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At least reviews don’t mine bitcoin on my box, come with malware, chug my processor, and track me across the web. Ads stink, but it’s the fact that ads have become synonymous with info brokering, spying, and all of the rest that makes me ready to dance on the industry’s grave. Maybe 5 or 6 years ago I’d have cared about what Brave had to say, now I have uBlock Origin and uMatrix and I evangelize it to everyone I know offline. I won’t be going back because of a long delayed come-to-Jesus moment had out of desperation. Besides, a lot of ad supported sites are hideous, and the sooner they can’t support themselves and stop cluttering the net, the better. HN will still be here, most of the sites with articles submitted here will be too. The best content out there is free, crowdfunded, or paywalled, while the worst of clickbait is ad supported. Besides, it’s so much more relaxing to avoid ads, I don’t have to waste thinking about how they’re trying to manipulate me into buying tat, make me feel inadequate unless I buy their products, etc. When you stop seeing ads online, on tv, and then you watch some cable or unfiltered internet... it’s horrible. Marketing is a grim, tiring, assault on the senses aimed at the absolute lowest common denominator, and I’m glad to be rid of it and hopefully eventually, the businesses which make it. This industry that abused everyone it could until a technical means to fight back was developed, doesn’t deserve any more chances. This whole, “oh we’re the good parasites, we’ve figured out that it’s bad to kill the host, we just want a slice out of you,” shtick deserves to go over like a lead balloon. |