Seems quite some people are still upset about Firefox users’ habit of blocking web advertising! Oh noes! A growing number of bloggers appear to be blocking users of the popular Firefox browser from accessing their content, claiming it’s theft to read a blog while blocking advertising. Though as a publisher I understand the hate, as a developer and heavy internet user, I’m torn. We had a ton of feedback to us here at BoN about our previous layout, with 4 ad display units per page, which opened our eyes, causing us to change, leaving one med-block ad unit above the fold (kinda). This we felt was a happy medium, where users wouldn’t have their experience diluted and we as publishers wouldn’t have our revenue diluted (too much). We can live with that, all we ask is that our readers live with it too.
Quote from Whyfirefoxisblocked.com:
The Mozilla Foundation and its Commercial arm, the Mozilla Corporation, has allowed and endorsed Ad Block Plus, a plug-in that blocks advertisement on web sites and also prevents site owners from blocking people using it. Software that blocks all advertisement is an infringement of the rights of web site owners and developers. Numerous web sites exist in order to provide quality content in exchange for displaying ads. Accessing the content while blocking the ads, therefore would be no less than stealing. Millions of hard working people are being robbed of their time and effort by this type of software. Many site owners therefore install scripts that prevent people using ad blocking software from accessing their site. That is their right as the site owner to insist that the use of their resources accompanies the presence of the ads.
Delicious this
10:54 pm UTC on December 11th, 2007
I don’t see the point of AdBlock. Are a few ads really that bad?
And if the ads really are annoying or overbearing, why go to the site in the first place?
11:47 pm UTC on December 11th, 2007
Devils advocate sez: about:config is your friend
2:58 pm UTC on December 17th, 2007
“Accessing the content while blocking the ads, therefore would be no less than stealing.â€
Nope. The ads are part of the content, all of which is offered for free (unless you use a paywall). People can choose to ignore any part of any content and frequently do in all aspects of life. Using technological means to ignore adverts is no different from simply covering the advert with your hand.
A similar argument can be made that by not paying attention to adverts during TV programmes, you’re “stealing†the TV programme.
Choosing to block a certain type of content—or, strictly, blocking anything that includes one of a set of phrases such as “adsâ€, which is what AdBlock Plus does—is exactly the same technique used to block porn, swearwords and other such sensibility-offending material from children. Pornographers could argue that reading the porn-y text while blocking the porn-y pictures is equally stealing.
The bottom line is that you can’t force your readers to pay attention to stuff they don’t want to. The user always has the last say, which is exactly as it should be.
You shouldn’t need to force them to pay attention in the first place: if your adverts aren’t entertaining and engaging enough to make people want to see them, then they suck.
11:14 am UTC on December 25th, 2007
mgroves seems to forget the concept of visiting NEW websites. *clicks link. Annoying flash ad plays. I block Ad.* Done.
4:28 am UTC on August 25th, 2010
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4:07 pm UTC on August 26th, 2010
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