this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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I watched a Warframe (game) YouTube video on the Steam integrated browser, without beeing connected to my account and Holly s* it was horrible.

In a 14 minutes video, I got 5 ads. 1 (or more skippable once) at the beginning, 1 during the first half of the video, 2 during the second half, and 1 at the end.

All were skippable after 5 sec.

2 were close together at about 1 min interval during the second half of the video.

But that is not the only issue. 4 of those ads (not the last one at the end), were Israeli hate/war anti-hamas propaganda.

I consider these ads horrible and they should not be allowed in my opinion.

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[–] [email protected] 223 points 1 year ago (8 children)

Most people, including myself, seem to agree, that ads were never the problem. When YouTube started, it had ads too and nobody cared. But the ads got worse and websites started to shove them down our throats. I miss the times of a single banner below a video. I don't think Google and all the others realise just how much determined nerds can achieve. So far the ad blockers seem to win the race, minus some minor setbacks.

[–] [email protected] 109 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Some of those that work ad tech are the same that write filters.

[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yep. My day job is providing tools to marketing folks and improving lead gen. It pays me well.

But I also contribute to open source projects to unfuck the internet. I know the tricks people like me use.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Real heroes have shitty day jobs. Checks out.

Except Batman and Iron Man. Those guys also have mansions, hot chicks, cars, and sarcasm.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I want all of that fun stuff, not a boring day job

[–] [email protected] 63 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Oooooooo, is this the start of a RATM parody?

[–] [email protected] 47 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago

FUCK YOU I WON'T LOOK AT YOUR ADVERTS

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Should be good to bad, not bad to good

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

It was October Spooky when Microsoft dropped the GetWinX.exe icon on everyone's Win7 and Win8 taskbars. The first time, we all followed the directions and dove into the registry to remove it, because it wasn't enough to just delete it. The icon would self restore.

Then Microsoft reinstalled their adware in a critical security update Big Mic also started using dark patterns making upgrading opt-out, and hiding the onay anksthay toggle.

Thats when an engineer, UltimateOutsider, I think, created the GetWinX Control Panel which not only did the full remove in a wizard but also monitored on boot to see if it came back.

It was a reassuring day. I think no matter how much the companies enshittify, it will only drive pissed off engineers to write hard bypasses. It's how we got the GCP. It's how we got Windows Loader for every release since XP's activation process.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That kind of shit is why I run GNU, and so should everybody else.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You don't run gnu; you probably run Linux. In the same sense, you don't mention how you ride the tires to work but you probably mention riding a bicycle, bus or car. You go to see art, not the tools used to create it, and this is why van gogh's art is on display and not the brushes he used to such great effect.

Keep it in perspective no matter how hard the feet-picker wants to distract you.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

No, I run GNU. I don't give a fuck whether the kernel is Linux or HURD, but I do care that as much of the system as possible is copyleft instead of merely permissive.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Well this whole exchange was definitely the dumbest pedantry I've seen today.

Well done.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago (1 children)

When youtube started, the ads would load perfectly every single time and the video was a tiresome afterthought that would load in fits and starts if it loaded at all.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 year ago

That sounds like every streaming service

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I use an ad blocker but I cringe when I see my wife viewing a short recipe online, on a page with 10+ ads.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Why don't you help her? Do you not like her??

She's drowning and you're just standing there watching :( :(

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

You’re assuming I haven’t tried?

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 year ago

Ah. Ginger spouses, am I right?

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

I've offered. It doesn't bother my partner.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Not OP but I run a Pi Hole for the home network, but don’t intrude to install software on her laptop.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I wouldn't intrude but I'd at least offer.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

I get to choose what software my wives PC runs and how, and she gets to not worry about problems on it.

We'll, for the most part. She insists on Windows and I insist that every time something is wrong it's Windows fault.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

Hook your wife up

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I'm totally shocked when I see people using browsers without an ad blocker, mind blowing

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Now on mobile they even open up the sidebar where the playlist normally is and puts an extra ad there too. Then it breaks your fullscreen and youre left with the comments open and a banner ad. So dumb.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This. Ads can be somewhat okay as long as they don't interrupt or otherwise hinder the functionality of the website or application I'm using.

YouTube's video ads interrupt the main functionality of the website for the full duration of the ads (some are skippable after 5s).

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

In the early days of the Internet, ads were ok.

Then the popups came.

Then came the popup blockers.

It's been an arms race since the beginning. The ad-throwers get greedy, not knowing when to stop pushing. That's how things escalate.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The pop-up divs annoy the fuck out of me. And most websites have gotten smart about them by creating the div ids on the fly so ublock can take them on.

I'm getting close to completely disabling JavaScript at this rate.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago

I started using noscript on my phone despite how annoying it is to use day to day. Desktop have more tools to manage pop ups better, but on mobile the only reliable way I've found is to nuke everything and just re enable what you need.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

As a matter of principle I will doff my headphones and look away or hyperfocus on the specific area to skip the ad waiting for it to become available.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

While I think this may play a part, YouTube was unprofitable for more than a decade and probably still is right now. It's not greedy to want to pay server costs

My company is heavily considering raising premium prices because ad revenue is now equal to the subscription cost, and we're still very unprofitable. That's not greedy, that's basic business