Zompist Bboard Again

today's jobs require more stress than physical strength...

Over the past month, youtube has changed their policies to ban adblockers. At first it merely pressured me to ditch the adblocker but now it refuses to show videos at all. Unfortunately that means my main source of video and even music has disappeared. Perhaps it's for the best as I have been trying to cut back on digital media with little success. Yet currently there are pretty much no alternatives available to me apart from an underfunded and poorly stocked library.

malloc wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:24 pm Over the past month, youtube has changed their policies to ban adblockers. At first it merely pressured me to ditch the adblocker but now it refuses to show videos at all. Unfortunately that means my main source of video and even music has disappeared. Perhaps it's for the best as I have been trying to cut back on digital media with little success. Yet currently there are pretty much no alternatives available to me apart from an underfunded and poorly stocked library.

It seems to work fine for me, using uBlock Origin on Firefox. (On Linux, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t matter for this.)

Youtube ads are annoying, and I've heard (but have not verified) that there are better adblockers now. But you could also let the damn ads play. I turn off the volume and go check the ZBB or something. They're usually no more than 12 seconds total and still often give the option to skip.

Twitch is another story... it feels like 30 seconds or so, and that's enough to make me avoid the site entirely.

bradrn wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:27 pmIt seems to work fine for me, using uBlock Origin on Firefox. (On Linux, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t matter for this.)

Same here with firefox on linux. How does uBlock Origin work and how do you install it?

zompist wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:59 pm Youtube ads are annoying, and I've heard (but have not verified) that there are better adblockers now. But you could also let the damn ads play. I turn off the volume and go check the ZBB or something. They're usually no more than 12 seconds total and still often give the option to skip.

Tell that to my dad. Part of the reason I spring for YouTube Premium is because he is absolutely insufferable and adamant about not watching ads. He’d reload videos four, five times just to escape them and it annoyed my autistic ass to such a degree that I just got the Family Plan so he’d stop. (And since he watches it on the big TV in the family room it is difficult to escape.)

malloc wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 6:07 pm

bradrn wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:27 pmIt seems to work fine for me, using uBlock Origin on Firefox. (On Linux, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t matter for this.)

Same here with firefox on linux. How does uBlock Origin work and how do you install it?

It’s just a browser extension.

zompist wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:59 pmYoutube ads are annoying, and I've heard (but have not verified) that there are better adblockers now. But you could also let the damn ads play. I turn off the volume and go check the ZBB or something. They're usually no more than 12 seconds total and still often give the option to skip.

Twitch is another story... it feels like 30 seconds or so, and that's enough to make me avoid the site entirely.

I already disable adblocker for some smaller sites whose cause I respect and who clearly need extra money. But massive corporations like Google hardly merit the same consideration. They already have more money than we can comprehend and they're using it for malign purposes. Why should I sit through any level of ads when they pay for these corporations to take art and science away from humans and provide platforms for the alt-right?

bradrn wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 6:17 pmIt’s just a browser extension.

Anything else I need to make it work like specific settings?

malloc wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 8:27 pm

bradrn wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 6:17 pmIt’s just a browser extension.

Anything else I need to make it work like specific settings?

Not in my experience.

I use ublock origin and haven’t had to do anything beyond installing it to achieve my desired goal of adblocking.

I also use freetube, a youtube client for Linux which blocks the ads among other things, if you care to look into that.

malloc wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 8:27 pmI already disable adblocker for some smaller sites whose cause I respect and who clearly need extra money. But massive corporations like Google hardly merit the same consideration. They already have more money than we can comprehend and they're using it for malign purposes.

Point of order: I seem to recall that YouTube operates at a loss because it is simply that monolithic.

malloc wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 8:27 pm I already disable adblocker for some smaller sites whose cause I respect and who clearly need extra money. But massive corporations like Google hardly merit the same consideration. They already have more money than we can comprehend and they're using it for malign purposes. Why should I sit through any level of ads when they pay for these corporations to take art and science away from humans and provide platforms for the alt-right?

If you're impatient with ads then get a better adblocker, but jeez, don't pat yourself on the back for it. If you ethically object to Youtube, then don't watch it. You are not some kind of hero for demanding free entertainment.

I use AdBlock - I haven't had any message from YT telling me to disable it, but these days I'm getting the yellow bar, and sometimes a half-second of audio before it just turns black - then it takes a while before the actual video loads. I'm guessing adblock is letting the ad play but blocking the audio and video channels somehow.

For me personally, a bit of anti-instant gratification practice, while being shielded from desire manipulation, is not a bad result

zompist wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 4:21 amIf you're impatient with ads then get a better adblocker, but jeez, don't pat yourself on the back for it. If you ethically object to Youtube, then don't watch it. You are not some kind of hero for demanding free entertainment.

Well ok, rereading it I do realize it sounds rather silly. It's like walking into an adult bookstore, grabbing a bunch of porn, and refusing to pay because you consider the product indecent.

Well, as they say, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and the usual price for enjoying free content is to endure adverts.

malloc wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 7:26 am

zompist wrote: ↑Fri Nov 17, 2023 4:21 amIf you're impatient with ads then get a better adblocker, but jeez, don't pat yourself on the back for it. If you ethically object to Youtube, then don't watch it. You are not some kind of hero for demanding free entertainment.

Well ok, rereading it I do realize it sounds rather silly. It's like walking into an adult bookstore, grabbing a bunch of porn, and refusing to pay because you consider the product indecent.

Or rather because you consider the publishers garbage human beings (which--to be fair--many of them have been).

YT is my primary streaming platform for short videos, video essays, and music so I don't mind paying a subscriber fee to remove ads. Google may not need the money, but at least their revenue-sharing model--insulting as it is to creators--is less terrible than many of the alternatives. (*hard stare at Spotify*)

If megacorporations don't provide guilt-free shoplifting, what's the point in having them in the first place?

Yeah, it just goes to show how even staunch critics of the tech industry like myself have allowed themselves to become dependent on its wares. Granted, they have come to dominate the market for media and alternatives are increasingly difficult to find, especially where I currently live. But still, I really need to work on lessening my dependence on them if I want my criticism to have any sincerity.

malloc wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:24 pm Over the past month, youtube has changed their policies to ban adblockers. At first it merely pressured me to ditch the adblocker but now it refuses to show videos at all. Unfortunately that means my main source of video and even music has disappeared. Perhaps it's for the best as I have been trying to cut back on digital media with little success. Yet currently there are pretty much no alternatives available to me apart from an underfunded and poorly stocked library.

Are there CDs and DVDs on loan from the library? Is there only one library? Or available for cheap from thrift stores?
And, more importantly, what's the most ethical?

Oddly, everyone's been saying you have to clear caches and whatnot because Youtube keeps updating, even with uBlock, but I have Firefox (not even the most uptodate version) and uBlock origin, and I haven't had any trouble with Youtube forcing ads on me or needing to clear things. So if you want to go that route, that might help, but I'm not as tech literate as some folks so I can only guess at why this works for me.