[dmm]

> (but somehow can't bring themselves to live without content that's ad supported)?

Every day that becomes less and less of an option and presenting it as an option is disingenuous. Are you seriously suggesting that people live without search engines?

I think it's valid to question the role of cars in our society even if the critic took a car to the meeting, for example.

[bradleyjg]

There’s a difference between questioning the role of cars in our society and morally condemning car engineers while riding around in a car.

As for living without a search engine, people have gone through much worse for their moral beliefs. I personally don’t see the moral issue at all, but if you feel so strongly about it—-then yes I expect you to sacrifice your own interests for those beliefs and not just go around making cheap condemnatory statements.

[bravoetch]

False dichotomy. Other options might be paid search. Personal search engines. Peer to peer search. Or new business models. Yes, it's possible to imagine a world without Google et al screwing everyone out of their privacy.

[crematoria]

Can you list any of these exciting alternatives? As a layman, I don't know of anything besides Google, Bing and DDG.