People seem to forget the web existed before widespread advertising. Ads are not necessary for all content on the web and, personally, I'd be fine if every last ad supported site on the internet disappeared.
It would actually be a significant improvement, as SEO affiliate blogspam would lose its economic incentive, making it easier to find authentic sites again.
This comment prompted me to think of some website that I rely upon that uses such adware to survive. I can’t think of a single one! Most things I use either dont have ads, ask for donations, or use a paywall/subscription system.
Advertisers are welcome to set up a website where you can watch their ads to earn money, which you can then choose to spend as you choose, whether on food or on (formerly free & ad-supported) services.
> People seem to forget the web existed before widespread advertising
They haven't forgotten anything. This claim is so barely true it's not worth considering.
The web both became accessible to ordinary users and gained support for inline images with the release of Win/Mac Mosaic in August 1993. In October 1994 the first banner ad appeared in HotWired, the online version of Wired magazine.
Given that that web went only one year between gaining support for images and people starting to use them for advertising, the idea that the web existed before advertising isn't really true. There have been ads for as long as there has been web content created by paid professionals, as is to be expected.
> I'd be fine if every last ad supported site on the internet disappeared.
You are of course welcome to create a list of websites that don't advertise and then only browse those, although recall that HN obviously wouldn't be usable by you as it is supported by ads. The rest of us will get on with living our lives.
ndriscoll|2 years ago
seydor|2 years ago
_Algernon_|2 years ago
A whole lot of shit is still shit though.
kjkjadksj|2 years ago
charcircuit|2 years ago
caesil|2 years ago
Nextgrid|2 years ago
ktosobcy|2 years ago
nvm0n2|2 years ago
They haven't forgotten anything. This claim is so barely true it's not worth considering.
The web both became accessible to ordinary users and gained support for inline images with the release of Win/Mac Mosaic in August 1993. In October 1994 the first banner ad appeared in HotWired, the online version of Wired magazine.
Given that that web went only one year between gaining support for images and people starting to use them for advertising, the idea that the web existed before advertising isn't really true. There have been ads for as long as there has been web content created by paid professionals, as is to be expected.
> I'd be fine if every last ad supported site on the internet disappeared.
You are of course welcome to create a list of websites that don't advertise and then only browse those, although recall that HN obviously wouldn't be usable by you as it is supported by ads. The rest of us will get on with living our lives.