Charlie StrossNov 4, 2023

About YouTube and ad-blockers:

YouTube is owned by Alphabet, aka Google's umbrella corporation. Google in turn was devoured by DoubleClick, the largest advertising company to come out of the 1990s web.

When you use Google, you are feeding the attention monster that is the advertising industry.

We should aim to criminalize behavioural advertising and break up the Google monopoly, not tolerate their shit and work around it by using adblockers.

Show thread~nNov 4, 2023
@cstross Generally the concept of ads (not only ad financed services) needs to be treated as something with a negative impact on society. Ads are not contributing anything to a more livable world. On the contrary - they intrusively tell you why you should be unhappy (unless you buy this or that). The whole impact of the entire ad industry is net negative.
Show threadAlexander The 1stNov 4, 2023

@nblr @cstross Eh, while behavioural advertising is bad, the baseline advertisement stuff is sort of critical to how people who can't afford a piece of media can get access to it for a price they can afford. Not everything should be paywalled, free TV cable and free websites are generally a good thing for those of us for whom the price of electricity, and the price of internet access, is already a bit much.

Not to mention the people who are kids and *can't* work to get money *to* pay a paywall.

Show threadCharlie StrossNov 4, 2023
@AT1ST @nblr Payment ought to be handled at the ISP/interconnect level. With access fees covered through your communications bill. Not separate paywalls, and not advertising.
Show threadAlexander The 1st

@cstross @nblr So...essentially ripping up net neutrality?

And/or, you know that ISPs would absolutely pass that cost onto their customers.

Nov 4, 2023 at 9:31pmWeb
Show threadCharlie StrossNov 4, 2023
@AT1ST @nblr Yes, but it's a cost the customers ALREADY pay—it's just a hidden one.
Show threadAlexander The 1stNov 4, 2023

@cstross @nblr I guess here's the issue - it's not the Interconnect costs that are being covered already, but hidden.

It's the cost of hosting the server, and the cost of the content on the server, and the content creation of the content on the server...those costs would be added into it, in the same way that when minimum wage is increased here, my local cinemas increase their ticket prices.

Show threadCharlie StrossNov 4, 2023
@AT1ST @nblr W3C decided to fund the build-out of the public web circa 1994-96 via advertising because microbilling transaction costs were too high for a POTS dialup network. But that was then: with broadband the default, microbilling becomes feasible. And it's a fundamentally better funding model than advertising.
Show threadAlexander The 1stNov 4, 2023

@cstross @nblr Some stuff still uses dial-up.

I know it sounds like it shouldn't, but the ISPs that provide that as a cheaper internet service still exist.