Jimquisition: The Adblock Episode

[Ophiuchus]

I just checked and apparently I do have an ad blocker. I had to check because I vaguely remember installing it at some point, but regularly see ads these days regardless. I guess it's either not working very well or has had a big whitelist patched in at some point. Also, the fact that I noticed the ads and didn't bother to do anything about it suggests that I probably don't need to have it installed at all.

Not that any of this affects my viewing of The Escapist. I've had a PubClub membership since it first became available and will continue to renew (despite my decline in forum reading/participation these days) for as long as there's content that I enjoy. So that's a thing I'd recommend for a whole bunch of reasons. If a straight up 'fund the Jimquisition' thing ever happened, I'd throw money at that too.

 

[Tombfyre]

I rather like the Acceptable Ads program that appears to be still going through things like adblock. Good standards and practices with the ads, so they're not offensive or outright dangerous to users from malware and the like, and boom, it gets through adblock. Seems to work just fine for places like Reddit, and the like! A potentially happy medium, if nothing else.

 

[Barbas]

The fact that the team doesn't know these are present, yet have been on this site for at least half a year is somewhat troubling.

May I humbly suggest the Escapist staff try browsing the site as a regular user for a day to see what the experience is like?

When I dropped into the Tech Team chat a while back and mentioned that a lot of people's Escapist profiles weren't linking to their Steam profiles properly (because of a recent change to the Steam community URL layout), Kross said it was the first he'd heard of it. He promptly fixed the problem in short order. I guess the faster stuff gets passed along to 'em, the faster it gets solved.

 

[themilo504]

I never use ad block, I can understand why people do it but simply minimizing the browser so that only the video or text is shown is a very nice solution that still supports the people I?m watching.

 

[Aikayai]

I would like to NOT run AdBlock,but those shitty small ads which insist on playing their audio every fucking time a page loads just gets right up my arse, especially when watching the Jimquisition. Admittedly its only been in the last few weeks that I've had to take this action, but really I think the solution is just to get sponsors like Rev3 have and just play a sequence mid show or get a better ad host, because the one The Escapist uses is just awful.

 

[Reincarnatedwolfgod]

I already had the escapist white listed long before watching this video.
In related news that there is a weird anime ad about psycho's or crap like that. I will never look up what this anime even is about because if did that means the advertisers won.

 

[Kreett]

I turned off my adblock on the Escapist the moment you asked, Jimothy! ~3~

 

[xGrimReaperzZ]

Whitelisted the site, couldn't bare with the ads though..

So i guess i'm part of the "Publisher's Club" now, just for you, Jimmy Boy!

 

[Vareoth]

Fine, alright! I'll remove the bleedin' block on this site.

Now, how about I'll make the Escapist a deal for a change: remove the unjust warnings from the people in the first three pages of this topic (and any future ones), and I will subscribe to the publisher's club within the week.

 

[04whim]

I do have Ad Block installed on Chrome for the whole browsing porn thing you mentioned. The last thing I need is virus infested pop ups everywhere but I do usually whitelist things like The Escapist, That Guy With the Glasses, YouTube, sites that generally are some people's jobs.

Of course I realise that, a few days ago adverts were refusing to play on this site for some reason which prevented me from watching videos. So I had to turn Ad Block on to get around that problem. So I've been watching videos on here for a week or two with Ad Block on without realising so sorry about that, guys. :I

 

[Kingjackl]

I use AdBlock for general browsing, though in light of this video, I think I'm going to start making a few exceptions. I immediately disabled it for the Escapist following this video and got an ad for a Hyundai on the very next page I opened. Might as well keep it off, that's no more intrusive than any TV ad and want to keep supporting my favourite content creators like Jim.

 

[Alterego-X]

I find it strange that between piracy and adblocking, Jim appears to be more soft on the one that affects him. Either both are theft, or neither.

For the record, I prefer the "neither" answer, and a similar stance would have been more welcome for that episode, admitting that not giving out "hypohetical future profits", is not the same thing as stealing. The important thing is that our content producers make a living, but beyond that, it's a matter of helpfulness and courtesy, versus hanging on for the ride as an extra freeloader but without bringing much extra burden either.

 

[Revolutionary]

C'mon people white-listing is easy, and the escapist is pretty good with ads (better than youtube at any rate.).

 

[Eri]

I'm gonna go into rant mode here so bear with me.

Does anyone remember the guys over at Rooster Teeth? I barely do,

You realize they are in the top 15 most subscribed on YouTube and are huge right?

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

I'm gonna go into rant mode here so bear with me.

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.

To me, this has always been something I could never understand. There is no Ministry of Taste, nor should there be. Whether content is valid or invalid in one's opinion doesn't mean it's universally that way across the board. Whereas I might enjoy a certain video or concept, someone else may not. And that's okay. No one's taste should be the sole gateway of whether or not something is worth existence.

Although I have to question your concept of "vital" or "irreplaceable." If you don't think something has enough purpose to exist, why do you consume it while actively circumventing its payment. I would imagine you don't steal every movie you watch, book you read, or steal every meal you eat. In the same vein, why is it justified that you can have every bit of advertisement-supported content without needing to suffer the advertisements? If it's not vital, and you don't want it to continue, simply stop consuming. And if you like how it tastes, and enjoy the content, why not suffer through some ads or an annual PubClub subscription fee to pay for it?

By your analogy, all you really need is MREs and water to survive, so chefs who make gourmet food should all be provided raw ingredients, then not paid after they've prepared them. Nothing of physical value was lost (except the years of talent that cultivated the result), so it's all fair game, right?

So yeah, it may suck to have ads, but you should reconsider their use. Everyone has different opinions, but at the very least, consider why this helps people. All it costs you is thirty seconds. It costs these creators, by extension, their livelihoods.

Yes, I should have made more mention of the fact (rather than just a still image) that The Escapist has a reasonable ad-free subscription service. This is also a really good way to support the site if you have some spare dubloons and want the ads gone.

Also, thanks so much for the frank and civil response thus far!

Please read the following post as a radio announcer: If you want to support the Escapist Magazine, and its contributors, consider The Escapist's Publisher's Club [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/subscription/details] for ad-free viewing, higher video resolutions, and other benefits!

I never even thought about this, honestly. Have taken the escapist off the block.

Genuinely, consider a lot of sites you regularly visit, and whitelist them. Especially ones like this, where the contributors literally make or break at the end of the year based on whether or not the company can afford to keep paying them. For some, it is literally the difference between having a job and not at desparate times. Whitelisting is good.

 

[Brian Tams]

I only ever adblock sites that the ads cause multiple streaming, framerate, etc. problems. I haven't had a problem with the Escapist yet, so I don't adblock.

Really, I don't mind watching your ads, I just ask they don't be intrusive.

 

[Nexxis]

So far, I don't purposefully block ads on my PC, though I do regret not having an ad blocker many many times. Ads have gotten so obnoxious that they inconvenience me to the point where I can't even watch the content I came to a site for. It's happened a few times on the escapist, usually with the ads that autoplay videos. Sometimes they slow my browser down to the point where I can't watch other videos without them skipping or stalling. I've gotten to the point where I'll watch videos from "That Guy With The Glasses" on my ipad because it doesn't play ads. I've had ads that crash the video player (usually Blip) so that the video I came to see never plays. The closest thing I have to an ad blocker is McAffee Sitadvisor and, as far as I know, it usually only blocks ads that are prone to have malicious behavior that can harm my computer if clicked on or whatever. I'm all up for supporting content creators. I WANT to support the people that make this awesome content. At the moment, not blocking ads is the only way I can show support, but GOOD LORD it's hard!

 

[Triaed]

I am not going to get into whether I use AdBlock, instead my contribution to the discussion is this:

Everyone has the right to decide what content is displayed on their screens, regardless of where it comes from; this also ties to having cookies automatically installed from ad servers as well as increased used bandwidth (from downloading additional graphics and sounds). That last point might not be an issue for first world internet service, but it is in many other parts.

I see using ad blockers no different from changing the channel during the commercials while watching your favourite TV show, or PVRing a show and then skip through the commercials... or even paying for satellite radio.

There are lots of obtrusive advertising out there, but there is also the need to recognise that content creators rely on some of these ads. I do not think the answer is binary, either a yes or a no to ads, but someplace in the middle: some balance.

For the record, I do have the Escapist on my whitelist. After being a member of the Publisher's Club, going back to ad supported content wasn't bad at all (just don't put commercials in the videos, please)

 

[Aardvaarkman]

Oh, it also wants to appear on the empty space on both sides the the website? That's GREAT! You want to click on the forums button? "BUY A JEEP INSTEAD. I know I'm physically on top of the forum button, but IF YOU BUY ME I'LL GO AWAY (I lied, I'll ask you to buy another)"

Being blissfully ad-free for years as a Pub Club member, I had no idea it was this bad. And another poster up-thread mentions things like fake anti-virus software ads, which are usually relegated to the most tawdry cesspools of the web.

Does The Escapist just accept random ads from anybody they can? I would have thought that the site is popular enough that it could have more quality control and enforce some standards on advertisers. There are plenty of sites that curate their ads and make good money without running obnoxious ads from everybody under the sun.

I don't see how this makes business sense for The Escapist. By having such low standards for ads, they are actually devaluing advertising on their site. If they were more strict with who and what they allowed, that would actually increase the price at which they could sell the ads, while probably also decreasing the number of people who block them. You advertising is going to be a lot more effective if it is limited, and related to the interests and demographic of the audience.

I'd like to see Jim or someone address this side of the issue, as it appears to be the real elephant in the room - so many have commented here that they would like to watch ads, but that they are just too terrible to put up with. Unblocking ads in the hope that things will somehow get better does not seem like a reasonable decision. I'd especially like to hear from someone from The Escapist on what their policy is on accepting advertising, and if there are any that they would turn down.

 

[AdagioBoognish]

I feel like what you have said in this episode is in contradiction to what you said at the end of the "Early Access" video.

Link:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/8681-Early-Access

"You don't pay for the Jimquisition. Just think about that. This is free."

I don't mean to take quotes out of context, so I've provided a link; but you can't say that your videos are a free service and expect at the same time we do something for you.

He's not expecting us to do anything. It was a really polite way of explaining his side of a situation and informing us that if we care to disable adblock, Jim and other Escapist content creators will benefit from the ad revenue. His videos are free in the literal sense of the word; no one has to pay a penny to watch them. Ads might be shit and you may metaphorically be paying the price of watching that guy build a fucking red vines robot before each video, but that doesn't change the fact that the content is free.

It's not hypocritical in any way for Jim to say his content is free and ask us to think about the effect of adblocking a site. He's not holding anything over our heads or threatening to be a dick and pull his videos if we don't stop using adblock or don't buy an escapist subscription. He aired this video and absolutely nothing changes unless you decide you want the situation to change. The free to play games he's attacking in that other video withhold content from people that don't pay and intentionally create a game that is essentially unplayable if you don't buy gems to speed up ludicrously long build times. I would be %100 on your side if the Jimquisition videos paused themselves every 10 seconds unless you white listed them or some other contrived way of keeping the videos technically free, but pretty much forcing you to pay to enjoy them fully.