Business YouTube viewers outraged after site ‘tests’ banning ad blockers - A chronically incompetent site with a history of making bad decisions makes yet another bad decision

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/youtube-viewers-outraged-after-site-tests-banning-ad-blockers-2141315/

https://archive.ph/e92a3

Virginia Glaze ❘ Published: May 10, 2023, 18:22 ❘ Updated: May 10, 2023, 18:22

YouTube viewers are raising alarm bells after being greeted with a message saying the site is now banning ad blockers.

YouTube is one of the most popular video-sharing platforms on the internet, boasting an active user base of over 2.5 billion monthly users as of February 2023.

A large number of content creators have made careers for themselves by uploading videos to the site, ringing in a new era of entertainment far ahead of the curve of other influencers on sites like Instagram and TikTok.

Over the course of the site’s existence, advertisements have played a major part in revenue for both the platform itself and its massive catalog of creators. However, many users have complained about the length and frequency of the ads they’ve been seeing — some of which last 30 seconds and are completely unskippable.

YouTube reportedly “experimenting” with banning ad blockers​

Many viewers have found a way to get around ads on YouTube by using ad blockers. Unfortunately, it looks like this method might be going in the bin soon, according to some users who’ve encountered a new feature that the platform is purportedly testing.



In early May, users posted a message they’d allegedly received while attempting to use YouTube with an ad blocker. The message reads: “Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube.”

“It looks like you may be using an ad blocker,” the message continues. “Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide.”

The message then prompts users to switch to YouTube Premium, a service it officially launched in 2015 that allows users to bypass ads and even watch with their phones locked in exchange for a monthly fee.

Users aren’t happy with this purported change and took to social media to warn others about the possibility of being unable to watch YouTube with an ad blocker.

“One ad before each video was fine, but they got greedy and started playing multiple unskippable 30-second ads,” one user said on Reddit. “That’s when I went for adblock. There is zero chance I am ever deactivating it or paying for premium now, that ship has sailed.”



“If there’s SO MANY ads that your users are going out of their way to download and use ad blockers, maybe [it’s] YOU’RE the problem, not the people using them,” another said on Twitter.



According to a moderator on the YouTube subreddit, a YouTube employee allegedly confirmed that this is an “experiment” the website is currently running, and has not been rolled out to all users at the time of writing.



Dexerto has reached out to YouTube for comment. For more entertainment news and coverage, check out our page here.

 

[Kendall Motor Oil]

Backbone providers hate Youtube for the monstrous bandwidth demands the site generates. This isn't a joke -- Youtube singlehandedly forced many shit-tier ISPs to upgrade their raw capacity and their equipment to handle it in order to accommodate customer demand for reliable Youtube performance. Netflix hit the same issue too, and partially solved it by co-locating their own gear at popular ISP data centers to relieve backbone congestion.

Which, iirc, caused some ISPs to (attempt to) charge these companies more to cover their network upgrades and kicked off net neutrality campaigns from the two mentioned companies

 

[Jet Fuel Johnny]

Copyright holders hate everyone, but especially hate Youtube for facilitating widespread copyright infringement.

Viewers and content creators hate YouTube and Copyright Holders because you can't even play a video game with the in-game music without getting a strike or muted. YouTube honors copyright claims by random companies against people's own creation.

When you get right down to it: Everyone hates modern YouTube.

 

[Niggergante]

This is the singular thing to force people off their site. It's already shit as it is, but it's going to *especially* shit after they roll this out.

 

[Faceless Whore]

I use LibRedirect to switch to alternative frontends: https://libredirect.github.io/
In settings it will give you a list of free servers that you can ping and add to your alternatives list. Includes Tor onion sites as well.

 

[whogoesthere]

One of the dumbasses posting is paying for Twitter blue, but whining about YT ads? Just get premium you fucktard.

Its good you are a completely worthless faggot. Just pay your tranny jew overlords money. Keep in mind, you typed that in Tor because those same tech trannies hate this website. Luckily faggots like you pay them money to keep them going.

 

[Avenue]

I'll always use the analogy of a mailbox in terms of ads. If I receive unwanted mail (physical or digital) it just goes to the trash without looking at it, I have no time to read up on which bad deal for irrelevant products are available that week. So having an ad blocker is like an automated version of me throwing your shitty ad in the paper bin which I should be allowed to do.
Anyhow, if through some Google magic, ads are still shown even with a decent blocker I'll just install Adnauseam , this plugin essentially 'clicks' all the ads you see in a background process making your personal ad data essentially useless and it wastes advertiser money.

 

[Wodanaz]

Mental Outlaw already explained how this would happen weeks ago. Not a problem for firefox chads. Chromium cucks stay cucked.

 

[crowabunga]

If you want a real horror show remember that the majority of people browse the Internet without adblockers thanks to them only using smartphones.

They could still use mobile Firefox with Ublock Origin, and an alternate YouTube frontend app (if on Android). The issue is that normie tech users are retarded consumerist cattle.

On the topic of YouTube frontends, so long as this doesn't break NewPipe IDGAF. I've already given up on the official YouTube frontend.

 

[TheGuntinator]

I tried watching Youtube on Xbox the other day and got so many ads so frequently that the platform was basically unusable. I'd put something on and have to stop what I'm doing constantly to turn my controller back on to skip ads. It was literally the worst thing imaginable.


I hear the Muslims are arranging a protest about this. This brave young woman said she'll lead the demonstration. I just find it funny to reference this chick every time youtube fucks up

 

[The Last Stand]

For me the end came when I had to watch a fucking 3 minute ad just to see a 30-second video.

Then they started censoring what people could talk about and say.

They killed long form videos. They killed people being able to say what they want.

Now they wonder why people are leaving.

Remember when YouTube's slogan was "Broadcast yourself?" I do.

 

[Mr.Miyagi]

Viewers and content creators hate YouTube and Copyright Holders because you can't even play a video game with the in-game music without getting a strike or muted. YouTube honors copyright claims by random companies against people's own creation.

When you get right down to it: Everyone hates modern YouTube.

The copyright system on there is so laughably fucked up. A few months ago I remember some Dark Souls videos getting hit because they had the final boss's theme in them. Was it the developers or the composer filing DMCA claims on random videos? Nope.
Some random guy took the song and sent it to one of those scummy online music distribution services, labeling it as his own original work. The service does 0 verification, and it gets put on Youtube as this "verified" source provided by the distribution service. So then Youtube's content ID bots looked at this brand new upload, recognized it, and went "Oh, these videos from years and years ago using the same music must be in violation of this verified copyright!" Good luck appealing shit like that. It's a ridiculous mess.

 

[Fahkumram]

Live Matt Jarbo reaction:

 

[Mordecai "3 Finger" Brown]

I tried watching Youtube on Xbox the other day and got so many ads so frequently that the platform was basically unusable. I'd put something on and have to stop what I'm doing constantly to turn my controller back on to skip ads. It was literally the worst thing imaginable.

MyTube on Xbox was a decent adblocking free app for a while, but the creator also worked for Microsoft programming for their Webstore and developed carpal tunnel syndrome, seemingly abandoning his app completely.

I'll always use the analogy of a mailbox in terms of ads. If I receive unwanted mail (physical or digital) it just goes to the trash without looking at it, I have no time to read up on which bad deal for irrelevant products are available that week. So having an ad blocker is like an automated version of me throwing your shitty ad in the paper bin which I should be allowed to do.

I agree with you @Avenue in principle.

But the modern YT ad analogy to the postal system would be closer to each mailbox owner having to go pick up their mail at the local post office, but the postal employee hands you all your junkmail first and won't hand you your bills and your packages until you pretend to look over the glossy flyers for 30 seconds.

 

[TheGuntinator]

So anyone else run into youtubes new ban system where instead of just letting you scream into the void where they instantly remove your comment, now they fucking ban you from leaving comments instantlyfor 24 hours if they detect you've said something their bot doesnt like. I don't think a human even reviewed it they just gave their bot permission to fuck shit up whenever because I was literally reading and commenting before being banned. I can't wait for the day admitting you worked for Google is treated like admitting you worked for the KGB or the SS. I fucking hate these people so much. They can't just leave you alone. They want you locked in a room completely isolated with only a screen autofeeding you diarrhea-level content until you go crazy and they can kill you.

 

[Agent Abe Caprine]

Viewers and content creators hate YouTube and Copyright Holders because you can't even play a video game with the in-game music without getting a strike or muted. YouTube honors copyright claims by random companies against people's own creation.

When you get right down to it: Everyone hates modern YouTube.

I've heard of people getting in trouble for white noise that couldn't possibly be copyrighted. Youtube radicalized me, alright. It made me anti-copyright.

 

[Chandelier]

YouTube really started going to shit once Google bought it. I still remember when it had a private DM feature and you could personally talk to your friends without Discord or the use of messenger apps. Simpler times. It was more focused on creators, as well. Then the Adpocalypse started because of beef between Crowder and a gay faggot Jew (is there a difference?) and we are here.

I have noticed that, even with Adblocker, I will STILL get ads. Brave works smoothly, but I've looked into other adblockers, same as downloading the YouTube dislike extension.

 

[Useful_Mistake]

“If there’s SO MANY ads that your users are going out of their way to download and use ad blockers, maybe [it’s] YOU’RE the problem, not the people using them,” another said on Twitter.

How the fuck do you go out of your way to fix bad grammar and make it worse instead?

 

[Oilspill Battery]

Youtube's high bar for monetization is it's own fault. It capitulated to crybabies and journalists instead of holding their ground and telling advertisers that they have the eyes they want on their ads. This is ENTIRELY youtube's creation.

This. Youtube had (and still has) a monopoly with billons of eyes on it. Any controversy would have blown over and all youtube had to do was say they are "investigating the matter." while waiting for people to forget like they ALWAYS do because that's how the news cycle works.

As if advertisers wouldn't have gone back anyway, imagine thinking they'd pass up profit for morals. Yeah big corporations are really known to care about those right?

Youtube somehow fucked up the easiest bluff ever in a game that only they and nobody else was playing (again advertisers would have come back, they always do, they don't give a shit about morals they were just waiting for the controversy to blow over) and they've been paying for it ever since.

 

[Oilspill Battery]

why dont you use a browser on the phone instead the app?

Everytime I click a youtube link on mobile it will forcefuly open the app no matter what, Idunno how to stop it, I don't watch youtube on my phone anyway so I never bothered figuring out how to stop it.

 

[TheGuntinator]

Everytime I click a youtube link on mobile it will forcefuly open the app no matter what, Idunno how to stop it, I don't watch youtube on my phone anyway so I never bothered figuring out how to stop it.

Did you disable the app? Open your all apps menu, and hold tap on the youtube icon. Should give you an option to uninstall it