Adblock Plus will destroy "FREE" Content

Though this may sound bias because I own a website, I hate the adblock plus. It destroys what little revenue people make with websites. Content is freely available online because of ads that are on the websites. Some websites only put ads to pay for the servers. With softwares like adblock plus, you are destroying free online content. Do you think the Los Angeles Times, for instance, will tolerate that over half of their online viewers refuse to even view their ads? Of course not. It’s just a matter of time before another way to generate money is decided upon. Since it will likely be a sort of membership, all readers will pay dearly for those who were too foolish to support the current “all free” content access model.




Installing these types of software is so unsupportive to the webmaster that create and run websites for your viewing pleasure. Its not like webmasters make millions and billions of dollars like google or yahoo. Though I run this site due to entertainment issues, I don't know how long I can keep up before the servers start to cost into the $1000's. As you can see this site is growing at a tremendous pace and we are not some corporate mogul with financial backing. We are a private community that is completely free due to the ads placed on this site. Let me tell you and I'm being honest here that we only make around $3-4 a day from the ads.

I'm not saying that ads are not annoying, but they are a necessity to keep things "free" online.

So folks, if you want online content to be free forever, turn your ad blocks off when you surf the net. Most viruses are not due to ads but to installations and downloading of software. You can have spyware and adware installed which are completely free. I'm not only saying this for the good of the forum but for the whole internet all together. I am afraid that websites I visit daily will start asking for paid memberships to view content.

Yeah, you have a pretty valid point there, Lance. Someone should destroy AdBlock. I think that the bad things this program has to offer outweighs the good things. Really, ads aren't so bad.

Guys, keep clicking those ads! We need them more than you think.

Don't use the stuff.

I like ads like I like commercials.

Free shit rules, and hell, sometimes some of them are funny.

Unless you're trolling the more unsavory corners of the internet, the ads aren't that offensive and help pay for all its awesomeness :D

Usually you can turn the blocker on and off, it's just that simple :)

I never had a problem with the concept of adds as long as they follow a few guidelines. One no embedded adds that open up in the middle and cover vital information, 2 movie adds are a bit frustrating for me in particular because I am stuck with dial-up internet where I live, lastly pop under adds are frustrating as well. The adds I see on this site as of now are perfectly fine though. If you had to add more to cover the bills I wouldn't object either. Though less always look nicer. (this is a general statement not for this site in particular)

I must agree with you Lance. I only object to ads when they are used in ways that are overly annoying. I hate ads that pop up or pop under. I also hate the ads that talk to you, like, "CONGRATULATIONS YOU'VE JUST WON A NEW WII!!!!!!!"

But seriously, I don't mind ads. If I frequent a site often, I usually click three or four ads each visit to help generate revenue. I can't afford to donate money, so I can donate "time" in a sense. I would hate to see free things (not just internet sites!) go to waste because people get bent out of shape over a few commercials.

I agree with you, unfortunately there are those sites with the ads with sound that are loud and annoying "YOU HAVE WON A FREE IPOD" and "YOU ARE A WINNER" and an abundance of pop-ups, etc (myspace ads are awful). I like to listen to my music or even be in peace and quiet and not have these obnoxious ads.

Not everyone is as considerate as you are with placing which ads go on your site...hence why adblock is used. In my case anyway. I did however disable it for this site.

I use Opera's block content feature manually, to block specific ads that annoy me. (Sometimes even content that isn't an ad, like the "helpful" message on this forum that always appears when I get logged out... you know, "you've just stumbled...")

I don't really believe free content will ever be "destroyed" by ad blocking software, just stunted in growth perhaps. While it's important, it's not the only form of revenue for sites. There's only so much that content blockers can do.

I just use the standard pop-up blocker that comes with Firefox, but I've had some of the ads on here bypass that and open up pop-ups that do the faux "we're installing something on your computer" download, which actually does create a lot of havoc from a viewer's POV. So far, it only happens about once every week or so, but if it were to happen too many times, it would probably seriously impact my activity on the board in the future.

I'm from the good old days, when ads didn't proliferate the internet, when mailing lists were active, and when the most of the content on the internet wasn't maintained by half a dozen conglomerates. I understand where you're coming from, on the other hand, I do get frustrated by people working hard to put together a really good site as a "labor of love," do everything they can to make it popular, then complain when the high volume makes it costly. I understand the dilemma that you're faced with, at the same time, just because the current strategy isn't proving effective, doesn't mean that (a)the users therefore have an obligation to turn off ad blocking software or (b)that free online content will become a thing of the past if we don't. Ultimately, each user has to decide what sort of online experience they want to have, and particularly how much they're willing to be marketed to and what sort of marketing is acceptable.

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