Technology

It's hilarious that they think it would matter to anyone with an ad blocker. I haven't seen an ad for years on youtube. Hell I haven't even seen promotions in videos for a few months now that I found a sponsor segment blocker.

Tell you the truth, once upon a time I really didn't mind the ads. In fact I was quite happy to support the creators that I like with watching the ads that appeared on their videos. But then YouTube started getting smarmy by blocking my suggestions because I didn't use history on my account. And then there's the problem of the ads getting longer. At which point I got fed up and downloaded the adblock software to stop seeing this garbage. And then this little war broke out over ads on the platform.

Quite frankly, so long as the people who make the software to block ads continue to do that kind of work I will continue to download their software and make Google spend boatloads of their own money to try to block the blockers. Because the blockers aren't going anywhere. Not to mention that the blockers were not quite as popular before Google started this little campaign. And now they have made people so hyper aware of the fact that they can actually go out and find some way to skip these stupid ads that they've basically dug their own grave. Broadcast TV spent decades on this failed quest.

Peertube looks good... but has nearly no content or content creators, which is the reason Google nearly has monopoly with Youtube

Look, I don't disagree with you. YouTube has many flaws and they've rapidly enshittified to increase monetization. But YouTube is a far more complex* operation than your ISP. It took a decade to start making a profit on YouTube.

The amount of hardware behind it is insane. The amount of work behind it is insane. A lot of that work is performed by really expensive software engineers in the US and Europe.

It was never sustainable from the get-go. Not with a single pre-watch ad and no premium tier, anyway. They HAD to add more ads and a premium ad-free tier. Where I disagree with them is the amount of ads and the cost of the premium tier.

*The big cloud providers (including Google) have grown so big, they don't use ISPs in the traditional sense to connect their data centers. They run their own subsea cables between continents to improve connectivity. Whether or not you like the companies, they put a LOT of work into keeping you on their platforms. Of course this is for Google Cloud customers, but YouTube basically IS a Google Cloud customer. Just an in-house one.

I'm laughing at ~~their~~ YouTube's response. Obviously someone used a thesaurus to write it and didn't know that "incalcitrant" is not even the word, no major dictionaries list it. It's like using irregardless instead of regardless The word ~~they~~ YouTube wanted is recalcitrant.

And it's very telling that ~~they~~ YouTube used that word because it shows they think they are King.

Recalicitrant:

Stubbornly resistant to authority or control.

Unwilling to obey orders or to do what should be done.

Resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant.

Edit: I'm laughing at YouTube's response. I thought that was clear by context.. I guess people who didn't read the article didn't get that? Maybe it was paywalled to them?

Words matter, and by using the one they did, YouTube is basically saying that they demand people obey them.

Youtube is like that bully

Except no one is forcing you to face that bully.
You can simply stay away.

They are trying hard to block all known adblockers. And if they ever do, this will become a serious problem.

This is bullshit. I don't use an ad-blocker

You should be kinder to yourself.

I consider the internet unusable without an ad blocker, ESPECIALLY youtube. I can't imagine life without it. It would be like camping without a tent, I guess I could get by but it can really suck depending on where you go.

Not using a real ad blocker (read: PiHole or UBlockOrigin, fuck AdBlockPlus) is a serious security threat this day in age. Do yourself a favor and get that set up ASAP.

Using the internet without an ad blocker is like fucking every sex worker in Vegas without a condom.

Practice safe internet.

This message has not been sponsored by Firefox or uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger or Decentral Eyes, but if they want to throw some money my way I would accept.

The funny thing is using a good adblocker and I haven't noticed a single youtube ad, so if they're to blame, they're also the solution. I don't see how this move functionally does anything other than punish those who can't block ads.

Youtube ReVanced is flawless. It's easy to patch

Firefox + Ublock Origin

This right here. No longer using chromium-based browsers is a really good start.

Only trash adblockers like Adblock Plus and Adguard have that "chance". uBlock Origin the goat fr frf

Eh, using a phone w/o a case is reasonable. I'd liken it more to watching live TV. Why do that in the era of streaming services when you can (well, could) avoid ads and watch exactly what you want instead of whatever slop the network decides you should watch?