Damn those content producers trying to monetize their business. On the one hand, I can see the publisher justifying the move on the grounds that they are giving access to the content at no monetary cost to the user, but “charging” them for message exposure and time (and who-knows-what personal information tracking). On the other hand, outdated revenue models cannot stop the future; evolve or die time.
(For some reason, this move by /r/technology made me flashback to Jack Valenti’s infamous 1982 testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives: “I say to you that the VCR is to the American film producer and the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.”)
From Reddit:
It has come to our attention that many websites such as Forbes and Wired are now requiring users to disable ad blockers to view content. Because Forbes requires users to do this and has then served malware to them we see this as a security risk to you our community. There are also sites such as Wall Street Journal that have implemented pay-walls which we were are also considering banning.
We would like all of your thoughts on whether or not we should allow domains such as Forbes here on /r/technology while they continue to resort to such practices.
Thank you for the input.
Comment thread on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/4if65h/mod_announcement_were_considering_banning_all/
Related:
http://adexchanger.com/platforms/a-publishers-guide-to-counter-ad-blocking-technology/
http://metromemetics.net/share-psfks-advertising-by-the-numbers-audience-vs-industry/