I'm gonna go into rant mode here so bear with me.
Does anyone remember the guys over at Rooster Teeth? I barely do, I remember they made that cool machinima about Halo called Red vs Blue. It was great, I'd go there all the fucking time. And as their popularity grew, so did the ads. The ads got worse and worse, banners on screen ads on popups on intro and outtro ads. So many ads, that the ads would take up all the bandwidth and cause the actual video to not load! And ya know what, I couldn't take it anymore. So in the days before adblock, I stopped going to their site, and since adblock, I've never gone back. I never finished watching that cool shit, because the adds utterly and completely ruined the experience. They could have done a thousand things differently, but no. They rammed adds up the butt and pissed off the client base.
Youtube was on the fast track to do the same thing, and when ever I have to use the internet on a computer without adblock, I quickly find myself asking "how the hell did I put up with this?" It's absolutely inexcusable. Especially when most of the content is just some fedora, or neck beard sitting behind a webcam vomiting exposition. And throwing ads on it expecting people to be ok with using that as a means of them making money so they don't have to get a real job. And when I come home from a real job, with my head hurting and my back aching, just wanting to watch some funny shit on my computer, and then I'm faced with this shit... well, the answer is no. Worse yet, when you pay attention to where viruses and malware come from, it's usually adds. Those adds on download sites, with a hundred buttons saying 'download here.' And guess what they download onto your computer when you click them? Candy? Birthday cake? Funny cat pictures even? No. It's fake antivirus programs, tracking malware, redirecting infections, and god knows what else. They are not good. And the fact that ad companies, AND THE SITES WHO HOST THEM allow this to happen is absolutely unacceptable.
Now, I don't think I'm an unreasonable man. I've long said that if you make cool merch to support yourself, then I'll buy those cool tee shirts or whatever, and if the escapist ever gets its store restocked, then indeed there are several I want. And I've asked the guys over at adblock, is there a plan in the works so I can let ads from, very specific channels or videos play some of their ads. Not the ones that burn bandwidth like your mom, but some. So far I haven't gotten a response there either, but I'm hopeful, and there is the option to allow some non-intrusive adds now, so maybe that's their response.
You and the other content creators can argue that adds are the best solution, or the moral thing to do, or whatever totalbiscuit wants to vomit up in favor of his ad based life. But at the end of the day, nothing that I've found on the internet, that is ad supported, is vital or irreplaceable. And considering the harm they can do; and have done, the 'content providers' are going to need to do a major rethink before I or anyone who runs adblock is going to think twice about it.
