[KLUG Advocacy] Re: And the Spam Wars continue...

Bruce Smith advocacy@kalamazoolinux.org
19 Nov 2002 08:27:16 -0500


> >I'm saying that the advertisers will band together and "convince"
> >browser developers NOT to put blocking software in their browser.
> They're certainly free to do so, and others are free to provide another
> point of view. This is part of the process of "Special Interests" TheBS
> was talking about.

Those TheBS posts were way too long to read.  ;-)

> >>>I wouldn't put it past Mozilla ...
> >>The point is that I wouldn't put it past any of them, since the end users 
> >>have generally expressed opposition to some of the methods used to promote 
> >>products on the net....
> >Since Mozilla is open source, they are not as driven by money as much as
> >corporations.  Some rebel some where will make a patch . . .
> That's right, and if the Mozilla people won't include it, our rebel will
> put it on his website, and maybe 5% of the users will include it (if you
> think my number is too high, no problem).
> 
> For closed-source alternative browsers, there are still ways to provide
> this service, such as libraries, add/pug-ins, and so on.

We have the add-ins now.  Not easy for a novice user, but it's there.

> I would agree that wherever there is demand for a prodcut, someone will
> create it, although it may not be encumbered by any larger sense of reason.

One more BIG difference between the DVD thing, and ads on web pages.
The ads on web pages don't waste my time (maybe a couple seconds to load
if you're on dialup).  Instead they take up a small part of the screen
where I can read or ignore.  The DVD ads FORCE you to watch it BEFORE
you get to the content you want.

If web pages FORCED you to WATCH a 60 second flash movie ad BEFORE they
loaded the content, then I'd be upset.  Not as upset as a DVD since I
didn't PAY for a subscription to the web page, but upset . . .

The way it is now, web pages can FORCE ads on their page all they like.
More power to them if it keeps me from paying for their service!!!

--------------------------------------------
Bruce Smith                bruce@armintl.com
System Administrator / Network Administrator
Armstrong International, Inc.
Three Rivers, Michigan  49093  USA
http://www.armstrong-intl.com/
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