Are ad blockers immoral?

[JChapel]

I realize that this is a rather silly question, especially in the wake of the recent spam bots that CAF has been dealing with. Nevertheless, recent developments in how ads are used online have forced me to re-evaluate this.

A bit of background: Up until now I’ve been shamelessly using an ad blocker for my internet browsing, because I figured that the vast majority of ads were either set up by scammers or weren’t funding overly worthy causes. However, with everybody and their Grandmother now using ads for revenue, I’ve been running into a lot more edge cases.

Take for example websites like hulu.com that provide commercial video content for free exclusively on the premise that you will watch their ads. Many message boards (CAF included) are also helped paid for by advertising. The same goes for a casual gaming website I like visiting, where the (independent) game developer’s livelihood rests on ad revenue.

…or perhaps that is what they want you to believe. I just don’t know. This is my moral dilemma. I’ll admit the vast majority of the time, the ads are irrelevant, annoying, and distract from my web browsing experience, but if I’m depriving someone of their livelihood, I can’t help but feel guilty, especially when semi-legitimate ads are being blocked.

What do you think? Am I being selfish or just silly and scrupulous?

 

[Corki]

Would you think it is immoral to use the mute button when commercials come on TV? Or to use that time for a snack run?

No, it’s not immoral.

 

[PumpkinSeed]

No. I have ad blocker plus and I love it. Last time I checked Jesus never said it was bad to ignore advertisements.

 

[JChapel]

Alright, that clears up most of my worries. But what about sites (like Hulu) that charge a monthly fee for, among other benefits, having the ads removed? Wouldn’t circumventing them for free be theft?

 

[JimG]

Many people with DVR’s simply fast forward through all commercials on TV. My brother never watches a commercial. He keeps the DVR going, and watches a one hour show in about 45 minutes. Saves time.

 

[Corki]

Alright, that clears up most of my worries. But what about sites (like Hulu) that charge a monthly fee for, among other benefits, having the ads removed? Wouldn’t circumventing them for free be theft?

Only if doing so violates the terms of service you agreed to when you signed up. And, even then, it wouldn’t be theft, it would be lying.

 

[Cristiano]

I realize that this is a rather silly question, especially in the wake of the recent spam bots that CAF has been dealing with. Nevertheless, recent developments in how ads are used online have forced me to re-evaluate this.

A bit of background: Up until now I’ve been shamelessly using an ad blocker for my internet browsing, because I figured that the vast majority of ads were either set up by scammers or weren’t funding overly worthy causes. However, with everybody and their Grandmother now using ads for revenue, I’ve been running into a lot more edge cases.

Take for example websites like hulu.com that provide commercial video content for free exclusively on the premise that you will watch their ads. Many message boards (CAF included) are also helped paid for by advertising. The same goes for a casual gaming website I like visiting, where the (independent) game developer’s livelihood rests on ad revenue.

…or perhaps that is what they want you to believe. I just don’t know. This is my moral dilemma. I’ll admit the vast majority of the time, the ads are irrelevant, annoying, and distract from my web browsing experience, but if I’m depriving someone of their livelihood, I can’t help but feel guilty, especially when semi-legitimate ads are being blocked.

What do you think? Am I being selfish or just silly and scrupulous?

I would say that the only time that it is immoral is when you agree to watch the ads in order to obtain the service. If there is not commitment from your part you can just ignore them.

 

[Polycarp1]

When was the last time you saw an advertisment or commercial that did’t have some element of a lie in it? Granted there may be some but they are few and far between. Block away! IMHO