
Please Don't Block Our Ads. Here's How to Block Ads in iOS 9 - shawndumas
http://www.wired.com/2015/09/content-blocking-apps/
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a3n
> Before you start downloading, there is one very important thing to
> understand: By blocking ads, you are depriving content publishers (like us,
> hello!) of advertising income and insights into what readers want.

It's subtle, but basically, I'm being asked to _buy_ Wired in some way.

For the paper magazine (does it still exist?), the plea would be: By not
buying our magazine, you're depriving us of money.

Wired and everyone else is leaving copies of their magazine everywhere, and
then asking us to donate money, in the form of time, resources, privacy and
safety.

Wired and everyone else, please feel free to notice that I'm blocking ads, and
refuse to serve me content. Or factor in however many freeloaders like myself
take you up on your generous offer to let me view your content for free, and
charge more for your ads.

Or talk to AOL about resurrecting their paywall, and take shelter there.

Whatever you do, I'm not giving you unblocked access to my machine or my life,
and I doubt many other people who use a blocker will go back.

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tajen
Ah, online content publishers versus the internet now... I feel sorry for
Wired. Here's how I see it:

\- Text ads on websites

\- People use adblockers,

\- Apple introduces the iPhone without ad blocking

\- Website revenue goes up. Many websites use very invasive ads to the point
of blocking access to their own content,

\- Each ad is marginally valuable, so content producers keep adding more;
Competitors need to remain valuable, so they follow the trend,

\- Mobile experience gets broken, so Apple introduces ad blockers,

\- Websites lose revenue,

\- And start using DRM to prevent external modification of their websites.
Maybe we'll even have laws against website alteration...

It's all over on a massive scale, which prevents alternatives like individual
ethics, begging, donations, etc. I'm not sure there will be a winner, in fact
I believe we'll reach the same sad state as television.

