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Content Blockers – What a Stramash
I've been listening too and reading all the comments and arguments online and in podcasts, about the rise and fall of the Peace application made by Marco Arment. I do admire a man who stands by his conscience and principals and does the right thing, even if many others are wondering why he did so and why he went through the process of coding this application. Surely, while sweating over a hot keyboard, he would have had an inkling that he was making something that he felt he shouldn't be doing. We will never really know but kudos to the man for taking the step to removing his baby.
Now, that is not to say I agree with his decision, I don't but you may be wondering whyI think this way. it is because of this: due to the way web sites load up pile upon pile of advertisements, pop-ups, banner ads etc we have all gotten tired of the extraneous junk we have to deal with online. I've seen myself reload and reload a web site trying to get it to finally allow me to see the information that should be easy to see but, when we get the chance to speed up this experience we all, most of us that is, decide enough is enough and purchase applications such as Peace, Crystal and Purify.
do I feel guilty, no and why the hell should I. it's like this, for many years now, like many others, I have used some kind of content blocker in Safari, Chrome, Firefox etc on my Macbook Pro to help speed up my web browsing. ABP, Ghostery, Adblock Plus etc have all been available for many years, but when these applications are brought to Safari for iOS, all hell breaks loose! So if its been OK to use the same applications on my Macbook for all these years without this kind of noise, then why is it all of a sudden such a bad thing? Yes, web site do need advertising to pay the bills otherwise we would all have little to see without being charged for the privilege but surely the web sites brought this on themselves?
When you are instantly flashed up by some ad that wants you to sign up for more content or to enter your email address to join the mailing list, even though you haven't had the chance to see whether there is anything that may interest you in the first place, then that is why the many use some kind of blocker.
I have three content blockers on my iPad mini, Peace (never to get updated), Crystal and Purify. I use only one of these and that is Peace. Do I find it helps me when I browse the web, hell it does! The speed has well, sped up, with content loading faster than you can say superfragilisticexpialidocious... I bet if you switch of a content blocker you could say that before a page loads up... but now some web sites display a blank page and that is something we will see more off as more and more developers put barriers up, but it's easy to get around that problem very simply. Just press and hold the reload arrow and a message window will open to allow you to load up without the content blocker... uhm... blocking: simple! This is one topic that will run and run and in the end, backfire on us all but, if web designers use there heads and decide to cut down on the type and quantity of pop-ups, adverts, email mailing list windows, then sanity may prevail.
Finally I can get to the subject that really has my blood boiling with all this content blocker noise, it is with one particular developer who will be nameless for now but you may already know which application I talk off. To charge for the application is justified as this developer has worked hard to make an application we will use and pay for happily, but what has gotten my blood to boil is the fact that he is also getting money from companies that do the advertising to allow adverts to display: double standards come to mind. We are paying him to block content we don't want only for him to give us the unwanted content back! I believe we will have the option to check a box to 'block' this but how long will that last until we have to pay to have it block?
MacJim
Author
James Ormiston