Is using adblock the same as piracy?

Sam Losco

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kiwifarms.net
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Mar 5, 2018
Linus (Tech Tips) says it is:
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Rossmann did a video about it, which I haven't watched:

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Just finishing up the Rossman video right now. Linus is a cuck shill and cares about the bottom line. I can't blame him as it's worked out for him, but it isn't piracy and as a techy he should know better.

Even if it was it's morally right to block ads as they're part of the larger tracking apparatus.
 
Just finishing up the Rossman video right now. Linus is a cuck shill and cares about the bottom line. I can't blame him as it's worked out for him, but it isn't piracy and as a techy he should know better.

Even if it was it's morally right to block ads as they're part of the larger tracking apparatus.

Even before I found about his stupid normie woke views, I've always felt linus videos were a mix of genuine enthusiasm and plain corporate sellout. No other big review channel, such as Gamers Meld or JayzTwoCents, has ever felt to me so shill-like and corporate dick-sucking. Louis Rossmann in particular genuinely seems to care about consumer rights.
 
Even before I found about his stupid normie woke views, I've always felt linus videos were a mix of genuine enthusiasm and plain corporate sellout. No other big review channel, such as Gamers Meld or JayzTwoCents, has ever felt to me so shill-like and corporate dick-sucking. Louis Rossmann in particular genuinely seems to care about consumer rights.
 
lol don't care about your money woes
I have AdNauseam installed, an open source fork of uBlock Origin which purports to do two things:
  • Block ads
  • Autoclick ads to obfuscate tracking
I'm no programmer so I couldn't tell you if AdNauseam actually does these things.
But if it does work, it allows for websites to get their ad revenue through clicks and it complicates AdSense and other advertising companies from knowing your browsing habits. Then again, Google did announce a fraudulent clicks refund policy when a certain basket weaving forum used AdNauseam to hurt Google and advertisers.
Packaged with the standard laundry list of blocklists and Do-not connect malware websites.

For Linus though, him taking a stance on adblockers being equal to piracy is just him toeing corporate status quo.
His stance on advertising and adblockers are his prerogative because he owns a business; the stance is equally autistic and dumb.
Given how much tech his company has, it's probably worth millions of dollars. He doesn't want to lose a revenue source.
If that's how he sees things, he's entitled to it - dumb ape opinion, but entitled to it.
I would rather not have Facebook know when I'm taking a shit, and I don't want marketing companies to serve me advertisements for products I'm talking about in the real world.
 
Adblocking isn't piracy. It's practically necessary, considering there's been ransomware delivered through ads on major websites. They always make the user experience worse, and some websites become completely unusable without a blocker.

It's on par with saying that people who complain about DRM are in the wrong, when DRM's had a history of causing a slew of problems for paying customers, while pirates are getting a better experience without paying. That's why you should always, always go for the option that benefits you most, paid or not. It is never your responsibility to pay for an inferior version of the same software that a piracy group has improved and released for free. The onus is on the software creator to provide value for your money that the pirates cannot.

In the same vein, it's not your responsibility to worry about the welfare of websites entirely relying on ads. They can sell merchandise, or open a Patreon. You will never stop the public from blocking your ads by just whining about it.

How far is Linus away from getting his own thread?
He's been getting worse lately, and I've considered just making a Linus thread where we just post whatever nonsense we come across.
 
Linus is a fucking shill and deserves shit in his pockets. Blocking ads on a product that is offered for free is not piracy. They obviously aren't suffering from any loss of revenue. Considering that I'm sure most of his viewers are younger than the age of 20 and don't know what ad block is and the other half love buying their merchandise. I've avoided his channel for the longest time because his views and subscribers don't feel natural. What I have watched is, hurr durr lets liquid cool laptops in non-practical ways. That, and the videos of him trying Linux. Which only confirmed for me what I already knew.

I also like the fat dude they picked up, I feel they have to constantly remind him to keep his power levels down when doing videos.
 
He's been getting worse lately, and I've considered just making a Linus thread where we just post whatever nonsense we come across.
Maybe he's planning to Troon out to increase his ESG score. He's a skinny little bugman with plugs in his ears, almost a perfect fit.
 
Guy's an idiot. Using adblock and piracy aren't even in the same galaxy.

Piracy is stealing. No getting around that - you can justify it on occasion, but it's still taking/watching/using something without paying.

Ad blocking is preventing the theft of your time and bandwidth by a parasite.
 
Linus is a fucking shill and deserves shit in his pockets. Blocking ads on a product that is offered for free is not piracy. They obviously aren't suffering from any loss of revenue. Considering that I'm sure most of his viewers are younger than the age of 20 and don't know what ad block is and the other half love buying their merchandise. I've avoided his channel for the longest time because his views and subscribers don't feel natural. What I have watched is, hurr durr lets liquid cool laptops in non-practical ways. That, and the videos of him trying Linux. Which only confirmed for me what I already knew.
Ads contribute to his income and behave as the fee for otherwise free content.

Do whatever you want, but I can't understand how people don't view this as piracy.
I also like the fat dude they picked up, I feel they have to constantly remind him to keep his power levels down when doing videos.
A gigantically fat furry with extensive knowledge of Temple OS sounds like an extremely powerful figure.
 
Ads contribute to his income and behave as the fee for otherwise free content.
Do whatever you want, but I can't understand how people don't view this as piracy.
Ads are not a paywall. You don't click the Ad they get nothing and you still get the content. Ad Blocker just automates your unwillingness to click on Ads as well as improves the overall experience. The content is served up whether or not an Ad Blocker is present so therefore its not piracy if the content is free, which in this case it is.
 
Every once in a while someone will ask me to look at something on their phone or laptop and it's shocking the amount of advertising people put up with now. News sites will easily fill at least 50% of the page up with ads, complete with a 60 second video ad that has to load. It's pretty insane, especially considering people have data limits on their mobile service. I can't imagine trying to actually read things or get anything done with all that shit blaring at you.
 
Ads are not a paywall. You don't click the Ad they get nothing and you still get the content. Ad Blocker just automates your unwillingness to click on Ads as well as improves the overall experience. The content is served up whether or not an Ad Blocker is present so therefore its not piracy if the content is free, which in this case it is.
Maybe I misunderstand how ad blockers work then, I thought they didn't get income from ad blocker users?

I use ad blockers btw, I just don't really care
 
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How far is Linus away from getting his own thread?
It can't be long now. I'd make one, but I don't feel like subjecting myself to seeing that faggot's gormless face and shit-eating grin for hours on end whilst putting together a half-decent OP.

The fact that Linus isn't unanimously considered a laughing stock by the tech community is really bizarre.
The fact that Linus has so many simps fanboys is even more bizarre. I'd sooner take The Verge more seriously than Linus when it comes to tech-related matters.

Is it just me, or it a really bad look for someone whose videos are full of ad integrations and owns his own paid video platform to cry poor over "muh ad revenue"?
 
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