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by dspillett 472 days ago
> And the vast majority of people hate ads like me.

I don't mind respectful¹ ads, and refrain from using sponsorblock & similar. What I object to, and actively block, is the stalking that is endemic in the ad industry and is in no way respectful.

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[1] i.e. not the pop-ups/-unders of yore, not those that autoplay video or, worse, audio, not those that otherwise interfere with the normal use of the page I'm trying to look at, stalking etc.
2 comments
wkat4242 471 days ago
That's up to you. I block everything and I'll never go back. I just want the whole advertising industry to go away. They've betrayed my trust so often that I'm never going to let them back in. In any form. I don't care about the collateral damage in the services and sites they 'support'.

When I ask around me people don't really have a very nuanced view either, though they're not as hostile as me, most of them just believe it is unavoidable. They don't have the skills I have in ad avoidance. But they don't have any kind of ethical concerns.

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pdimitar 471 days ago
Internet advertising is a race to the bottom. If you're not using scummy tactics then your competitors will, and you lose money -- or your entire business.

I can't remember the last time I was exposed to respectful ads. My home PiHole deny-lists keep growing in size and this will continue unless the internet at large changes. Which I don't believe it will, barring any civilization-wide disaster.

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dspillett 470 days ago
> I can't remember the last time I was exposed to respectful ads.

There are still some out there, or at least some that aren't actively disrespectful. At least sponsor spots in podcasts don't stalk me online, etc, at least when they are honest about what is happening¹. They are very much in the minority though.

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[1] The 3D printing “community” on youtube is rife with “personal” recommendations that are obviously paid for but try to look more organic. “Today I'll test if you _really_ need to dry your PLA filament rolls, in a video sponsored by the company that makes one of the dryers I'll be testing…”

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pdimitar 470 days ago
I still have some respect for that form of advertising though. At least they are not actively trying to be pieces of crap. :)
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