this post was submitted on 28 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 99 points 4 months ago (11 children)

I am surprised the reason for blocking ads doessn't include making sites somewhat readable. I guess faster loading could be it? But generally it's more of a layout problem than a bandwidth one.

I tend to not use adblockers, or when I do it's on a black list system for worst offenders rather than by default. However, I absolutely refuse tracking, and if it's the only option I go to firefox reader mode immediately.

The usual false dichotomy of "personalised ads or you're killing us!" is not acceptable.

[–] [email protected] 109 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Ad tech IS the tracking, so if you're not blocking ads, you're not actually refusing said tracking. I think you might be conflating cookies with being tracking (they are), but that's only a part of it.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 4 months ago (4 children)

I wonder why ad tech can‘t be „Let‘s show ads that correspond to what‘s being talked about on that website.“ Kinda like what Google suggested with Topics but without following me through the internet.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 4 months ago

There is no real technical challenge in displaying ads that are based on the page content. But ads based on tracking users is much more profitable. Plus they can sell the data collected to anyone else that is interested.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Look, you need to understand that advertisers are Hell-bent on forcibly extracting as much money from you as possible. If they could strap you to a chair, hold your eyes open like in A Clockwork Orange, and then charge you for everything you so much as glanced at, they absolutely would.

If that's not how you want to live, then they are your enemy.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

You know i think i understand companies sometimes but then i keep being baffeld at how evil a company can be.

Apple for example had me surprised with the reaction to the DMA and i previously thought that they couldn‘t possibly suck harder wirh alö their anti-repair stuff.

I still have a bone to pick with Tim Cook himself for rendering my well working Mac Mini 2012 unusable for my app development job by simply not updating Xcode and introducing a breaking change that prevented me from adding support for new iOS versions to old Xcode.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

The saddest part is, companies used to be required to act in the common good, but the courts have gradually jettisoned that concept for mostly bullshit reasons.

[–] gravitas_deficiency 12 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Because that’s not as profitable. That’s it. That’s the reason.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

Don‘t you just hate it when

When capitalism

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

I wonder why ad tech can‘t be „Let‘s show ads that correspond to what‘s being talked about on that website.“ Kinda like what Google suggested with Topics but without following me through the internet.

They could be. Sites could talk directly to advertisers, and put the ad directly into the page itself instead of asking the ad server for a random ad. Most ad blockers probably wouldn't notice it because it's part of the actual page.

But then they'd lose out on the tracking data and would be responsible to make sure the ad doesn't annoy the shit out of you, so they're not going to do that.

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