On The Web by Ircmaxell

Adblockers - The death of free content?

Written by ircmaxell

Tuesday, 17 April 2007

I am compelled to make this article based off a series of posts on another forum between me and about 5 other people. My standpoint is that ad blockers are illegal, and will ultimately be the death of free content on the internet. With the death of free content, will come the end of the internet as we know it. I know, some of you reading this are thinking that I am nuts, and that I am blowing this out of proportion. At this very moment, I am blowing it out of proportion, but the use of these ad blockers is sky-rocketing. Right now by certain estimations, ad blockers only account for about 10% of internet users. This number will not likely grow too fast, that is until ad blockers come ready activated with browsers. And what about the ISP's that are installing ad blocking right from the access point, not even giving users the option. I want to discuss the options that I feel we, as webmasters, have.

As I see it, we have mainly 7 options. In order from worst to best, here they are.

Do nothing
Try to educate users, and rally against Ad Blockers
Bock users of Ad Blockers from viewing a site
Take action against users
Take action against ISP's and companies using it
Create a pay for content alternative
Create a internet standard for pay for content (localize payment systems)

Do Nothing:

In my opinion, this is the worst thing we can do about the problem. Action is the only way this problem will be adverted. America learned this lesson with Pearl Harbor, and again with September 11th. WE CANNOT LET THIS PROBLEM BECOME A PROBLEM. WE NEED TO ACT NOW!

Try to educate users:

This is a good first step. Take part in discussions on forums, post comments to blogs about it. The problem with this, is that you will face strong opposition. People honestly don't think that blocking ads hurts anyone, and they also don't think that it is ILLEGAL. I venture to say that it is ILLEGAL. The reason for me saying that, is simple. I create a web page which contains advertisements. I then publish that web page. That page, and all its content are my intellectual property, and I hold copyright over it. Now, your ad blocker changes that content, and hence violates my copyright. For a good article on this, check this out!

Block Users:

This is not a good idea. Block one user, and they'll laugh about it. Block many, and it'll quickly prevent your site from growing. As the usage of Ad Blockers grows, this becomes a increasingly BAD idea.

Take Action Against Users:

Again, this is another BAD IDEA. First off, a single user contributes a small amount to the entire problem. Look at Napster and the recording industry. They are going after end users, and look at what it's doing to them! In this day in age, it's hard enough to get a good website without all that negative press!

Take Action Against ISP's:

This is actually not a bad idea. ISP's are big companies, and it would be easy to prove damages from a legal aspect. That said, who would take action? As indivdual webmasters, we account for such a small faction, that it would be impractical for us to take on these companies. That leaves us with two alternatives.

Provide Pay For Content:

I'm torn on this idea. On one hand, it is a great alternative for advertising. On the other hand, the logistics of this are mind boggling. First you need to make sure you have an abundance of GREAT content, and then you must make sure to provide it for such a cheap price, that users will be compelled to use it. But from that stand point, 99% of users would probably be unwilling to pay for content, so that's a big setback. The only way this would work, is along side of advertising. Make a free front end to the site, and then a free sub site that has no advertisements. This is a step in the right direction, but again, not a great solution. That leaves us with one choice.

Create A Standardized Pay For Content:

In my opinion, this is what is going to take over the internet in the coming years. 100% ad free content, provided so cheap to the end users, that they barely realize they are being charged! Picture this, you deposit $20 into a central payment holder (similar to Paypal). Then you browse the internet. You come to a participating site, and you are prompted with a message stating "This site is funded through XXXX, the cost of this site is $1 for 1000 views". You then accept the message, and are allowed in. You would only be charged for the pages you view (so if you viewed 10 pages, the user would be charged $0.01). The central site controls the payments, and keeps track of views. Webmasters would get guaranteed income from these websites, and end users would be charged next to nothing to use them. This is the future. That way, there is no "You mean I need to take out my credit card to view this page?", and no "They want $20 for a month membership, I don't even know whats in there!" The only way for this system to take off however, is for us webmasters to group together and make it work.

Regardless of your view of this problem, one thing is clear. This IS a problem, and it will not go away unless WE do something about it! Webmasters, we NEED to figure out something, and the time to do it is NOW! Thank you for you time, and please keep the flaming to a minimum.

Ircmaxell.

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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 April 2007 )

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