To use an ad blocker or to alter the hosts file so that all ads are blocked? or, keep ads altogether? (do nothing).
Does ad blocking impact the way an author of a product generates revenue?
In that case, I guess it’s better (and also correct) if ads show up, so that he/she
can have the backing needed to keep supporting that app.
What’s your view on ads as a source/need to keep an application free of charge
and how could ad blocking impact this?
Good question . To use an adblocker is good for you and obviously bad for the advertiser. I personally don’t mind the ads just the the malicious ones which most tend to be. I can’t distinguish between the two so I block them all. The Host file is constant work with updating the lists and since I-Blocklist/Bluetrack got fussy about their lists that makes it more of a hassle. You could run Peerblock with just the ad filter list and cut it on and off as you choose.
Adblockers nowadays are a fine (if somewhat “mean” in the eyes of many people, totally understandable) and necessary (for most of the crowd, even if huge parts of “the crowd” out there might not recognize it) thingie.
Blocking parts of unnecessary (for the user) web content heavily reduces so called “hacker’s”, I’d rather call 'em “cracker’s” attack possibilities by means of misusing compromised sites (drive-by downloads etc). It does not wholly eliminate those possibilities, of course.
Blocking such unwanted content by directly using the “hosts file” may be regarded somewhat “antiquated”, “old-skool” by some, but can be useful under certain circumstances.
If “overusing” the hosts file though, that might result in diminished sys responsiveness / lag syndrom, especially on older machines.
One thing’s for sure: using adblockers might or rather WILL result in the operator’s partly blocked site’s deterioration of revenue. And that’s the sad / mean aspect of adblocking, of course.
Even here in Germany, one rather well known computing magazine’s site going by the very name of “chip.de” encourages you to fully disable any adblockers. But chip.de has been “hacked” in the past, rather say “cracked” or “compromized” some time ago, and thus by malware containing ads being implemented on their site.
What’s my view on that?
Oh, if it’d only be a simple thing to answer…
I know, Melih’s got an answer.
Sometimes we happen to agree, sometimes we differ a little bit in our opinions. But well, we’re all “human” in the end. And even good friends don’t always have to agree with eachother, methinks.
At the moment, in our very days of lot’s of internet related things being totally compromised, I tend to not allow any ads at all.
That’s not a very “fair” move of course, and I’m sincerely in hope for better times.
Now, if they’d only come.
Only thing I can possibly do for an excuse is offering some small, rather amateurish attempts at trying to “be of any help” to other users here from time to time, as so many here are doing (and, which goes for the most of them, in a better way than me), as it’s in fact a kind of “family” here (in lack of a better word for it).
I don’t like the thought of not being able to give anything in return to such a great bunch as some hard working people over here.
So I’m still trying hard sometimes to at least help a bit, after all those years. Even if I tend to often fail at it, it’s the only thing I’m able to contribute whilst continuing adblocking in this my fiendish way.
Kind regards, REBOL.
Hope you had some good laugh at it , Melih. 8)
Again, please pardon my restricted capabilities concerning a certain language called English.
I’m rather out of “training”…
Ah well, as you might already know by now, there are differing opinions on this question so instead of providing one, might as well just tell you what I know, assume to know, or whatever anyone calls it about these things.
Using an adblocker
On the plus side, these types of software are easy to use and highly extendable which is a good thing. Some let you decide, some don’t, and it’s all a matter of preference. With the sheer volume of choices we have on the market, its really not that difficult to find one that suits you. However, adblockers would heavily affect the performance of your system or browser (my firefox for example gets an additional 6 seconds on fresh start with adblock).
Altering the hosts file
The hosts file are a tad bit more complicated to setup compared to adblockers. It’s also been said that they can significantly slow down network speed and some programs startup time (though I haven’t really seen that except with ie). Get past that and you get a solid way of blocking ads that gives you full control over what goes and what doesn’t without the need for installing software.
Do nothing at all
If you’re going to believe security companies, then you’re opening up your computer to prying eyes. What’s worse, some (most, all?) of them… don’t even need for you to click them to start doing their work. On the plus side though, you don’t have to install anything. No hassle, no fuss, nice and clean (not talking about the webpage obviously). If you’re not doing anything unusual, you should be fine. Should be.
As for if it’s going to hurt revenue, if it’s the only source of revenue, of course it will. If not, it makes no difference at all. Yeah, sure, care about developers. Yup. I don’t know. I don’t get it really. I mean there’s always the option of donating. I don’t understand why people have to resort to ads. Think about it. if you really think they’re a steady flow of income, go for something like google play or whatnot. Get a sponsor. Get donations. I mean that’s practically the same. You ask for users to turn on ads? Well, adblockers are pretty popular so most probably have that. If I remember correctly you have to click on the ad before money comes in? well, at least that was how it was for me back then. And all I got was $3. But the donations were somewhere along $12, and that was just from one person who asked me personally if he could just donate. (I didn’t just get money, too, I got myself a friend.)
I mean, if I had known better, I would have just opted for that. And in retrospect, that was safer for both me and the client since (1) it didn’t put my reputation at risk unlike adding some toolbar and people started calling me a fraud. I mean, I tried it myself and it was…Why did I even…moving on, (2) I hate ads. I mean, I seriously hate ads. They’re distracting, some of them are just plain ugly, and they can make just about anything ugly just by being there. The novel ones? Their few.
They’re giving their software out for free because they know that more people would install their software and thus, generate revenue for them. Meaning, it’s still about money. Nothing about caring for others. If people genuinely cared for other people, I won’t care what others think. I’ll do it in my own time, give it out in my own time, do whatever I want with it and what I feel is best for it. People who did just that seem to do just fine. Just look at sumatra, bodhilinux, libreoffice, red eclipse, piriform, and on and on and on.
I’ve always believed that if it’s not earning you anything (be it money or trust), then it’s far from done, far from what it’s supposed to be, far from anything that’s worth anyone’s while. So why should they care? If anything is worth anything, just pursue it until it finally is. Ads? If I want money, I’ll get myself a real job. I don’t need that kind of reason to do a half-baked job. I don’t care if I can’t make money out of it. I believe we would’ve lost more if we allow greed to drive us, and I would not want my children to think that some bills and change can stop them.
