Intrusive Ads

I am not alone in considering AdBlock Plus as my favourite Firefox extension. Unlike some users I do not block all ads (using the supplied catalogue of ad-server domains), just those that I find most distracting and expensive.

I have the blocking so well tuned now that I rarely have to give it any thought; it just works. It came to mind again when I read this article. It also recalled to me one of the reasons why I stopped reading TheStreet.com some time ago, and also why I stopped subscribing to their paid service, Real Money. The article focuses on the free service, yet the preponderance of flash and other intrusive ads, and related techniques, is no different on the subscription site.

Why do web site operators do this? Some have learned from experience - including the New York Times - that the more aggressive the placement of ads, and those that consume bandwidth and increase user distraction, drive away their audiences. AdBlock and similar tools wouldn't be necessary if they treated viewers better. This has also been a regular theme on Techdirt, where a variety of newspaper web sites have been doing this in a desperate attempt to offset the loss of advertising revenue from their printed product. It doesn't work.

As I mentioned above, I do not use AdBlock more aggressively than I deem necessary. I have no objection to advertising on web sites any more than I do in printed newspapers. I want to see good sites be financially viable so that they continue. However, when a site treats me poorly by bombarding me with high-bandwidth, unavoidable and attention-monopolizing ads, I either filter them or avoid the site entirely. I have yet to find any web site that is indispensable; there is always another that can serve just as well. That is, they need me more than I need them. Many sites have yet to realize this.

There are even some sites that refuse to serve content if their cookies are blocked. One example was Information Week until they, apparently, changed their minds. I often block cookies from sites that do not provide me with some value in return for tracking my usage of their properties. If I get that value, and they want to place a cookie, I let them do so. Many news site value my viewing habits, but I will impede their receiving that value if I do not get something I value in return. Intrusive ads not only have no value to me, their value is definitely negative.