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QotD: Advertising

Question: Do you actively block web advertising (or do you just not pay any attention to it)?

My Answer: I don't block it, but I don't pay much attention to it either.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

12 Responses to "QotD: Advertising"

  1. I don't block them. Two reasons:

    Too much of a pain to set up filters that block all of the ads w/o blocking useful images

    I barely notice most ads anyway. I don't notice that they're there most of the time.

    I read a study recently that used equipment to track eye motion while people were reading web pages and it showed that most people can learn pretty quickly to avoid even looking at the parts of the page that have ads. (Sorry, I don't have a link to it.)

  2. If there's anything I hate as much as taxes, it's advertisements. 😉 So, I usually block them, because it's so easy to do. All I do is have a /etc/hosts file that points to 127.0.0.1 for a bunch of sites. It speeds web page loading, too.

    Unlike Tim, I haven't noticed any negative to doing this, but perhaps I just don't browse the web as much as he does.

    And the TiVo helps with it in meatspace.

  3. I put this in my drivers/etc/hosts files on Windows, to

    block about 25% of all the ads on the sites I visit:

    127.0.0.1 code.fastclick.net ad.doubleclick.net a.tribalfusion.com

  4. I use Privoxy to block advertisements on the web and my Tivo to avoid them on TV.

  5. At home, where I use Safari, I don't do any blocking. At work where I use Firefox (on Windows), I use the FlashBlock extension which prevents Flash objects from loading until I click the substituted "play" button. I use it because I find a lot of Flash content, ad and non-ad, distracting. I also don't like it when I'm using a scroll wheel and the scrolling stops because the cursor happened to pass over a Flash object. Beyond that, I'll only use the "block images from this site" to punish advertisers that use seizure-inducing animated gifs.

  6. I have some ad sites (doubleclick and friends) blocked using my /etc/hosts file. It makes browsing a few sites much cleaner.

  7. I also use Privoxy.

  8. At work, a google search led me to an About.com article the other day, and a Flash advertisement there started loudly promoting a flash-based video game -- and it didn't just play once and stop, which some courteous ads do, it kept beeping and bonking unendingly. It was pissing me off so much that I just closed the window and disregarded the article altogether. I've been meaning to install the flash blocker for Firefox, but haven't gotten around to it -- yet this experience has pushed me such that if I think of it, I'll definitely install it tomorrow. I have right-clicked and blocked ads from some of the more annoying animation-based ads. That's on a Win32 machine. At home, I use Safari, and I don't block any ads.

    Basically, if it's not making noise or animated -- if it's a simple advertisement that doesn't distract me from what I'm trying to do -- I don't bother blocking it.

  9. in safari I have a custom CSS installed, in firefox I use the Adblocker

    but i usually dont go and add banners to the filters except on bad days 😀

    I am lucky to block any flash content with this flash blocker (still loaded, but only plays upon my click on it *neat isnt it*)

  10. I only block ads on sites where the ads make it difficult to read the site. This is usually sites that place animated flash ads in the text. Otherwise I leave them on as figure sites need an income. I use Omniweb 5.1 so I can block on a site by site basis.

    I've also switched my default pop-up behaviour to block all since the advent of the new pop-unders that appear to bypass most blockers.

  11. I only block flash based adds... I removed flash a few times but I needed it to log-in to a few sites, like blockbuster. So I installed Flashblock and white listed blockbuster and never looked back.

  12. If it flashes or moves, into AdBlock it goes. Other stuff, like AdSense, is tolerable.