I work in adtech. We all use adblockers, and the rise in their use is a good thing. Digital ads (especially video) are out of control and blocking is necessary to combat the terrible user experience and security risks.

However, ads also sustain all the services and content we consume for free and there are clearly common sense standards we can agree to: fast, non-intrusive, secure, static, etc. Any ad vendor that meets these guidelines should be let through (after a transparent vetting process and routine checkups).

Blocking everything just because it's an ad takes away any moral high ground from adblockers and doesn't do anything but hurt the entire ecosystem. A more nuanced approach would let good vendors through which would in turn start to encourage those behaviors by publishers and advertisers, creating progress all through the industry while letting companies stay in business.

It's not advertising we hate, it's the ad experience. Improving that experience is the ultimate goal, not engaging in endless war.