Asklemmy

Ads can deliver viruses, many ads are animated or have sound, or both. If every ad were static and safe, I wouldn't mind so much... but alas, that's not a thing. So AdBlock it is!

Wanna know why I use ublock origin eveywhere? If you're brave (and dumb) go to wordhippo.com with a "naked" browser (no adblock and default privacy settings). Then come back and talk to me when you've removed all the malware from your system.

I use a mix of uBlock Origin and NextDNS to block ads. I would support creators if they or the platform itself can clearly mark which part is an advertisement. I also donate to creators I think are adding value with their contents. Unfortunately, majority of creators aren't being very upfront on whether or not they're sponsored, platforms are mixing advertisements with legitimate contents/results.

I don't use ad blocker while at work, except to block YouTube ads.

I use adblock almost everywhere, except for a few sites with decent ads and creators I support.

Apart from that, I try to support the few creators I appreciate the most in other ways.

Neurological warfare with a side of malware? Where do I sign up

It's more about the mechanism of ads. If you ever read only a brief summary of Pavlov's work, you will know the difference between the mechanism of brainwashing and ads (which is none). It's not just unethical but borderline dangerous to society. The same with corruption. if you call it lobby and doing it in a suit, it's okay.... I really hope a meteor will come soon, before this shitty human race will be multi-planet trash...

yes of course i use adblock it is like the condom of internet at this point.

the money that the creators earn from ads per user is such a low amount that my time and attention are not worth it, like for youtube we are talking $0.001-0.002 per video view for an average creator. it is beneficial for both parties if you simply donate and use adblock.

i also find the data hoarding personalised ad model predatory and privacy invasive

For the longest time I use:

• for blocking ads: uBlock Origin, Disconnect, Privacy Badger, Ghostery
• for search: DuckDuckGo
• mobile ads blocking: AdGuard

I donate or buy merch from creators directly. Many of them voiced that majority of the revenue doesn't come from ads, but from sponsorships and direct donations/purchases.

@tsukii I don't use adblocker but I use Safing's Portmaster and Vivaldi Browser with built-in ad-and-tracker-blocker enabled plus uBlock Origin - using plus Librewolf as well.

Hope that helps 🥰

I used to on my phone, but then i started using foss apps and disabling JavaScript, so i never see ads unless sponsors are in a yt vid i watch

Lmao yeah uBlock Origin reks the internet fr. After chromium shifts to manifest v3, I'm switching to librewolf and uBlock to retain the same experience I've been having

On my phone I use personalDNSfilter to block most ads on Android, as well as the Mull browser with the Ublock Origin plugin added. I have always enabled ad block for as long as I can remember being annoyed by ads and I have no plans to stop anytime soon.

Not all creators are influencers, but all influencers are one-person ad distrubutor agencies. Most of the influencers business model is based on ad revenue and making ads themselves (collabs).

Lots of comments here already, but I'll dive in too.

Yes, I block the ever loving shit out of ads at any and all levels. I will gladly, happily, and freely drop a few bucks to creators I like now and then. Make it easy for me and I'm in. However, I will not be subjected to endless YouTube ads, banners on every website I visit, etc etc.

My wife doesn't understand it in the least, but that's ok. I block ads for all my devices at the DNS layer, use modified apps to help out where that's less useful, or just forgo using a website/app/service if it's intrusive in any way.

I hate ads with a passion, especially after having worked with them really heavily during part of my career. I know what kind of insanity is being tracked and used here and my knowledge is a decade old at this point. Don't even want to think about modern day equivalents I don't know diddly about. So, scorched earth policy suits me just fine.

But again, I would love to drop a few bucks now and then for creators I like, whether thats an individual or a company. Just make it easy and it's yours. No problem at all.

If you use adblock, you don't care about creator's point blank

This sounds a lot like not tipping being a bad thing.

Ads and tipping denigrate my daily experience. So I'm not going to suffer either.

Blocking ads is also just more secure as it's a vector for so many exploits.

In conclusion, I don't agree with them at all.

Ads are mental poison, so yes.

uBlock Origin or the built-in adblocker, depending on the browser I use. On iOS I use AdGuard.

I treat adblockers the same as an antivirus at this point, there have been multiple times that I've seen ads for scams and malware, so I save myself the headache and use an adblocker. I believe it was Linus from Linus Tech Tips who said adblocking YouTube ads is piracy, if so then call me a filthy pirate.

I've used it for the past decade. Literally the only time I see ads is when I look at other people's devices and wonder how TF they use them.

Probably close to 20 years ago at this point, when visiting the official forums for a game I loved, my computer was infected by malware delivered by a malicious ad. This was not some seedy part of the internet, but a website hosted by a major game publisher whose product I enjoyed.

Try as I might, I could not revert the damage caused by the virus, so the only recourse I had was to just blank slate wipe it clean and start over.

Today, I acknowledge that most websites more tightly control the ads they host, but the trust is forever broken. As soon as the option became available to me, I installed the best adblocker I could find and never looked back. No exceptions.

The truth is that every ad is malicious, to small degrees. They want to commodify your eyeballs and take up space in your mind. They're trying to create a need where one does not exist, and will use whatever tactic they can to try to part you from your hard-earned money. They're a barrier between you and the content you want to enjoy—in many cases content that you paid to enjoy.

Even if it's in the name of supporting a website/service I enjoy, I can't confidently turn off my ad blocker anymore. It only takes one malicious ad to sneak through the cracks to cause disaster.

There has got to be a better way of running an online business without having to completely fill the space with ads.

@tsukii I don't, because TROMJARO do everything fir me.

I don't, because I know that ads are part of free content "agreement"

Yes, because most sites are completely unreadable without it. I also don't want to be loading megabytes of garbage with all the ads, trackers, and whatever other shit people stick on commercial websites nowadays.

I do everything under the sun pretty much. Ublock origin, NoScript, chameleon extensions on Librewolf (and others). I “subscribe” to YouTube channels via rss feeds. Open up the newsboat feed reader from my terminal and an extension called “Alter” redirects me to an invidious instance. NoScript blocks everything pretty much as I just need the url. Then I use yt-dlp with the sponsorblock flag.

I only visit YouTube when I have a bunch of new “subs” that I found through word of mouth (reading blogs, HN, Mastodon, Lemmy, etc). I could just use invidious rss feeds, but if the instance goes down I would have to start all over again. There are other ways of achieving this same effect, but this is how I choose to consume yt now.

i do not use adblock on content creation sites like youtube

its a small effort for what i assume is a small bit of support for the content im watching

i just never had an issue with ads, theyre unobtrusive and i can just do something else while theyre playing