@Wabu @jeff prefer no ads but if needed,how about
YES:
* other #MastodonInstances that can afford to run ads
* #Mastodon-supporting, #proEarth, #proScience #nonprofits and #universities
* #jobAds for #scientists #programmers #educators #artists
* #recycling #sustainability efforts
* #animalRescues
* #LocalGovernment #StateGovernment #publicSafety #parksAndRec #historicPreservation

e.g. #NationalGeographic #Smithsonian

NO:
* diets
* Schemes (get rich quick)
* Overpriced luxury goods

@yoohooair @Wabu @jeff @nathan #admin

😠 NO ADS ON MASTODON 😨

✊️ NO ADS ON MASTODON 😨

But read this thread...

I'm generally against ads as a revenue model, especially for media because of the ways advertisers can influence editorial/ moderation choices. Totally opposed to surveillance advertising in all its forms, of course.

But..

@nathan
> admins trying to push ads from their instance will be swiftly defederated

Only if they're pushing ads out to other instances. What if they just display contextual ads to accounts on their instance?

@T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu @jeff

Please expand on how contextual ads, shown only to users who opt-in to seeing them by joining an ad-funded instance, go...

@nathan
> completely against the ethos of Mastodon

I agree it's not ideal, and it seems unlikely to become a common funding model (can expand on why if you're interested). But is it really such a terrible thing if it works for a few instances, and the people who would rather see ads than pay money?

@T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu @jeff

@strypey @nathan @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu @jeff

Instead of ads scattered throughout instances and becoming a mess, why not just have an instance totally devoted to ads? That way people can visit as needed without polluting their core instances?

Keep it separate, but make it available. Admins can create accounts there and post ads that suit them. Then just link to them.

It is less optimal than having ads on a regular instance, but you are forcing people to see them. That would cause a big stir on its own.

@the_Effekt @strypey @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu @jeff That's pretty convoluted and Mastodon isn't even needed for that, you could point users to a curated GitHub Pages site and it's basically the same thing. It's not going to make admins any money either way though.

Mastodon doesn't need ads. People will happily support their instance. It's a non-issue.

@nathan
>People will happily support their instance.

In some cases, but not all. For example you're presuming everyone has spare money to make regular donations to the net services they use. The original business model of the net was for ISPs to supply hosting. But it turned out many people couldn't afford the net if the costs of hosting were included, so they were unbundled, and the ad-funded web emerged as a direct consequence.

@the_Effekt @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu @jeff

@nathan
> I'm speaking as someone who has run a Mastodon instance entirely funded by the community

That's great. Long may it continue. But based on the OP by @jeff, it seems this is not a universal experience. As I said in my initial post in this thread, I'm no fan of ad-based funding models, and clearly nobody in this discussion thinks they're desirable. But the question here is, under what conditions might they be tolerable?

@the_Effekt @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu

@strypey @jeff @the_Effekt @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu The reality is it doesn't cost a lot to run a small server (I paid $6/month for a long time) but advertising will earn you pennies. It's not a viable solution even if it was tolerable.

Most public instances are community funded and if admins ask their community for support they will show up.

@nathan
> doesn't cost a lot to run a small server... $6/month

Other posts in this thread say their costs are much higher.

> advertising will earn you pennies

This assumption is based on surveillance advertising, where the intermediaries make more money out of each ad sold than the media outlet displaying it. In contrast, many podcasters cover their hosting costs by selling a couple of ad spots per episode.

@jeff @the_Effekt @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu

@nathan
But as I said, all of this is beside the point. Persuading me that funding stuff via ads isn't what we want is like convincing a fish not to ride a bicycle.

I joined this thread to explore your claim that any instance who found a way to cover their costs via advertising would be defederated en masse. Given our discussion in this thread, do you still think that?

@jeff @the_Effekt @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu

@strypey @jeff @the_Effekt @T2oofei8ht @yoohooair @Wabu I can't do anything about people deciding to use AWS and paying hundreds in egress fees. Inexperienced people shouldn't be running public instances anyway.

My opinion hasn't changed at all.