DISCLOSURE: I WORK AT GOOGLE ON NOTHING AD RELATED BUT IT CERTAINLY PAYS MY SALARY.
>> The fact is that advertising pays for much of the internet content you consume for free.
> I've never had free internet... which ISP do you use?
How many payments from Comcast to New York Times happen per year? Hint, the number rhymes with buck mall.
>> It's because of perverse incentives and a lack of regulation in the entire industry that force bad formats, fraudsters, malware, and the pursuit of data and volume to win over quality and user experience.
> The whole point of advertising is to trick people into buying shit they don't need.
Or, it's to inform you about the stuff that's out there. It's all perspective. "Trick"? What phone do you own? I guarantee you heard about it through some form of advertisement. And before you say that it's only because you read a review about it - I 1000% guarantee you saw an ad somewhere that primed you to even read the article.
>> As much as I don't care for the ABP approach, it's something that can be used to actually make progress and that's what this is, progress.
> This is a step backwards, not progress.
Why?
>> It's finally some outside pressure on the industry to change from the segment of the advertising mechanism that matters most - the people themselves.
> Bullshit. This is a way of lifting the pressure on the industry, and this initiative is mostly supported by players in the industry. Not the people.
There's no one on the other side right now - ABP is at least bringing the people to the table.
If you don't like it, then turn on and pay for Google Contributor (see earlier disclosure about my employer) and then no ads AND the site you visits actually get paid.