Hacker News Reader

Comment by AlexandrB | Hacker News Reader

Let's cut the bullshit. Dropping AdNauseam from the store is a clear sign from Google that their ad-supported revenue model is more important than user experience and choice, even in non-ad-focused products (do no evil indeed).

Given this fact, why would I want to use any Google product in the future or recommend Google to anyone? How can anyone trust Google Home or the Google self-driving car to not make similar compromises to usability and choice in the name of propping up Google's other business?

View on HN

I'm a bit out of the loop here. Why did AdNauseam get banned and not uBlock Origin, ABP, etc?

Edit: Nevermind, figured it out:

> As online advertising becomes ever more ubiquitous and unsanctioned, AdNauseam works to complete the cycle by automating Ad clicks universally and blindly on behalf of its users.

It doesn't just block ads, it also pretends to click them.

This is obviously very problematic for advertising networks which use a pay-per-click model, where sites are paid based on how many users click the ads. In fact, this behavior is very similar to a common type of fraud in the advertising world known as click fraud, which exploits the pay-per-click model to extract money from advertisers with "fake clicks" from bots.

Even though in this case it's being done not to defraud advertisers but to instead prevent ad networks from tracking what ads a user did click, I can see why Google might object.

I just had a picture of a Google self driving car taking you to your destination via "sponsored routes", past businesses who have "paid per view".

> why would I want to use any Google product in the future or recommend Google to anyone?

because the world isn't black and white. i don't agree with every decision google makes, but i don't think there's a single company for which i agree with every decision.

i think its really a stretch to say that this single decision means that all google products are going to be terrible. google prioritizes its ad revenue over user experience sometimes. but if it still produces a product superior to its competitors, i'll choose that product. and if it produces an inferior one, i probably won't choose it.

> compromises to usability

explain how preventing non-Chrome Store extensions from being installed is a compromise on usability? If anything, usability is improved for most of the Chrome using population.

AdNauseum getting dropped from the Chrome store was the right move as it is a bot that commits click fraud. Advertisers pay good money for a targeted audience. If you don't want to see advertisement nor to be tracked, there are ways maintain privacy without being retaliatory.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com