What AdBlockers are you all using? Of course, browsers too.

Ergload · June 2016

I stopped using Adblock Plus because it just wasn't working anymore for some sites. I've heard uBlock Origin is good, but I haven't tried it myself yet.

I was wondering if any of you guys have a better idea about which adblocker app to use? I don't really care of it's for chrome or firefox, as I use both, so long as it works.

Ridelynn · June 2016

I've noticed a lot of sites are working around AdBlock. I haven't found a better alternative yet though.

Bloodaxes · June 2016

I'm using Adguard Adblocker now.

Seems to block more than adblock plus.

Dullahan · June 2016

I've been using uBlock Origin on both browsers.

Sovrath · June 2016

I don't use ad blockers as that interferes with how the sites make money.

Just like I expect to get paid for my work, the people who run the sites also want to get a paycheck.

If the ads are interfering with the site I let the site know. If they ads cause issues I just don't go to the site.

Cleffy · June 2016

Opera with it's built in ad-blocker

Grunty · June 2016

None.

Cogohi · June 2016

I don't block self-hosted ads. Third party ad servers are not to be trusted. Even Google has had issues. They're just too large to effectively police everything that's uploaded. Not running an adblocker is almost as bad as not running with a firewall or an anti-virus. It's simply too risky.

Once AdBlock Plus went evil I switched to Request Policy. Sadly that's not yet available for Chrome.

Sirmatthias · June 2016

I think I'm going to start using ad blocker on my phone since the direction of video advertisements eat my small little allotment of data like candy.

SBFord · June 2016

You know...for a site like ours, a mid-level small-staff news site that fills a needed space beneath all the corporate giants, it's a pretty harsh conversation to have when we NEED your support. While I get it that they are used elsewhere, it's painful to see this discussion here.

We have families to feed too.

Panther2103 · June 2016

SBFord said:

You know...for a site like ours, a mid-level small-staff news site that fills a needed space beneath all the corporate giants, it's a pretty harsh conversation to have when we NEED your support. While I get it that they are used elsewhere, it's painful to see this discussion here.

From what I can tell you guys have ads built into the site though, that adblockers can't get rid of, so you should be making at least something off of that. I personally don't use an adblock on this webpage, but when I turn it on I still see the background ad of riders of icarus.

k61977 · June 2016

SBFord said:

You know...for a site like ours, a mid-level small-staff news site that fills a needed space beneath all the corporate giants, it's a pretty harsh conversation to have when we NEED your support. While I get it that they are used elsewhere, it's painful to see this discussion here. We have families to feed too.

While I understand your stance on this, I run an ad block just because I am tired of sites having more ads than content. This is true about most sites now. If it is a site that I deem worthy of my support I will usually disable the ad block. When half a page is full of ads then I tend to turn it on and leave it on, but it is my right to decided when I am going to be bothered by ads for things I could care less about.

Its one thing to openly ask for support and another to try and get it without asking which is what ads do.

Sovrath · June 2016

Cogohi said:

Not running an adblocker is almost as bad as not running with a firewall or an anti-virus. It's simply too risky.

I have friends who are so paranoid that they have the largest and most convoluted passwords, they use ad blockers and anything else that will protect them. Yet they seem to be the people who have the most issues with viruses and the like.

I just use common sense, and rarely have any issues. I run my virus software and usually have nothing.

There must be some correlation between the "hyper vigilant" and what sites they are going to that have issues.

Ergload · June 2016

Cogohi said:

I don't block self-hosted ads. Third party ad servers are not to be trusted. Even Google has had issues. They're just too large to effectively police everything that's uploaded. Not running an adblocker is almost as bad as not running with a firewall or an anti-virus. It's simply too risky.
Once AdBlock Plus went evil I switched to Request Policy. Sadly that's not yet available for Chrome.

Trying out Request Policy rn. Seems pretty good. Thanks!

Sirmatthias · June 2016

Everything has a equal and opposite reaction. Websites increase the amount of advertisements for more revenue, customers produce ad blocking software. The worst is the websites that block out the entire website so you need to watch or look at some ad before even getting to the site. Its a delicate balance to be sure. Like avoiding ad riddled sites altogether. hmmmm yin and yang....

Quizzical · June 2016

I use AdBlock Plus, mainly because it was what I found available in Opera before Opera added built-in ad-blocking. I do check the box to allow non-obtrusive advertising.

I also whitelist a lot of the sites I visit, including this one. I do appreciate that sites need money, and would like for those that provide good content to get the money they need. The first time I visit a site that doesn't look like one of the blatant clickbait sites, I'll generally try whitelisting the site and seeing how it goes. Sometimes they have to get taken off the whitelist very quickly, though:

-ads that auto-forward you away from the site you were visiting
-ads that cover up or otherwise obscure content
-auto-play videos with audio on pages whose real content is text (I'm okay with video ads for video content)
-anything that makes the anti-virus software intervene

The new thing on some site seems to be that if you block their ads, where they would put ads, they have messages saying, please whitelist us. To which I say, if your real ads weren't so much worse than those messages, I would.

The basic rule of ads is that they shouldn't overwhelm the content. If getting to your site's content is a pain because ads are on the way, that's basically telling visitors to either block the ads or go away.

I tend to leave ad-blocking on on sites that I figure won't care. Sites that exist to sell you products (e.g., Amazon) probably aren't going to be buried in ads that make it hard to figure out what they're selling.

Hulluck · June 2016

I use Adblockplus and I have NoScript installed but not turned on currently. Hasn't been for a good while unless I am visiting some place I don't trust at all. Currently I'm getting one ad banner up top next to the mmorpg bar with 2 ads in it. Then an ad bar just below the quick comment with 3 ads on it. I am honestly not sure about the rest of the site. If I turn no script on. I get nothing. I've never put any sites on whitelist. Just never thought about it. However I guess I should whitelist mmorpg.com. I just remember all the infected banners from the past on this site. It's actually one of the core reasons I switched to FireFox AdBlock and NoScript years ago.

Ridelynn · June 2016

SBFord said:

You know...for a site like ours, a mid-level small-staff news site that fills a needed space beneath all the corporate giants, it's a pretty harsh conversation to have when we NEED your support. While I get it that they are used elsewhere, it's painful to see this discussion here. We have families to feed too.

You know, if there were a paid option for a few bucks a year to turn off ads, I would in a heartbeat.

Maybe I'm just an old school grump who prefers subs to F2P.

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