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0 pointsjjayj1y ago0 comments

This is a space in which I still haven't fully formed an opinion (as I typed this response I realized I have an opinion, I'm just not totally sure what it is) so I welcome discussion. I hate advertising too, and use e.g. Sponsor Block, but I recognize that the majority of the modern internet would not exist without ads.

> if I turn the volume down during ads, is that morally wrong?

30 years ago, was it morally wrong to go to the bathroom during an ad break? (IMO: no)

> I think about something other than the ads while they play, is that wrong?

30 years ago, was it wrong to chat with friends during a commercial break? (IMO: no)

That being said, _skipping_ the ads entirely doesn't seem (to me) equivalent to these examples.

I cannot explain why I feel this way. I _think_ I still believe in _unobtrusive_ advertising - 5 to 15 seconds of ads before a 10 minute video.

If the author of our favorite podcast can't get any product placement in, why will they continue producing the podcast? (Maybe in a utopia they would create the podcast because that's what they love to do - but maybe in a utopia they would prefer not to cast, and instead listen to someone else?)

Idk. Some thought vomit here that maybe HN folks can help me work through.

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0x2a1y ago

You're not obligated to listen to an ad anymore than you are obligated to buy an advertised product.

Creators will still get paid per download with this tool. If everyone does something like this (unlikely), worst case is conversion rates might be lower, which could cause advertising to become less financially viable, so content creators may have to explore other monetization options or add more advertising.

Removing ads from a podcast that offers a paid ad-free alternative feels wrong, but aside from that I don't see anything wrong with this. I'll always choose a paid version over ads.

Video/audio ads (especially TV commercial breaks) seem inherently obtrusive to me. They're hard to skip, and rarely contextual. I personally think listening to ads is generally harmful, there are better sources of information to be influenced by to make a decision.

An unobtrusive ad would imo be more like putting a link in the description, or a privacy-respecting banner on the website. I'm sure that wouldn't pay as well, though.

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