In recent months you've noticed the vast proliferation of intrusive ads on websites, such as the New York Times, Huffington Post, etc. Websites both big and small have made the brilliant decision to frustrate the shit out of visitors with auto-loading videos that freeze visitors' browsers and pop-ups that block content. Last week on GQ.com one popped up after I clicked a headline, it ran a 30 second ad, then disappeared to reveal the "article" was a single paragraph, and worse, the "headline" that made me interested in it in the first place was misleading. Both GAWKER and HUFF POST are egregious examples of websites that have bought whole-hog into the misleading/lying headline bullshit. What kind of idiots think that misleading visitors and screwing up their computers with delaying tactics will be met with anything other than fury? The stupidity of any website owner to think that forcing visitors to click, watch, read and wait endlessly is bizarre, as with most of you, I just move on. A number of websites I used to visit have been deleted from my bookmarks and my mind.
Now, free software is proliferating that allows us to shut off these disprespectful annoyances, but the downside is that many websites make their income with advertising, and these websites are justifiably crying loud and clear that they may soon have to disappear.
I have seen online tirades by small website owners demonizing AdBlocker Plus and Ghostery, when in fact it's the website owners themselves who are to blame by allowing this gross intrusiveness in the first place. Hey website owners! Stop this crazed advertising invasion and go back to ads that visitors can click if they want to, rather than alienating visitors wholesale to such an extreme that they download AdBlocker. The problem isn't the ad blocking software, it's the foolish website owners who have turned what used to be passive or optional participation in advertising into something mandatory, controlling and highly intrusive, and the result will be a disaster to especially smaller websites that have enough regard for visitors to not allow these auto-loading videos and javascript nightmare animation ads that freeze up our computers and turn internet browsing into a nightmare obstacle course.
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