I like the ads...I do all my impulse buying because of ads...

I don't frequent too many sites. I don't respond well to advertising, in general.
I especially don't like having anything "since you bought x, y, or z, you might like...",
suggested to me. I hate "friend suggestions" on facebook.

I don't feel remotely "bad" about not supporting advertisers on the internet.

Internet access is paid for. Beyond that, I don't feel the least bit compelled to
pay for anything else.

I don't do guilt anyway. I think it's wasted energy and pointless.

Here is the thing: The reason why adblockers are so popular is because there are always a fuckton of ads on websites.

If there were one or two, not many people would care, but when there are twenty, then thats why.

As for "we have a site to run", that is nice. You made that choice to run a site. I make a choice to block your ads.

Block me from viewing it, fine. I will walk away No love lost.

Is a person a freeloader if they walk away during TV commercials? Is a person a freeloader if the skip over ads in free newpapers?

Most companies don't even know what ads they're running, and most of those ads are for some sort of pseudo science supplements and links that will take you down a rabbit hole, and before you know it, you're having to do a complete system scan to remove some Trojan horse or virus that got uploaded. They also throw up videos and popups over the content you're trying to read with no clear way out of it. And the links on the bottom of the page end up being chum, and it's a waste of your time.

It's a two way street. If they want to run ads judiciously, I'm happy to look at an ad or two for content that's actually worth it. But I don't like being an ad dump where the site gets money just because they force the ads on you and you're left with no choice.

I changed channels on the tv or wouldn't pay attention to the ads, then got a TiVo where I blasted through the adds (then cut the cord and love it not being around). I still change the radio station when ads come on when I'm driving. When I read a newspaper or magazine I don't read any of the ads. To me the internet is no different - just because they put ads out it doesn't obligate me to receive them.

Ads are designed to do one thing - convince me to buy something I don't need by making me think I actually need it. I don't appreciate that, at all, and think people who are in advertising and marketing are little better than the clergy, and even less useful - at least some clergy run programs designed to help people.

Pfft I use an ad blocker and if a site won't allow me to view their content with one enabled then I close the page.

I there seriously people who don't use add blockers?

If you really feel bad about freeloading, you can white-list sites on most ad blockers that would ignore blocking ads from that source.

I don’t see why it matters if you are not even going to look at the ads anyway.

use "Quick Javascript Switcher" that will let you get around most of those popups if you use an adblocker.

ive gotten too many evil things that blow out my system to trust a webpage to manage the content of ads.

Sites that I know and are not invasive with ads I turn off the add blocker, but those who fill your screen with ads at the point you can't even see the site, i block without any remorse.
Websites are free, if companies find ways of having some profit, good for them. But I really won't worry about the financial health of a website that is part of a giant corporation,

I do the same thing. Too many manipulators out there. I have no moral quarry about it. You need to try to protect your pc, and also your sanity from not having to close popups etc. It's also not freeloading if you're paying for access to the internet.

I see it as an evolutionary process.

People are waking up to their right to privacy being raped, others are protecting themselves and some don't want their computers bogged down. These are promoting the wide spread use of ad blocking software.

This will cause merchants to change. It seems we will see more ads which are more like traditional banner ads. Ads which circumvent ad blocking software will become more popular.

Whatever happens, if it doesn't work for the consumer, it won't work for the merchant.

I wouldn't question your character on this. You took the time to question if it is right or wrong. Many wouldn't.

If I was you I wouldn't worry about it. You are one of many in the evolutionary development of the internet.

Yeah, it can be irritating. I use an adblocker, and I have yet to whitelist a site. I did subscribe to the Raw Story site, I like what they are doing there and would love to see it continue so I think it's money well spent. If the adblock blocker gives an option to "continue without supporting this site", I click through that way - sometimes it works out, some sites don't have this option. I've stopped feeling guilty about small shit like this. If I can't get around it that way, I just don't read the content. The performance I see is much better this way - it was getting out of hand on a lot of sites.

I use Add Blockers and would never feel bad about it
here in Canada we pay very high prices for our bandwidth and data so it actually costs money to download adds,
also the revenue generated for the site from 1 view is so miniscule (google pay a percentage of 1 cent for a single add view) that even if I am technically taking money away from the site owner it is so little that it does not matter.
also due to my personality I am doing the advertisers a favor by blocking their content as I make it a point to try not to buy things that I see advertised, good products speak for themselves, only shitty products need million doller add campaigns

generally if the site owner really relies on the money generated from advertising on the site, then they probably have other ways you can help them out,
if i listen to a podcast regularly I will donate to the patreon if the podcaster has such, or something of that nature

keep blocking

I use an adblocker all the time and guilt for it is the last thing I’d ever feel. If a site has adblock blocker then I may selectively turn it off for that site if I feel their content is something I can’t easily get elsewhere but none of us is under any obligation to anyone to see their ads unless we really feel strongly about wanting to support them.

I use an ad blocker all of the time. I have no qualms about it.

When I do shop it's for items I actually need.

Plus I'm running an old computer - without the ad blocker I'm slowed down considerably.

Yawn!

Nothing wrong with what you’re doing. They can detect that and block you if they’re so inclined. At that point you can decide if the content is worth turning off your ad blocker.

Yes, you're a freeloader and, no, you're not wrong for doing so.

Google is trying to implement/encourage some advertising standards across the web for advertising that will improve the website experience for visitors, and I applaud that effort. I don't oppose advertising in general, but once it renders a website virtually unusable or just too frustrating, I'm sufficiently annoyed and won't return. Website owners and managers should be aware that they're losing visitors and premium-rate network ads (e.g., higher-paying ads in AdSense) when they overload their sites with advertising.

The internet was intended to be free in the beginning so nope you are fine

Noting wrong with it whatsoever. What is wrong is them trying to influence us with nonsense.

I hate ads. They shouldn't exist in their present form! Anything to subvert them is fine with me.
People would still buy things without ads. If they wanted to find "the best quality at the lowest price," there are plenty of ways to research products.

i pay an exorbitant amount of money for internet access. that keeps the lights on, although not necessarily for each individual website. i don't think big businesses, corporations, networks, media outlets, will shut up shop if we don't view their ads, which they get paid to run, anyway. i don't buy what they sell anyway, with or without ads. if i need something, i look it up, find a seller, deal with it. i am not going to buy something i otherwise wouldn't just because someone flashes an ad at me -- in fact that repels me to the extent that i am less likely to buy the product or service just because of that. popups are especially annoying. now, if someone wanted to follow the pbs example and just have "this page was sponsored by" and a list, at the bottom, that wouldn't be too bad.

g