[jasode]

>I think everyone knows that, but the distinction is [...]

The discussion got muddied because in this subthread, it morphed from "What if we made _all_ advertising illegal?" (original article's exact words) ... to gp's (imiric) less restrictive example of "acceptable" advertising such as "product catalogs".

So when the person crafting a reply is using the article author's absolutist position of no ads, the distinction doesn't matter.

[fsflover]

I wouldn't call a product catalog advertising, unless I'm forced to read it or receive it without asking. Otherwise it's my own choice to read about the products, which clearly isn't advertising.