Why Ad Blocking is devastating to the sites you love. (from 2010)

Hey Folks,

I shall explain how to disable adblock for ATS:

*Ad-block users, take note of the small small red octagon with the letters APB in the top corner of your screen.

Click on it. Of the options displayed, select 'Disable on abovetopsecret.com'. This will disable ad-block for ATS only and the red octagon will become green whilst you are on this site.

Edit:

This is something you should do for all of your favourite websites. Next time you are visiting one, just take the same steps that you did to disable adblocking for this site.



[edit on 8-3-2010 by Exuberant1]

reply to post by serbsta


Hey serbsta,

I know I am not one of the people you are talking about as I enjoy the site, contribute threads and posts freely and wish for the site to continue to be a success. I must say though that by taking such as draconian utilitarian stance it sort of renders the site into that of a fascist government and not a place where reality, authority and perceptions can be questioned openly.

It is through conflict that resolution occurs. Without forming, storming, norming and performing sessions we wouldn't have evolved enough to kill that big hairy thing with the teeth over there.

While some ideas may chide your comfort zones, it is only through dialogue and learning that we can succeed in overcoming obstacles. This dialogue requires 2 opposing viewpoints to come together, chip off all the inconstancies with each others arguments and eventually come to understand and compromise so that each party feels they have triumphed to some degree.

If it doesn't happen here it will happen elsewhere - that's evolution for you.

I'd like to see it happen here as so much thought and attention to detail to be a cut-above-the-rest has already gone into this site and I think it's capable of doing more.

Banning some people for allegedly using AdBlocking software and not others only sets a precedence of corruption which we don't need.

I hope you can see my point of view.

-m0r

Since this quote is from page 5 and we all know a lot of people don't read entire threads, I thought that it should be re-posted.

This post makes so much sense that I can't see how anyone can argue with what it is saying. I would certainly expect anyone coming into my home to follow any rules that I have. And they are not rules for just a certain type of person, but for everyone. Don't like it? Don't visit.

Break the rules of the house? Apologize and hope that the owner thinks you are sincere and will respect their house from now on.

That's what it boils down to....respect.

Originally posted by alien

And how more arrogant is it than basically flipping the bird to those who operate that house? Those who clean it? Those who pay for its mortgage?

What I find quite arrogant is people who wish to come lax around on the couch, eat the chips, watch the TV and then complain whenever any *rule* is instilled that may pay for that couch they sit their butts on, pay for those chips they toss down their throat, pay for that cable-connection for the TV.


You consider it arrogant to respond that the rule here is A,B,C...I consider it RUDE to debate the point with what are essentially the *hosts* of the house.

There have been houses I've been into where I haven't agreed with what was happening within them, or the manner is which they have been kept, or the *rules* applicable within them.

Some houses I still visit - and I acknowledge that house-owner calls the shots...other houses I don't visit any more.

Most certainly you are a free human being - but this ain't a free site.

You consider it a 'telling off'? Nope...the telling off component comes after the request, the advisement, the sign on the door to 'remove your shoes'...if you choose to then ignore that for whatever reason and walk around inside with your shoes on...then the telling off comes...


Seriously. Try it in real life.

Go walk into someones house and do whatever you want. Tell them WTF whenever they inform you of the rules of the house. Tell them how arrogant they are to dare impose a rule upon a free human being...

...then tell us how that worked out for ya...

reply to post by m0r1arty


It is not draconian let alone utilitarian. It is simple protocol that a host is requiring of their guests to accept while they are in their home. The home analogy has been used by others in this thread; those conflict resolution options are not applicable here because, frankly, there is no conflict, its just what some members are perceiving this to be. You don't enter someone's home and tell them you have a problem with the way they run things do you? If it were a case of advertising gone wrong, such as ads which are in some way racist or target specific religious or cultural denominations then your forming, norming and storming could apply, but that isn't the case, no one is being specifically targeted, this is a matter between the host and their guests as a whole.

And no this website is not fascist, that would imply a complex web of social and racial elements being indoctrinated through the community by the staff, which is not the case. It is however, a dictatorship, a very fair and open to opinion dictatorship, as it should be. This website would fail as a democracy much like any other website...

My point is that no one is being mistreated here other than the website itself which is suffering from those who refuse to comply with the rules they singed up for. So accept the fair rules in place and get over it...

That being said, I respect your opinion and understand what you're saying, even if I don't agree with you.

I guess this would be a dumb question or two or three

But I thought you have to CLICK the ad's that show up
for payment to go to The Above Network, LLC.

So lets say some one has the ad's showing but never clicks
them, is that not the same thing as not showing ad's like with AdBlocker?

If the ad's are only needed to be shown in the window to get seen and
here is your payment, with out being clicked. I would love to get a hold of
the company that runs your ad's to help me with my sites.

I see the 3 listed below ( I.A.B., Gorilla, and Media Trust) but I don't see anywhere on their sites that state that the ad's must show,
no need for clicking them, for you to get your payment.

Originally posted by EvilBat
But I thought you have to CLICK the ad's that show up
for payment to go to The Above Network, LLC.

Incorrect.

For the most part, smaller lower-trafficked sites are limited to ads that are the lower-tier of online advertising, pay-per-click, or PPC ads.

Our traffic levels have enabled us to traverse up the ranks and pretty much deliver impression-based advertising, or "CPM" (cost-per-thousand impressions).

Over 95% of all the banner ads that appear on ATS are the CPM variety.

I don't use an adblocker. But I do use anti-virus and anti-spyware. Advertisements shouldn't ever include the use of viruses or spyware. I believe it's the ad networks' responsibility to make sure their ads do not contain them. But you always have to protect yourself. I wouldn't consider an ad-blocker to be an effective anti-spyware or anti-virus.

What I hate is when I have to wait for the page to load because of a slow-loading ad. That's when I leave.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Thanks for the reply

Well my sites don't have this much traffic and the
sites I do work with time to time ( not mine, just the coder )
don't have it either
so I guess we are out of luck with the ad's.

I guess we are still pay per click
( sounds like t.v. )

either way I still have the ad's showing on my account.
If my contacts don't know by now I'll send them an email
to let them know don't block the ad's

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
If you're using Ad Block Plus in FireFox (the most popular), simply click on the down-arrow next to the "ABP" red stop-sign in the upper right of your browser, then select "Disabled on AboveTopSecret.com"

[edit on 8-3-2010 by SkepticOverlord]

Thanks.

I was doing that all wrong and couldn't figure out how to fix it.
Appreciated and done.

- Lee

I will allow a filter in my ad blocking filter, try it out. As soon as I get a piece of ad ware or a talking ad, I'm putting back on. I will try to play by the rules. I noticed the ads aren't even on every page, except the main page. So really, compared to how they used to be, they are hardly an annoyance.

My apologies, I was going on from past experience. I guess the advertising is adjusted to certain type of members. My bad. =0

I'm pretty sure the new ad revenue is what is hurting the site I love.

This has become nothing more than the inside of the next new horror/alien movie ad.

When you do have a massive ad, and turn the whole site into one big ad, you guys make it so if anyone clicks the boarder on accident, they leave the site they want to be on so you guys can get $0.02.

Or how you constantly refresh pages to show new ads, HAVE POP UPS, and even re-direct users to a website that pays you to do so.

AND NOW YOU LOCK THE TOP OF THE SITE IF PEOPLE RUN AN ADBLOCKER?!

I live off of website revenue, and know for a fact that the VAST minority of people have an adblocker or _javascript turned off.

You will do nothing but lose the people who open your pages so you can constantly refresh them by enforcing such outrageous policies to earn money from the small percentage of ATSers who are fed up with all the ad shenanigans that go on here.

It's very apparent you are trying your hardest to squeeze every last penny you can out of this site, instead of improving it, and have been doing so for some time.

I think you guys should just put up a content locker next, and make it so we have to sign up for a free trial each day before we can access the site.

It seems like that's where you're heading!

[edit on 9-3-2010 by breakingdradles]

Originally posted by breakingdradles

It's very apparent you are trying your hardest to squeeze every last penny you can out of this site, instead of improving it, and have been doing so for some time.

Exactly my idea. Let there be no misunderstanding: We are ATS, we create the content, we create the discussion, without us, there is no ATS and no ad revenue at all. This site only serves as a medium to bring us like-minded people together, which is why I strongly disagree with the statement: 'we provide free content'. With all due respect, you do not, you merely provide the forum.

Even though it was always my understanding that ATS had no commercial goal, I have no objections against it. However, I very much dislike the suggestive taste of this thread: don't use Ad Blockers or devastation will be brought upon us.

It seems that this site generates a significant flow of ad revenue and it doesn't bother me that you want to increase it out of commercial interest, but be frank about it, instead of preaching about the 'devastating' consequences those using ad blockers cause you guys.

Apart from that, I do agree that we, members, should abide the rules. I just think many weren't aware of this particular one, though.

My 2 cents.





[edit on 9-3-2010 by Mdv2]

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
Do you also hate magazines, newspapers, television, and cable TV networks? Those all have ads, and in all cases, a much higher ratio of ad-to-content than here on ATS.

Tip-toeing through the broken glass here, (this appears to be a mine laden thread) Yes, I do hate mindless advertising.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
You purchase a magazine... but it has ads.

As an avid reader for many years I have trained myself to skip past advertising.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
You purchase a newspaper... but it has ads.

Only on on Sunday, see note above.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
You pay for cable TV... but cable networks have ads.

No we do not have cable TV, in Australia we have the ABC, it's add free, (except for their "upcoming show" between segments, we also have ABC3 for kids, also ad free, my children love it.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord
ATS is free to access, but we use advertising to ensure it stays free. It's rather simple.

Fair enough, I accept your point of view, people sometimes forget that internet sites are a dictatorship, "it's my way or the highway", however I might point out (carefully so as not to offend) that I was a small cog in the many wheels that began the internet.

This was never a part of the plans, we tried VERY hard to keep commercialization out and freedom of thought and expression in. Our ideals were high, our hopes even higher, the proof is the many stories, videos, blogs etc. that have shown the world the reality that we live in, no one would know about Gaza or China or Tibet if it were not for the internet.

Yet the child grows, Frankenstein or butterfly, only time will tell.

Surely a site like this has many if not most coming here using things like ie, which allows the ads.

reply to post by SkepticOverlord


Advertisement is literally putting an obstacle in your brother's path. It's doing something to someone which you know they don't want to do, ergo violating the "golden rule". It is the attempted subversion of another's mind and attentions. It wastes internet traffic which is undeniably wasting valuable planetary resources. It takes fossil fuels to send that traffic, and it's an admitted waste to put ads on your own screen that you know you will not click. It's distracting to the user, ergo wasting valuable human lifespan and just generally making people's days a little bit harder.


I'd have to say that this is one of the 4 or 5 issues in life in which I actually have an opinion, rather than just knowing some information about it. My opinion is that advertising (as it exists today)has no legitimate practical value and is an abomination to the human psyche. That it's simply below us as human beings, and we're better than that.

At least that's what I think.

Originally posted by andy1033
Surely a site like this has many if not most coming here using things like ie, which allows the ads.

That is in effect true, however as Firefox becomes more popular so ad-clicking and/or displays are seen as intrusive, time it for yourself, pick your favorite site, blocking on/off, see how long the page takes to load. If you have ever had a slower connection you will find net surfing becomes near impossible without ad blocking.

That being said, while the site may have begun with the best of intentions commercialization soon takes over, you have to purchase a newspaper, then accept the ads, some TV in Aussie is still free-to-air so you accept the ads, pay TV began as a way to view commercial content (movies etc.) ad free, that too soon disappeared. There is always someone who wants more.

And we know how honest the ads are, just click on the "you are our 1 millionth customer" ad to find out.

Thanks for the info on Ad-Block Plus. You see, I'm really a silly old git who doesn't know much about what to do with puter stuff, except fix it when it BSOD's on me.

Ads now allowed for ATS only.

Thanks again.

Why not, in the interest of disclosure, report the total cost of operating this site and the amount of money generated by ad revenue?

I'll be honest, I use adblock, and I use it on every site. I don't pay for the internet so I can be exposed to advertising, at least when I hear adverts on the radio, the radio is free. I also don't stick around to watch commercials on television either. I don't really have any interest in having something I don't want forced down my throat.

Also, from what I have seen of the ads on ATS, it is overrun with them, maybe if there were a reasonable amount of ads as opposed to a ridiculous amount of them, people wouldn't be so quick to block the ads in the first place.

I dont mind ads. Im not the easily distracted type and they go ignored.

What I do mind is taking forever to load a page or not being able to quickly go to another tab because some stupid script is slowing my browser down to the point where all I can do it force it to quit and start over.

That's why I block ads and everything else.

It's infinitely quicker for me just to click "close window" on that new stupid pop-up thing than it is to suffer the ads slowing everything down.

The quickest thing of all is just to use the mobile version. Nine times out of ten that's what I do.

I just did some messing around with my filters and the two worst offenders for grinding my browser to a screeching halt are the large banner ad at the top (varies by ad) and the ATS media bar. The ad's effect varies by ad but the media bar is a constant killer.

[edit on 9-3-2010 by thisguyrighthere]