youtube getting more aggressive.. i've got firefox and ublock but this shit is still coming up
this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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Oh man, forgive my ignorance of the DACH. I just assumed based on nothing :)
Totally got you quitting that job. But I think there always IS a right/wrong. You define that for yourself. Of course it's never binary, but with a wide range. And if you happen to end up right in the middle, that's where it gets "difficult".
So, you really think it's not up to us to decide if ads shall be blocked or not? I see how you come to that conclusion, yet I wouldn't sign this. FOR ME it's actually MY decision that blocking them is withing my moral code and really does no harm at all. Even if totally ignoring my insignificance for the total outcome. So just for the fun and sake of the argument let's assume a company shows ONE ad to ONE user in their lifetime and this ad decides their future. If I'd block it, they gain nothing and loose possible income (I might still stumble upon their product and buy it). If I view it, they gain nothing and definitely loose income forever. Your approach would also end up in them definitely loosing income forever. There is absolutely no gain in your approach, or is there?
Yeah of course, I totally understand the the business-model. And I would also prefer paying a bit to be able to not see ads. BUT there is simply way too much I would have to pay (and don't forget the logistical overhead to do so) it's just not practical. Every damn website and app and service? Everyone getting some minor bucks? Of course I make exceptions and either pay or enable ads. Yet trying to ignore ads isn't possible for me, I notice them. They annoy, they disrupt the flow, they're visually inconsistent with the rest.
And nope, our opinions really don't differ much. But it's always fun to discuss incredibly uninteresting topics no one ever cares about :-)
I can't say I had such a civilized discussion on reddit. At least I can't remember. Typical reddit discussions always felt a bit more filled with emotion, maybe hatred. Lots of shitposting too. Might have to do something with the more targeted demographic of Lemmy.
Something being a business model actually doesn't mean it's right. Dropshipping exists after all. Paying everyone for their services can't be a viable solution either. The main business model here usually consists of "pay to upgrade". If you don't pay, it kinda works. If you do want to pay, it works really well. BitWarden is my personal hero in that regard. Their product works really well as freeware. It works even better when you pay for it. But I believe many paying users don't even need the additional functionality, they just pay to give something back. Moral retribution so to speak.
I see how blocking ads on freeware isn't morally wrong, I mean there's not much that's universally immoral. It's quite the topic in ethics, deontology says some acts are universally bad or universally good, no matter the consequences. A common example is honesty: being honest is always good, but I'm sure you thought of a dozen examples where honesty might not be the "good" way.
I still do agree with you. Blocking ads in specific instances can be completely fine. I mean we could construct setups where not blocking ads might lead to nuclear war. But I truly believe that it's fine in everyday use. You don't wanna see ads, they annoy you, you don't feel like paying with your time and brain cells. An individual avoiding ads is so inconsequential for everyone else involved, utilitaristically, that's a net gain of happines. On the other hand, ethics is not a study about individual actions, that's morals. I don't believe that any ethics could realistically support such a choice in the grand scheme. Assuming everyone acts by those rules, buying advert slots is wasted money.
Luckily we are indiviudals and like you said a day ago, there's enough people paying their taxes for you to evade them without consequences for either party.
I, in this instance, decided it's not about the company per se, it's more about the individual action. I'm no sucker for Nestlé, but you can't argue that they don't do good things as well. They are quite the big player in vegan meat alternatives and they actually do seem to put in quite the work to make sensible products in said category. They superficially seem to be sustainable and healthier than many other comparable products. Even if that's not true, even if their products are shipped around the globe eleven times a day, it's pushing for something that's ecologically sensible. If they themselves don't produce an ecological product, they still help to establish shelf space for other, more ecological products. So yeah, I'd buy a Nestlé product in that case. Even just to show Nestlé and the stores that such a product is in demand.
There's other scenarios where I don't act by the same logic simply because I'm a human and humans aren't known for being all that logical after all.
I'm a capitalist consumer and I greatly profit from my financial situation each and every day. I do live in a way too big apartment after all, and plans for individual housing are on the way. Not very ethical in the grand scheme xD