Post by @maxleibman@beige.party
Site: We noticed that you are blocking our ads.
Me: That’s right.
Site: But that’s how we pay for this content. Will you disable your ad-blocker?
Me: No. My ad blocker is how I stop you from spying on me.
Site: But we’re not spying on you.
Me: Then how did you know I’m blocking your ads?
Guys, I KNOW.
@maxleibman The fun thing is that if they went back to putting static ads inline with their html content, there'd be no way for us to block them because our browser/agents wouldn't know which is an ad vs. a legitimate page resource.
It makes no difference to the site whether I use an ad blocker or not. Without the ad blocker I would just ignore the ads anyway BUT be annoyed with them. With the ad blocker i am not annoyed.
@maxleibman
Not just that, but let's not pretend that website spent months doing serious investigative Woodward and Bernstein style investigative journalism to take down a corrupt administration. They bought that story from a wire service, the same as a thousand other websites.
If I am visiting, I am following a link and already know enough to write the first paragraph. I am looking for depth, details, clever writing, and interrupting me in that judgemental first few seconds is a mistake.
@maxleibman Site: Choose between tracking by 1000 parties or creating an account and paying us.
Me: So what you’re saying is that I should pay to be tracked even more effectively by 1001 parties?
@maxleibman We and our *1745 partners* kindly ask you...
@maxleibman The most benevolent possible way would be to check logs, and if the main page content got a request but the ad server did not, then the ads were blocked.
In practice, though, they probably spied on you, because the temptation to get that sweet sweet data on how to sell you more crap was just more than they could take.
@maxleibman Show me generic ads with a clickable link. Stop the shitting invasive scripts trying to grab everything possible about my machine, location, etc. Don't like that? Tough! My machine and my rules if you want to show your site on it.
@maxleibman Question. Some sites I have to look at, and end up turning off the blocker for a bit. But when I leave the site I turn the blocker back on and clear the cache -- does that help enough? (Using DDG and Firefox)
@maxleibman It's particularly telling that a lot of sites complain that I'm using an ad blocker, but all I'm running is EFF's PrivacyBadger anti-tracking plugin.
@maxleibman I don't use an ad blocker honestly, I get outta the whole F page because of them. let them shower in their ads I'm not using their site at all.
@maxleibman Adblocking is Internet hygiene.
DNS-based filtering and browser adblocking together keep my home network as tidy as I prefer.
To AdTech and TechBro surveillance capitalism: "I fart in your general direction!"
@maxleibman
HTTP is a pull protocol.
You aren't blocking ads so much as you are declining to download them.
@maxleibman Me: "But ackshually, I'm not blocking your ads, I'm just not requesting them as per the HTTP client standard."
@maxleibman There's an element of laziness (by the site) here. They just sell to an ad company, which is honestly just trying to do their job. Alternative: site sells exactly one reader-signature to the ad company (the aggregate of their full readership). IE all they get is that a person of median-readership attributes is available to view an ad. Ad-creeps wouldn't like it, but would advertisers actually mind?
@maxleibman The ad blocker clearly didn’t stop the site from monitoring you, since it already knows you’re using one. hollow victory.
@maxleibman all of that ad blocking was nothing compared to AI summaries taking away 90% of the traffic.
"...in the West rain will be lighter and patchier, there will be, maybe, a few drier interludes over Dumfries House... aha!"
@maxleibman
Every time those pop up, I instinctively reach for the X in the top right corner.
Your site isn't interesting enough for that.
@maxleibman@beige.party
To go with:
"Enable cookies to get the best out of our site"
"Nah thanks, I'm good."
"OK just saving your settings, it will take approximately 3 hours to actually save"
"You should not even be saving that setting, my browser can handle it without you"