Adblocker plus is theft

Nate--IRL-- · 2 May 2011 at 21:31

fidget said:
PC Paid for - Check
Internet access paid for - Check
Content on the internet paid for - erm...

What if I turn off all pictures when browsing with my phone, is that stealing too?

Nate

Dave M · 2 May 2011 at 21:35

Nate--IRL-- said:
What if I turn off all pictures when browsing with my phone, is that stealing too?

Nate

It's not stealing in either case, but in your example it would be up to the advertiser to cater for text only browsing (if for nothing else than the disabled accessibility issue).

Theft and stealing are as relevant here as in piracy debates, emotionally charged words that just make the issue a joke.

It's about personal responsibility and putting back into something you take enjoyment from. Some people may stand enjoying a good street musician for some time, then just walk off - their choice but many people will think worse of them for it.

It's probably not the only thing people do in the privacy of their room that people would think less of them for

flibbage0 · 2 May 2011 at 21:38

Alex74 said:
TotalBiscuit, was posted on page 2 of this thread

Ok cheers.

Never heard of this person before.

Nate--IRL-- · 2 May 2011 at 21:43

Telescopi said:
It's about personal responsibility and putting back into something you take enjoyment from. Some people may stand enjoying a good street musician for some time, then just walk off - their choice but many people will think worse of them for it.

Actually I think the Street musician is a good analogy. The recipient is under no obligations but can do the decent thing if they want.

I don't think any street musician is going to scream "Thief" down the street at you

Nate

Koalaboy · 2 May 2011 at 21:46

Telescopi said:
Just like those riots in bristol recently, they may like to think they were sticking it to the man but it was the private individuals and small shops that got their business disrupted and property destroyed. Tesco didn't care.

Worst comparison yet.

It's about being in control of the content that you view. Nothing to do with 'the man' or anything else.

People are free (and not in any way socially irresponsible) to block adverts, just as site owners are free to deny anybody access or require payment for access.

If you put content up for public consumption without any initial payment requirement, you have no line to complain that people choose not to view some of it (specifically the adverts in this case).

Edit: I guess the question is (and the same for the musician): are they providing content because they have passion and would be greatful for some funds on the side, or are they just trying to make money ?

In the first instance, they'll carry on even if they have to fund it themselves... because they love doing it.. and chances are they would be fine with a 'donate' button instead.

In the second, why should we care ?

Glaucus · 2 May 2011 at 21:46

Nate--IRL-- said:
Actually I think the Street musician is a good analogy. The recipient is under no obligations but can do the decent thing if they want.

I don't think any street musician is going to scream "Thief" down the street at you

Nate

And other than a couple of random people, no one is for advert blocking either.
However if the trend continues they will have to think of something else, which will more than likely be far more intrusive than a few adverts on your porifale vision that are hamelss in most cases.

Fenris · 2 May 2011 at 21:50

I use adblock because adds are invasive, impersonal and disruptive.

If I'm watching an SC2 stream on UStream, I don't particularly want to have to close a google add ever 5 seconds that takes up a large portion of the screen, or close pop ups that make noise or automatic video adds that you have to mute manually and resets every time to refresh the page so you have to do it again (this is on a popular manga site).

If the adds don't get in the way of what I want to do then fine, I'm happy for them to be there, they are just background noise that I can happily ignore, it's the point at which they start to require interaction to stop them disrupting whatever I'm doing online that I think AdBlock is a requirement.

Oh and if it's TotalBiscuit you can ignore him, he whines about everything like it's trying to personally ruin him.

flibbage0 · 2 May 2011 at 21:53

Well on youtube, you have dozens of youtubers earning $100k+ from just posting up videos.

Youtube was changed from the star rating to the thumbs up to save money.

Apparently it was something like $1 per rating.

More and more people are earning money from making videos and uploading them, that they have to put more ads in unfortunately.

Dave M · 2 May 2011 at 21:57

Koalaboy said:
Worst comparison yet.

It's about being in control of the content that you view. Nothing to do with 'the man' or anything else.

The comparison is nothing to do with the reasoning, just the effect. Little people will get hurt, big corporations will find new ways to abuse you.

Rotty · 2 May 2011 at 22:00

AcidHell2 said:
I can't see it being to long until tv goes though such a transformation, with +boxes becoming standard. Probably scrolling adverts on screen permanently.
At that point everyone will complain, but all they can do is blame themselves.

.

it's already in the pipeline that you won't be able to FF past the ads on recorded programs soon

Glaucus · 2 May 2011 at 22:04

Rotty said:
it's already in the pipeline that you won't be able to FF past the ads on recorded programs soon

Well there we go and I would put money on the people who use things like add blockers being the most vocal about the abuse of their personal rights and how dare they.

guyfawkes5 · 2 May 2011 at 22:06

toon_mad said:
Whatever happend to unlimited bandwidth? 7 years ago or so you could get unlimited internet, truly unlimited, no throttling, no charges for going over or anything, one monthly fee for unlimited usage.

Sky offer that. As in an 'unlimited bandwidth (as far as your cable allows) and unlimited downloads' without any 'fair usage' policy.

Pixel · 2 May 2011 at 22:08

I use an adblocker.

There have been many occasions in which ads have become compromised and then used to distribute viruses. This has happened on big-name sites in the past, and will continue to happen as long as they use 3rd party advertising providers who don't secure their service correctly.

flibbage0 · 2 May 2011 at 22:17

I can see how parents can justify using adblocker because of the ads about webcam girls or FHM.

You don't really want a 5 year old to see that.

RomanNose · 2 May 2011 at 22:25

guyfawkes5 said:
Sky offer that. As in an 'unlimited bandwidth (as far as your cable allows) and unlimited downloads' without any 'fair usage' policy.

Again the real answer is that our back bone stinks and exchanges are full, we need to sort this out soon. What is the point of getting fast speeds when we get capped at ever decreasing levels. Pretty much anyone on most providers will and can get capped, this is not a joke as we will be the laughing stock of the developed world at this rate.

Nate--IRL-- · 2 May 2011 at 22:26

flibbage0 said:
I can see how parents can justify using adblocker because of the ads about webcam girls or FHM.

You don't really want a 5 year old to see that.

Thats another good point, advertising on the Internet is unregulated.

Nate

Dr Who · 2 May 2011 at 22:26

flibbage0 said:
Ok cheers.

Never heard of this person before.

I only left his details out of the original post as he invokes such revulsion from some people.

I wanted it to be about the issue not him.

He posts some real doozies.

FutileBreadMachine · 2 May 2011 at 22:31

LOL, a thread about TotalBiscuit on GD. How strange. I watch his SC2 commentaries sometimes.

I do feel a bit bad sometimes about using Adblocker when I watch SC2 streams on youtube/justintv/ustream since the player/commentator gets their money from the ads and if I am blocking the ads I am not supporting them and basically they are giving something and getting nothing back.

Dr Who · 2 May 2011 at 22:35

RationalGaze said:
LOL, a thread about TotalBiscuit on GD. How strange. I watch his SC2 commentaries sometimes.

Adblocker does not block any funding of TB on Youtube etc, he gets paid based on thumbs up or down. (which I click on every video I watch to ensure credit payments).

Adblocker blocks only know tiled ads or other ads you choose to block individually. I never ad any sites to adblocker, as I assume that those that havent been blanket blocked are at least appropriate to what I am watching, and not just random carp from an advertising corporation.

Adblocker does not block any ads on OCUK for example.

guyfawkes5 · 2 May 2011 at 22:36

chaosdestro0 said:
Again the real answer is that our back bone stinks and exchanges are full, we need to sort this out soon. What is the point of getting fast speeds when we get capped at ever decreasing levels. Pretty much anyone on most providers will and can get capped, this is not a joke as we will be the laughing stock of the developed world at this rate.

I don't know what you're getting at here. The only 'cap' I think of is the physical bandwidth of your cable.