[ClifReeder]

I notice that you use www.theverge.com in a number of the screenshots for Javelin. The writers at The Verge, the developers that build the site, the designers that make it beautiful - are all paid through ad revenue. Please consider at least adding the ability to whitelist sites if you are going to bundle ad block.

*Full disclosure - I am a developer at Vox Media, the publisher of The Verge.

[Vulkum]

I think the ad delivery method has to change. Facebook and Twitter have noticed this and are trying to overcome it through ads as feeds/posts, which makes it slightly harder for adblocking tools to distinguish between the normal/adverts. And I really mean slightly, because you can still just look for the "Sponsored" label and get rid of that html node from your feed. I can't think of a solution at the moment, but I do acknowledge the needs of companies to sell ads on their pages to keep the content free. However, once your stuff gets transferred over to the client, there's not much you can do about the way they digest your data.

[zyx321]

Yeah, that's kind of a must-have feature. Even if I wouldn't want to support Vox Media after the recent controversy, there are sites that simply won't work unless you disable (or at least manually fine-tune) your filters.

[eevilspock]

Please stop using ads, which is a sneaky and dishonest way to get at your end users' money. It's a lie that with ads you give your content for free:

1. The advertisers who pay you get their money from us, added to the prices of the things we buy. There is no free lunch.

2. The overhead cost of advertising is huge and we pay for that too.

3. We pay the opportunity cost of a product that cannot put users first because you live or die by giving advertisers what they want (and what we want indirectly and secondarily). This includes both the cost of lost privacy as well as business, editorial and design decisions that optimize for advertising revenue. As has been said, you are using us as products more than treating us as your paying customers. Let me restate to be extra clear: WE are the paying customer, but we don't look like that to your finance department.

4. We pay the social costs. Democracy and the free market assume people make voting and purchasing decisions based on facts and reason. Advertising undermines democracy[1] and the free market[2]. Advertising is predominantly about manipulation and deceit. I believe this is the most expensive cost of content that relies on advertising revenue.

Added together, we readers are paying a lot more for "free" Verge content than if we could just straight up pay you for straight-up ad-free articles. And even we non-readers are paying because of the social costs, and all the link-bait that spams the web because of the perverse incentives of advertising.

-

[This is a condensed version of a more detailed case with reference links that I made here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7485773]

[1] Do you really need a link for this one? We all know that money decides who gets to run in an election, plays a big part in who wins, and has a tremendous influence on what legislation they introduce, support or fight.

[2] http://www.chaosisgood.com/2013/03/how-advertising-undermine...

[korzun]

I don't think this mobile browser is going to make a dent in The Verge's ad revenue.

[Tossrock]

The Verge has about 45% mobile traffic: https://www.quantcast.com/theverge.com

If large numbers of people were to start using Javelin, it could certainly affect revenue.

[korzun]

> If large numbers of people were to start using Javelin

If.

[V-2]

This is why I am against including ad-block as a default. People who don't install AdBlock (mostly don't know how, or can't be bothered) play an important role. Adblocking should be an opt-in.

[superchink]

@nubela Sounds like an opportunity to negotiate revenue for inclusion in an optional (for users) whitelist.

[wingerlang]

Kinda sounds like extortion doesn't it?

[psykovsky]

Works with adblock...

[superchink]

Yes, this was what I was referencing. Thanks for clarifying. I didn't mean to imply it was a good thing to do.