[mcintyre1994]

How do you propose companies like Google purchase data centers to index the content of the internet so you can search it? Or offer everyone free storage and anti-spam processing for their emails? Or would your vision of the internet not include services like that?

[redxblood]

You're missing my point. I'm not saying we should NOT have ads. I'm saying the level of quantity and aggresivity they have is intimidating. Google, one of the most powerful websites in the world, and only one third of it's page when presented are actual results.

[fredophile]

I have a hard time believing that Google served so many ads that 2/3 of the screen were covered in ads. I just tried a few searches and in three fairly generic searches I only saw ads in one of them. The search with ads had three clearly marked ads, one above the search results and two to the right. What search terms are you using that give you these results?

Somewhere else in the thread you mentioned that you reformatted to get rid of some trojans and adware. Do you still see as many ads now that you've reformatted the machine? The descriptions of the types of ads you were seeing make me think that you had something on the machine that was actively inserting ads into html that it received.

[seanccox]

Alternatively, the idea that the internet should be treated as a public utility could be extended to include certain fundamental core services: search and email, for instance. The server space could just be maintained by tax revenue, or through flat billing. Google would still be available, but additionally, so would a rigorously maintained ad-free option, supported not by profits but by state contributions.

The model of complementary public and private options, as exists in healthcare in many countries, might be an ideal way to carve out space for ad-free and low-cost access.