Turning down the adblocker

I am a child of the internet. I don't even own a television - my Xbox 360 is wired up to my monitor, and being in 2014 and not owning a tv whilst being in my twenties really confuses the tv license people. The only tv I watch is via online services like iPlayer and 4 on Demand, which has the wonderful consequence that I'm the only person at work who has no idea what the latest reality / "celebrity" tv thing is. Singing, dancing, locked in a cupboard - I don't give a shit, I'm over here, replaying Tomb Raider whilst Firefly or perhaps the latest review from Angry Joe plays on the second monitor. I've watched so much of Chip Cheezum's Let's Plays whilst sick, I associate stomach aches with Metal Gear.

Now adblocking is becoming a thing. Or rather, a thing that is starting to upset content creators on the internet.I remember a couple of content creators have been vocal of the subject, either asking people politely to whitelist them or a couple of them acquainting having an adblock as stealing. Blip on the other hand did a adlblocker blocker thing for a while, which went down as well as could be expected.

It went about this well.

I have seen the Adblocker people produce a promo asking for money, with the end result being a 'ad free internet.' And the more I think about it, and ad free internet is kinda a stupid idea.

Honesty spot - I don't have ads on this blog. I'm not making a statement or anything, it's just that I've never seen the point with my blog view's being, kinda, well, low. Don't worry. It just means I love few people who turn up even more. I've got a target in mind that once I reach, I may consider putting some ads on. If that ever happens, they'll be unobtrusive as possible because suddenly cramming ads down my audiences' throat in a douche manoeuvre. However, considering that I don't take this blog seriously, it's not like I'm ever going to make it big enough. So, everyone cool on my stance on ads?

I mean, an ad free internet would likely see the end of a lot of the content I consume regularly. Most people who I watch do so as their full time jobs, and they are funded through advertising. The only other way to fund these people is for me to personally open my damn wallet.Sure, there's different ways to go about it; Kickstarter, Patreon or a subscription model, but it always involves you opening your wallet. And let's face it, that's not happening for everyone. If I believe I don't earn nearly enough to personally fund a bunch of people, I can see a lot of people following suit. No joke, I'm under the poverty line, here.

Between opening my wallet and perhaps watching some ads, I know which side I'm one. Of course, the adblocker is the third option, that requires no sacrifice on my part, and I've done so for quite a while. But recently, I've come to question if this is the best path. Sooner or later, if everyone adblocks, and no one wil pay, then I could see some people who I watch regularly online move away from producing content and finding other, regular work.

So for a bit, for all the people whose content I consume, I'm turning down the adblocker and whitelisting a lot.

I'm not getting rid of it though. I said turn down, not off.

Because let's face it, an adblocker it kinda important on today's internet. There are a lot of bullshit ads out there, from pop-ups, auto-playing ads, ads longer then 45 seconds and those fucking bullshit "You're about to leave this page" pop up wank-stains ads. Rargh! There's a reason adblocking is so prevalent: because so much of internet advertising is utter garbage. I remember when the ads were sorta relevant - now 99% are malware ridden click whores.

Because that's where the issue lies. If there is a war between the users and the ads, the ads fired first. And they quickly moved from annoyance, to lies, and then to the fucking criminal. I've been known to be asked to set up some people's computers for them, especially if they're not to sure about this new-fangled internet stuff. So you strip out the bloatware, then add a bunch of useful stuff - the sort of stuf you explain that if something goes wrong in a month and those programmes aren't here because "they were stopping me getting on that site I liked," there will be hell to pay. Programmes like Spybot, Avast, Malwarebytes, CCleaner, and yes, your adblocker of choice. Because less tech savvy people like click on the click bait ads and infect there on computers, and this is something we all face.

I mean, I use two different browsers. One for watching material of certain saucier content, if you understand my meaning, and one for social media, AND NEVER THE TWO SHALL MEET. Ever since certain sites decided to to include sharing buttons, having a browser where I'm not automatically logged Facebook and Twitter where I'm one errant click away from severe embarrassment is a lifesaver. And that browser is keeping it's adblocker on, because yeah, those ads are going to be the most malware ridden of the lot.

Right now it's a test to see if the internet is worth my valuable attention. Besides, it's not like some ads are legitimately avoidable whilst funding the creator - my keyboard has this big, fat, mute button sitting right there. I don't have to look at it or hear it, it only has to play.

So far my experiment hasn't negatively impacted me to any measurable degree, bar a single site that has earned itself a spot on the second browser permanently due to ads violating my rules.

I'd advise trying it out, if only once. There's a lot of content creator's out there that'd appreciate your views, and if it doesn't work out, turn the blocker back on again to kickass mode. That's fine. You tried, and the ads can be pretty obnoxious. The system of views of ads to pay content creators isn't perfect, and the development of more unscrupulous ads means that you should look after yourself first. But if you're a fan of someone who does good honest work, who's site doesn't mess you around? Give them a shot, and whitelist.

Enjoy your internet the way you want to.