the consumers experience. I'm sure most people would be fine seeing some ads for sites that they want to support but it felt like The Verge took advantage of that.

Also, fuck Nilay, the guy went on a fucking rant about how he was a rebel at heart and that he hated suits after one person made fun of his bracelet and now look at him. He's getting in Twitter arguments about why we're killing the web because we don't want to see his shitty ads.

That's not his argument, and as much as I dislike nilay, the OP and the argument being made in this thread is pretty slanted.

Nilays argument is that you will always see ads from big networks like his site. Because they have the time and money to move to things like Apple news or create a verge app that can't be blocked. It's the smaller sites that only rely on the web to deliver content that will get screwed and shut down.

The other part of the argument is that Apple is doing this just to push people into their crappy iAds. Otherwise ad blocking would be available for every app.

 

[Junior Mint]

Last week before the content blockers I couldn't even get onto the Verge with my iPhone...Safari timed out saying there were way too many redirects. I've never seen that before.

That website is the absolute worst when it came to ad serving and tracking. I can't believe how much better the internet is on my mobile iOS devices now with Crystal. This was a long time coming.

Lol, I had the exact same thing in Chrome on my desktop. Just stopped visiting the site for that week.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Several websites come to a grinding halt with ad-block disabled. Neogaf is just bearable, often taking 10+ seconds to load and that's just a tiny ad on the top and bottom. Believe me, the internet would have died way sooner if ad-block wasn't a thing.

 

[captmcblack]

I never ran an adblocker, even on the dodgiest sites...but I know I should, specifically because of how shitty those ads are. They want people to not use them, they need to make them non-intrusive/non-autoplaying/non-script running/non-page takeover/non-page overlay deals.

It's really that simple. People don't want to work to view a page's information or read its content, and people don't want to wait to look at it, either. Work with the users, not against them.

 

[munchie64]

If they make ads 100% virus free, not annoying popups that block out part or the screen or autoplay audio, then I would never use adblock again.

Fully agree with this line. Even Neogaf sometimes has audio ads, though I appreciate the quashing of those as they come up.

 

[ZeroX03]

What would you suggest for The Verge? An online shop with chunky bracelets with FUCK THE SUITS hand-embossed on the inner strap?

Create anything worth paying for with the tools you've got.

So I guess in The Verge's case they're fucked short of a spiked bracelet revival.

 

[Lunar15]

Y'know, I really don't know where I fall. People are saying "oh, just turn off the ad blockers and pay for our website", but at the same time, doesn't that just prove how ineffective online advertising is? You're asking people who actively don't look at ads to just turn them on. That proves how useless the impression based ad model is.

Look, even if people had never adopted ad blockers, the internet would still be moving in the same direction. click thru rates and conversion rates have been dropping steadily even though the people who are most likely to not click have abandoned their impressions through ad blockers.

Point is, this was going to happen no mater what. Ads were always going to get more intrusive as people learned to ignore them. The fact that they adopted such an aggressive impression model to start and inflated the rates by using cheap tactics like bots and straight up lying cause the internet to get inflated and more websites than could be afforded were created. Now that bubble is popping.

They can blame ad blockers all they want, but this was inevitable. There's so much fucking redundancy on the internet. You have hundreds of so called news websites that just regurgitating other people's articles. If anyone couldn't see that as a bubble, I feel bad from them.

 

[werks]

If they move to apps, they are likely to use the Google ad platform. If they move to apps, they lose the probably 70%+ of users that are browsing without an ad block system running. Android and Chrome have a larger market share and also allows ad blocking, and it hasn't moved the market in any way. What makes you think it would change now?

Rooted android has Adblock, just like jail broken iOS always had ad block.

 

[McHuj]

If true, it's self inflicted.

 

[LeleSocho]

If the ad on your website either takes up at least a quarter of the screen, destroys a limited data cap, is a pop up or is not 100% safe then it deserves to be blocked until the end of time.

Also this is Nilay we are talking about.

 

[FartOfWar]

" What you want is the content, hot sticky content, snaking its way around your body and mainlining itself directly into your brain."

I'd rather read ads than another line of this trash.

 

[Valtýr]

This seems like another case of "consumers decide with their wallet" and in this case they've decided they don't want ads. In my opinion it's the responsibility of the company to adapt to the wills of the consumer, not the other way around. If they are unable to find a way to make money in the current model, they do not deserve to exist.

 

[Zoe]

I finally started using an ad blocker on my home PC (maybe 10% of total browsing) because news sites have taken it too far. It didn't help matters that the one time I clicked on a relevant ad, I ended up with cryptolocker.

 

[Sean]

Mobile ads have gotten ridiculous with all of the full-page takeovers, redirects, popups and whatnot. It's about time we're able to block them. The publishers did this to themselves.

I took this before-and-after screenshot of The Verge without adblock (left) and with adblock (right). Without adblock you can't even read the homepage at all.

 

[richiek]

Unskippable ads that play before YouTube videos are the worst. It's the main reason I have adblocking software installed.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Can someone explain to me why all of these large websites just don't host the damn ads themselves, therefore having complete control of the experience and making them unblockable? It makes no sense to me why they don't do this. Lots of podcasters run ads the traditional radio way and make money fine it seems. Why can't these websites sell ad space on their own servers in like weekly chunks?

 

[entremet]

So does this mean we are allowed to use ad blockers on neogaf?

You act like this site some sort of dictatorship that extends to your personal PC use.

A person was banned for outright bragging about it and in a rubbing it in. Not necessarily for using it. Ads on GAF are not really that obstructive anyway.

 

[Fliesen]

Unfortunately does that not push everything towards a subscription model?

i think people who listen to the Bombcast listen to the non-premium one intentionally, to GET the ads.
an ad isn't inherently a bad thing. If the ad doesn't negatively effect the user experience and isn't too creepy about personal data, that is.
I don't mind Youtubers telling me about Squarespace for 30 seconds before / after each video.
I really don't - i don't get thrown into the app-store to download some dating app, my personal data isn't being snooped, and i could just skip it.

Can someone explain to me why all of these large websites just don't host the damn ads themselves, therefore having complete control of the experience and making them unblockable? It makes no sense to me why they don't do this. Lots of podcasters run ads the traditional radio way and make money fine it seems. Why can't these websites sell ad space on their own servers in like weekly chunks?

i think selling and managing ad-space is a tough job. They already do that for the huge banners and "site-backgrounds" when some new Triple-A game or movie comes out, but i think it's much more cost effective to outsource the smaller stuff to ad providers.

 

[LegendofJoe]

I wouldn't use ad-blocker if ads weren't a huge bandwidth drain. Surfing websites with ad-blocker on and with it off is a day and night difference in the loading speed. I can't stand having to wait substantially longer for a page to load completely because of poorly coded, obtrusive advertisements.

 

[Regiruler]

If you blast me with autoplay videos of a hentai game or slide full page ads over what I'm reading, you bet I'll add-block your ass.

I have no problem with banners or even ads on Youtube or Twitch.

What exactly are you doing with your computer on a day to day basis?

 

[Lunar15]

Unskippable ads that play before YouTube videos are the worst. It's the main reason I have adblocking software installed.

Get ready to see more of this. These are the most effective ad units in terms of click through rates. Everyone in the industry is abandoning standard banners for video, that's why you've started to see some news websites start putting auto play video at the top of an article.

 

[Plinko]

If they make ads 100% virus free, not annoying popups that block out part or the screen or autoplay audio, then I would never use adblock again.

This, plus I'll add if they guaranteed to NSFW ads (like that ridiculous Game of War ad that shows up every time I use my iPad). I'm so tired of getting hijacked to the app store on numerous sites because of ads.

 

[Piston Hyundai]

So does this mean we are allowed to use ad blockers on neogaf?

You're always allowed. Being shitty about it is what'll get you banned.

 

[zer0das]

Even on sites that I feel are responsible with their ads, whatever service that is in charge of them usually isn't. So the sites have to constantly deal with the terrible ads, which show up frequently.

 

[Stat Flow]

"You wouldn't download a car."

You wouldn't download an article...oh wait *goes to Pocket*

 

[DrFunk]

Stop making full page, screen darkening, loud-ass audio playing, virus-filled ads and maybe I'd have more sympathy for advertisers.

Also, Nilay

 

[Corronchilejano]

I don't use adblock, and I just avoid websites with annoying ads. I've no problem letting some ads run on youtube when I'm done watching a video, and sometimes when it begins I just take a bathroom break, like I did when commercials where on TV.

That said, they could be less intrusive. Whenever a website places an ad in my face and blacks out the rest of the screen I get nauseated.

 

[brotkasten]

wonder when they'll write about script blockers? Isn't the verge one of those sites that have a huge footprint?

It's pretty big, yes.

http://blog.lmorchard.com/2015/07/22/the-verge-web-sucks/

 

[Frith]

If they make ads 100% virus free, not annoying popups that block out part or the screen or autoplay audio, then I would never use adblock again.

maybe someone should make an adblocker that is itself an ad network but every ad has to follow strict guidelines to get on. everything that isn't approved by the user is shut out like a normal blocker but sites that detect it can serve up light static adds through the users chosen path.
for sites: if you want money from all these blocking peoples clicks you have to serve adds that fit rules they set.
for advertisers: if you want to access this tech savvy customer you have to not upset them.

i wonder if anyone could ever be trusted to oversee such a thing.

 

[Greddleok]

If they make ads 100% virus free, not annoying popups that block out part or the screen or autoplay audio, then I would never use adblock again.

Boom. This. Fuck those ads that pop up and cover the page. Fuck those ads that play automatically. Fuck those ads that move when you scroll and prevent you from reading what's under them.

 

[Opiate]

The Internet ad business is only increasing in size and revenue every single year. It's a booming market...

Yes, this is my issue with the argument.

I don't think the argument is conceptually unreasonable. Yes, it's possible for ad block to suffocate revenue and make it difficult for the internet to grow.

But that's not happening. It may be happening for his particular site, but not on a large scale.

 

[anonymous_abc]

The publishers did this to themselves.

My sentiment exactly, the genie is out of the bottle now.

 

[ClosingADoor]

I think the browser just blocking certain types of ads by default is a better way then this 'block it all' stuff.

We saw popups disappearing pretty quick on most websites. And just this year, every ad agency moved from flash to HTML5 as soon as Chrome made that change with ads.

It just seems unfair to have the smaller publisher pay the price here, even if they only run a normal banner ad on top of the page or some small commercial in front of their video content.

And I also can't get over these ad blockers earning money from it. That just seems wrong. And that Adblock Plus is basically being bribed to let through certain ads seems like extortion to me.

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Find better ways to advertise than pop-up ads, it's that simple.

maybe someone should make an adblocker that is itself an ad network but every ad has to follow strict guidelines to get on. everything that isn't approved by the user is shut out like a normal blocker but sites that detect it can serve up light static adds through the users chosen path.
for sites: if you want money from all these blocking peoples clicks you have to serve adds that fit rules they set.
for advertisers: if you want to access this tech savvy customer you have to not upset them.

i wonder if anyone could ever be trusted to oversee such a thing.

I could support this approach.

 

[Wilsongt]

You can only look at Game of Wars tits for so long before it gets old.

Having a giant ad pop up on your phone and you can't find the x is awful. As are those ads that redirect you to the app store. Make them less intrusive and commanding of the device and people won't care so much.

 

[Shuggananas]

Lol no it's not bro.

 

[ameratsu]

I read a lot of long-form journalism online, and I support a model where I can easily give an author money directly if I enjoyed reading their work. As it stands, I read a lot of in RSS and authors are pretty obviously getting nothing from my content consumption.

Ideally, the payment platform that allowed you to "tip" authors or other content creators would be free of tracking elements that make me use plugins like Ghostery in the first place.

 

[oti]

Burn it all down.
Build it all up again with a better revenue model.

I like how the Verge didn't even mention ad block in their iOS 9 review.

 

[User 100115]

Oh, and I'll add that as someone with a slow internet connection, the page loading several times, with 90% of that loading being ads, is annoying as fuck and I am not going to wait 20 minutes for your shit to load when I can find something better elsewhere.

Also, list sites that make you load a page for every.single.item. You're funny, but you're not that funny. My internet is choking, be kind.

For some reason, facebook videos load SLOW AS FUCK compared to youtube videos, as well. I can wait like a damned hour for a facebook video to load, or search the title on youtube if I am really interested and load it 90x times faster.

/rant about shitty internets

 

[Messypandas]

Why ad blockers are killing the internet, in a 30 page slideshow.

 

[Your Entertainer]

No matter what his article says, ads have gotten out of control in their demands on resources and attention. Pop-ups, redirects, taking up a majority of the view, and tremendous uses of bandwidth. That needs to be reigned in, period.

Ironic that the verge itself is horrible for this.

 

[Kyuur]

I don't disagree. Blocking ads is not unlike pirating software because they only accept X payment platform, which collects your information and is notoriously slow. Just because you're inconvenienced doesn't mean you are free (legally and morally) to acquire and use that software.

In fact, I would argue that using ad blockers can make ads worse: sites will have to use more ads or more apparent ads to make up for the visitors blocking. If people just stopped going, they would be forced instead to make their ads less intrusive to get people back. There is whitelisting, but the portion of people using adblock who actually consciously will whitelist good sites is slim.

 

[DarkKyo]

I wouldn't mind seeing ads here and there, but ad blockers mostly exist to ignore super annoying shit adds that use up too much bandwidth, take up too much time, or do something invasive to your computer. Weren't ad blockers originally invented to stop pop-up ads?

 

[Siegcram]

What exactly are you doing with your computer on a day to day basis?

I got NSFW browser game ads with autoplay audio when visting normal gaming sites and forums. Wasn't even browsing for porn.

 

[Foggy]

To a certain degree, it's a tough business model. But appealing to your users that they need to do something that isn't in their best interest just so you can generate more revenue...well, maybe it just felt good for him to get it off his chest.

 

[marrec]

What a stupidly hyperbolic article. The internet isn't going to die because people block ads. Even if all ad revenue dried up completely tomorrow the internet wouldn't die.

Content creators will move to different forms of revenue generation. As long as the content is worthy people will pay for it, one way or another, as shown by the transition that the record industry made from CDs to Piracy to iTunes to Spotify.

In reality the article sounds like something you'd hear from the RIAA in the mid nineties when they were desperately trying to hold onto an antiquated system of content delivery. Patreon and Kickstarter are the first in a new wave of possibilities for supporting content creators and also proof positive that Ads aren't 100% necessary.

Get with the times Verge.

 

[Wilsongt]

Also , ad blocker blocks those silly 30s ads that pop up on less than 30s youtube videos...

 

[eznark]

Come up with a revenue generating model that doesn't infuriate your audience. Someone will, and it won't be the people crying over "media piracy."

 

[Lunar15]

The Internet ad business is only increasing in size and revenue every single year. It's a booming market...

You're right and you're wrong. It's not necessarily booming for everyone, it's changing.

People who focused on display advertising are failing. People who focused on video are just finishing a big wave. People who focused on mobile are hitting the big time right now. People who are focusing on paid content, "native advertising" as it is, are really the people who are about to blow up.

End of the day, if you're a website that has no video and does not allow paid content, you're not going to last through 2016.

Advertisers will always be around. They can always sell their services one way or another. Websites, however, are not safe. That said, Ad Blocker isn't what's doing them in. It's the ineffective model of internet advertising that they were built around. Thousands of websites set up shop on a really shaky foundation, and now they're realizing it isn't permanent and are freaking out. Ad blocking has no real effect on that other than making it happen a tiny bit faster.