Some unnamed websites have joined forces to block all Firefox users because of the Ad Block Plus plug-in. Here’s what they have to say about Firefox and its users:
The Mozilla Foundation and its Commercial arm, the Mozilla Corporation, has allowed and endorsed Ad Block Plus, a plug-in that blocks advertisement on web sites and also prevents site owners from blocking people using it. Software that blocks all advertisement is an infringement of the rights of web site owners and developers. Numerous web sites exist in order to provide quality content in exchange for displaying ads. Accessing the content while blocking the ads, therefore would be no less than stealing. Millions of hard working people are being robbed of their time and effort by this type of software. Many site owners therefore install scripts that prevent people using ad blocking software from accessing their site. That is their right as the site owner to insist that the use of their resources accompanies the presence of the ads.
While blanket ad blocking in general is still theft, the real problem is Ad Block Plus‘s unwillingness to allow individual site owners the freedom to block people using their plug-in. Blocking FireFox is the only alternative.
This was the same debate the TV broadcasters raised with TIVO. Do viewers have legal duty to watch advertisements? Should we be arrested because we look the other way or go to the bathroom? I’m hoping blind people are exempt from all this, because they’ve been avoiding banner ads since the web was started!
Update: The site has been changed a bit, with a whole lot of backpedaling.
No where do we assert that “since Firefox users have the ability to block ads, they must be thieves and must be blocked.”
You can read the quotes from above and judge for yourself as to what they said. (I think you know my opinion on the matter!)
Ads suck. Popups and banners with sound deserve to be blocked. Site admins are just greedy.
And if all browsers with the capability to block ads were blocked, they would get NO VISITORS AT ALL.
Thank the stars, the 100th post!
We’re at the very bottom of the main blog page now, and the hot chick will be pushed into oblivion with the next main page post… pity! She’s super hot, I mean, OMFG!!!
As for ads – I’ve blocked them for years. First with AtGuard (an awesome simple firewall/ad-block/net monitor acquired by Symantec – became Norton Internet Security) back in the 90’s, then various other products until Firefox & Adblock came along.
When we designed the web (me and a couple thousand other people), we did NOT WANT commerce on it. The ‘net was great for research, sharing ideas, tech support, and communications. When it was commercialized (thanks, Bill), it became an ugly beast.
So, we were here first. If you don’t like us blocking your ads, I’d recommend mass-faxing, telemarketing, catalogs, TV/radio ads, post cards, people standing on corners holding signs, whatever – just get the hell off our network.
In real life, advertisement always been a disease. On the internet, advertisement is now disease. Firefox is the cure.
On a related note, I am going to start class action lawsuit against CBS, NBC, and ABC for spamming my television with advertisements.
I just Ad Block’d all the ads on this page in honor of this. God bless Firefox!
You know, if internet advertisements were anything like television advertisements (entertaining, less obnoxious and annoying, didn’t cause computer problems) there probably wouldn’t be any complaints about them. I mean, when’s the last time you heard someone complain about a Google ad? They’re so innocuous, off to the side, click or don’t click.
Who is that girl at the top? She is a HOTTIE!!
I suggest that the websites all up-in-arms use her in their ads. Then there is no way I’d block them!
Advertisers can kiss my fucking ass!
There was an article here?
i was too focused on the chick in the tight shirt
Did these “hard-working” people ever stop to consider that the vast majority of their visitors aren’t interested in the ads and would just as soon block them? Firefox users who use ABP are those with the state of mind not to click on the ads in the first place. So by their definition, just looking at the page without clicking their ads is stealing.
It would be pretty hard to steal something that’s posted for all to share.
In general firefox users tend to click on ads less anyway. If they are blocking ads on purpose, why do you think that forcing them to unblock is going to make the ad perform better?
I know on my site I’ve never even put trying to unblock and adblock into consideration. It’s a disservice to your advertiser to force an ad impression on someone who is so anti-advertisement that they won’t take action anyway. If you are paid CPC, then you won’t get paid any extra by unblocking them, and if you are paid CPM then you are charging your advertiser for an impression that won’t amount to squat. Stupid all around if you ask me.
So you don’t like this guy and his “You owe me money whether or not I earnt it” attitude…
Go visit his site, press Ctrl + F5 a few times until you get bored.
It’ll cost a lot more than he’s saving by blocking firefox users.
When the ad’s scream and yell, ‘GET YOUR FREE IPOD NOW!’ ‘WHO IS THIS PERSON STARRING AT LINDSAY LOHAN IN THE MIRROR?!’ ‘CHAT WITH ME NOW I’M A HOT BABE’ then yeah, I get to block your ass. But as many people that I know that use firefox and adblock, there are just as many people still on IE (ewww) and starring at those lame ads and their pop ups on those sites…
*sigh* So lame. But thats fine, if they want to block me, then they must not be that good to view.
In the late 1990’s there were tools that acted as proxy servers and filtered out adds for IE as well. I assume that these still exist and would fall into this warped idea. I am guilty of never (almost never) looking at the adwords ads on Google.
This Danny Carlton guy claims himself as a freelance web designer, and yet his own site is made with MS FrontPage and uses tables for layout? I wouldn’t hire him. I totally agree that we have a right to refuse advertisements on our own computers.
Website administrators have the right to impose any rules they want on who can view their site. Just as businesses have the right to refuse service to anyone. So blocking firefox users is totally within their legal rights, even though it is retarded and self defeating.
Likewise users have the right to “mute” any advertisement in any media form they encounter. Thus using adblock is not at all illegal and thus not at all like stealing. No more than people who mute their TV during commercials are stealing from NBC.
Now, I am all for websites turning a profit. Many great sites would disappear if there wasn’t some form of financial incentive to keep investing time and money into the site. But this is a pretty straight forward issue.
So what we have here is a pissy little man child bitching about the fact that his ads aren’t as effective as they could be. The retarded part is the fact that his response is to block a quickly growing portion (soon to be majority) of internet users.
Now, both Adblock and Firefox could side step this entire issue by creating a sort of compromise solution here. Instead of just deleting the ads from websites, put a box the exact size of the ad in its place with a small text that says “Advertisement: Click here to view.” this would solve two problems…
1. It would be more like an automatic “mute button” than a magic wand that deletes all adds giving the users control over whether or not they want to view advertisements.
2. It would preserve the original layout of the site you are visiting while still eliminating advertisements. I cannot tell you how weird some sites look when their ads are removed and everything is moved into their place. If anyone has the right to complain about adblock its web designers who are seeing their work butchered when the ads are removed.
But as for now its a small price to pay for ad free surfing.
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