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HN/Reddit : For years, "I'm happy to pay for services that has no/few ads". Companies: Here's a ad-free version. Subscribe HN/Reddit: Why are you asking me to

HN/Reddit : For years, "I'm happy to pay for services that has no/few ads". Companies: Here's a ad-free version. Subscribe HN/Reddit: Why are you asking me to subscribe? I hate this

23B1 3y ago
Except we paid for other streamers for an ad-free experience – until they started inserting ads again. Do we believe that Google of all companies won't pull a switcheroo in a few years? Not on my dime.
- crop_rotation 3y ago
  By this kind of hypothetical assumption, you shouldn't pay for anything, as the other party might change the terms in future, or in your parlance, "pull a switcheroo"
  - 23B1 3y ago
    Yes, exactly. Brand loyalty is a thing.
    - deltree7 3y ago
      [flagged]
- deltree7 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - hatethissite42 3y ago
    it might work for you, but most people don't win from pretending that not watching ads is 'stealing' and are not going to go along with it lol
  - ekianjo 3y ago
    illegally? is Google going to take us to court by blocking the ads? please mind the use of the word
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
  - 23B1 3y ago
    If it is wisdom you seek, you're gonna have to close your laptop my friend!
  - josephcsible 3y ago
    Why is it unethical to do things just because a megacorp wrote a one-sided "agreement" not to?
    - acdha 3y ago
      If you wanted a contract, they'd honor it for the term of the contract but you'd have to pay for that up front but statistically nobody online likes to pay for content so the ad-funded model is pervasive. The ethical choices are either to accept the service as offered or watch something which is offered under terms you find more acceptable.
      - jamilton 3y ago
        Why are those the only ethical choices? What ethical framework are you assuming?
        acdha 3y ago
        Because there are two parties involved and those are the options which have mutual agreement.
    - deltree7 3y ago
      [flagged]
  - bigbob2 3y ago
    > Illegally circumventing the Terms of Service is unethical/stealing. That seems like a difficult argument to make because laws don't always align with ethics. Given the myriad of replies around this topic, it seems like opinions on the ethics of violating the ToS are mixed. It gets even more complicated when you consider that very few people have the time/skills to read/interpret such a complex and lengthy ToS. At what point is a company not morally complicit for taking advantage of the layman's inability to understand such a legal document? It doesn't help that the UI/UX seems to deliberately provide incentive for users to blindly accept.
  - alwayslikethis 3y ago
    > No one is forcing you to use YouTube. Doubt it. Ever been required to watch a video for a class? There are limits to terms of service. Where does it end? Is it unethical to mute and switch to another tab to wait out the ad? How about simply looking away? Regardless of what the terms of service says I have the ultimate control of what I decide to take in. Adblocking is a way to assert that right to selectively let in stuff into my sphere of perception.
- HDThoreaun 3y ago
  youtube premium isn't a contract that punishes cancelling. If you don't like the service stop subscribing.
odessacubbage 3y ago
i don't even hate ads or the idea of targeted advertising in theory but 20+ years into the panopticon and the company that has the most information about my purchasing habits, interests and dislikes still has never shown me any advertising that was even remotely relevant to my life. i still have better odds of seeing something i actually want to buy just by flipping through the paper and those adverts don't demand that i put my life on pause just because corporation x spent a whole lot of money on a branding campaign that is annoying, unfunny and makes me hate them and their products.
- brokenmachine 3y ago
  I love getting ads for things I've already bought. Yes, I just bought a mattress, of course I'm interested in getting another one. Oh, a new fridge! Always good to have a spare! Thanks Google! Modern internet is absolutely unbearable without adblock.
- hirvi74 3y ago
  This somewhat alludes to a question I have wondered for quite a while. Are there any compelling data that digital advertising even works? Sure, if one clicks on an ad then immediately buys a product, then perhaps that would be more straightforward. However, I just do not think that is very common, but I could be wrong. It just seems like there is some kind of false notion that if a company creates ads and the company has an increase in sales, then it must be because of the ads, when in reality, it could be entirely coincidental. Tangental, but I intentionally boycott products that have annoying ads. I will walk to the ends of the Earth before I use GEICO, for example.
arepublicadoceu 3y ago
Please teach me how I can watch Linus Tech Tips on YouTube without ads with YouTube premium and without installing an extension. There are several levels of ads on YouTube and paying for YouTube premium only gets rid of one.
- atyppo 3y ago
  Can't speak to this channel specifically, but SponsorBlock works incredibly well, even for medium to smaller-sized channels.
  - brokenmachine 3y ago
    That's an extension.
- codazoda 3y ago
  Really? I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad on Premium.
  - brokenmachine 3y ago
    Every large youtube channel has sponsorship on it nowadays, it's like 1-2 minute ad segments in every video. Paying for premium doesn't stop that.
    - thunky 3y ago
      No, but it's easy to fast forward through them. Or just don't watch videos that are littered with sponsors ads and maybe creators will do it less.
- Psychlist 3y ago
  Isn't Linus Tech Tips an ad, though? The only times I've looked at it all I've seen is sponsored content with breaks to talk about sponsors and maybe buy some merch. Oh, and exhortations to use their affiliate links. And that's using Premium, I expect that without it the sponsored content would be broken up by youtube's ads. Maybe my expectations are biased by subscribing to Nebula? And for those who do, Medlife Crisis just posted a fun video on the placebo effect featuring great (fake) sponsor callouts.
ekianjo 3y ago
There are ads in every video content nowadays. Did you miss the past 10 years or something ?
prawn 3y ago
Keep in mind that HN/Reddit is comprised of thousands or millions of people and there may or may not be overlap between those saying the first thing and later the second.
orbital223 3y ago
The rule of thumb according to youtubers is that 1000 video views is worth about $1 of ad share. Youtube's ad share is about 50%, so 1000 video views should be worth about $2 of ad money for Youtube. Youtube Premium costs $12 a month which is equivalent to 6000 video views per month or ~200 video views per day. If I'm on a very youtuby mood I'll maybe watch 10 videos in a day. So, best case scenario, paying for premium comes with a 20x markup. So your conversation actually goes: HN/Reddit: "I would love to just give you the money directly instead of watching ads in exchange for advertizers giving you money." Companies: "Sure, here's the ad-free version. You have to pay 20 times as much as the advertizers do though." HN/Reddit: "Wait, what? That's bullshit. Why?" Companies: "Fuck you, that's why."
- HDThoreaun 3y ago
  The people willing to pay are the ones advertisers want to reach. Obviously we don't know the breakdown, but it's reasonable to think that advertisers would be willing to spend 20x less per ad if the high value users never saw them.
- anticensor 3y ago
  HN/Reddit: "I would love to just give you the money directly instead of watching ads in exchange for advertissers giving you money." Companies: "Sure, here's the ad-free version. You have to pay 20 times as much as the advertissers do though." anticensor: "OK, then; what if I pay the same amount as for the ad-free one, and you show me twice as many ads as before?" Companies: "OK, deal."
mehlmao 3y ago
What, so Google can track me better? I hate YouTube's recommendation system and only watch videos in a Private browsing window. I would happily pay for YouTube if they wouldn't track me, shovel shit in my face, or otherwise misuse my data.
occz 3y ago
There's a really simple reason for this - HN/Reddit is not one person. It consists of multiple people with different opinions, and as such, there is no singular opinion to be found.
littlestymaar 3y ago
Plot twist: the content is actually not ad-free. (sponsored sections aren't removed from the videos)

HN/Reddit : For years, "I'm happy to pay for services that has no/few ads". Companies: Here's a ad-free version. Subscribe HN/Reddit: Why are you asking me to subscribe? I hate this

23B1 3y ago

Except we paid for other streamers for an ad-free experience – until they started inserting ads again. Do we believe that Google of all companies won't pull a switcheroo in a few years? Not on my dime.

crop_rotation 3y ago
By this kind of hypothetical assumption, you shouldn't pay for anything, as the other party might change the terms in future, or in your parlance, "pull a switcheroo"
- 23B1 3y ago
  Yes, exactly. Brand loyalty is a thing.
  - deltree7 3y ago
    [flagged]
deltree7 3y ago
[flagged]
- hatethissite42 3y ago
  it might work for you, but most people don't win from pretending that not watching ads is 'stealing' and are not going to go along with it lol
- ekianjo 3y ago
  illegally? is Google going to take us to court by blocking the ads? please mind the use of the word
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
- 23B1 3y ago
  If it is wisdom you seek, you're gonna have to close your laptop my friend!
- josephcsible 3y ago
  Why is it unethical to do things just because a megacorp wrote a one-sided "agreement" not to?
  - acdha 3y ago
    If you wanted a contract, they'd honor it for the term of the contract but you'd have to pay for that up front but statistically nobody online likes to pay for content so the ad-funded model is pervasive. The ethical choices are either to accept the service as offered or watch something which is offered under terms you find more acceptable.
    - jamilton 3y ago
      Why are those the only ethical choices? What ethical framework are you assuming?
      - acdha 3y ago
        Because there are two parties involved and those are the options which have mutual agreement.
  - deltree7 3y ago
    [flagged]
- bigbob2 3y ago
  > Illegally circumventing the Terms of Service is unethical/stealing. That seems like a difficult argument to make because laws don't always align with ethics. Given the myriad of replies around this topic, it seems like opinions on the ethics of violating the ToS are mixed. It gets even more complicated when you consider that very few people have the time/skills to read/interpret such a complex and lengthy ToS. At what point is a company not morally complicit for taking advantage of the layman's inability to understand such a legal document? It doesn't help that the UI/UX seems to deliberately provide incentive for users to blindly accept.
- alwayslikethis 3y ago
  > No one is forcing you to use YouTube. Doubt it. Ever been required to watch a video for a class? There are limits to terms of service. Where does it end? Is it unethical to mute and switch to another tab to wait out the ad? How about simply looking away? Regardless of what the terms of service says I have the ultimate control of what I decide to take in. Adblocking is a way to assert that right to selectively let in stuff into my sphere of perception.
HDThoreaun 3y ago
youtube premium isn't a contract that punishes cancelling. If you don't like the service stop subscribing.

odessacubbage 3y ago

i don't even hate ads or the idea of targeted advertising in theory but 20+ years into the panopticon and the company that has the most information about my purchasing habits, interests and dislikes still has never shown me any advertising that was even remotely relevant to my life. i still have better odds of seeing something i actually want to buy just by flipping through the paper and those adverts don't demand that i put my life on pause just because corporation x spent a whole lot of money on a branding campaign that is annoying, unfunny and makes me hate them and their products.

brokenmachine 3y ago
I love getting ads for things I've already bought. Yes, I just bought a mattress, of course I'm interested in getting another one. Oh, a new fridge! Always good to have a spare! Thanks Google! Modern internet is absolutely unbearable without adblock.
hirvi74 3y ago
This somewhat alludes to a question I have wondered for quite a while. Are there any compelling data that digital advertising even works? Sure, if one clicks on an ad then immediately buys a product, then perhaps that would be more straightforward. However, I just do not think that is very common, but I could be wrong. It just seems like there is some kind of false notion that if a company creates ads and the company has an increase in sales, then it must be because of the ads, when in reality, it could be entirely coincidental. Tangental, but I intentionally boycott products that have annoying ads. I will walk to the ends of the Earth before I use GEICO, for example.

arepublicadoceu 3y ago

Please teach me how I can watch Linus Tech Tips on YouTube without ads with YouTube premium and without installing an extension. There are several levels of ads on YouTube and paying for YouTube premium only gets rid of one.

atyppo 3y ago
Can't speak to this channel specifically, but SponsorBlock works incredibly well, even for medium to smaller-sized channels.
- brokenmachine 3y ago
  That's an extension.
codazoda 3y ago
Really? I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad on Premium.
- brokenmachine 3y ago
  Every large youtube channel has sponsorship on it nowadays, it's like 1-2 minute ad segments in every video. Paying for premium doesn't stop that.
  - thunky 3y ago
    No, but it's easy to fast forward through them. Or just don't watch videos that are littered with sponsors ads and maybe creators will do it less.
Psychlist 3y ago
Isn't Linus Tech Tips an ad, though? The only times I've looked at it all I've seen is sponsored content with breaks to talk about sponsors and maybe buy some merch. Oh, and exhortations to use their affiliate links. And that's using Premium, I expect that without it the sponsored content would be broken up by youtube's ads. Maybe my expectations are biased by subscribing to Nebula? And for those who do, Medlife Crisis just posted a fun video on the placebo effect featuring great (fake) sponsor callouts.

ekianjo 3y ago

There are ads in every video content nowadays. Did you miss the past 10 years or something ?

prawn 3y ago

Keep in mind that HN/Reddit is comprised of thousands or millions of people and there may or may not be overlap between those saying the first thing and later the second.

orbital223 3y ago

The rule of thumb according to youtubers is that 1000 video views is worth about $1 of ad share. Youtube's ad share is about 50%, so 1000 video views should be worth about $2 of ad money for Youtube. Youtube Premium costs $12 a month which is equivalent to 6000 video views per month or ~200 video views per day. If I'm on a very youtuby mood I'll maybe watch 10 videos in a day. So, best case scenario, paying for premium comes with a 20x markup. So your conversation actually goes: HN/Reddit: "I would love to just give you the money directly instead of watching ads in exchange for advertizers giving you money." Companies: "Sure, here's the ad-free version. You have to pay 20 times as much as the advertizers do though." HN/Reddit: "Wait, what? That's bullshit. Why?" Companies: "Fuck you, that's why."

HDThoreaun 3y ago
The people willing to pay are the ones advertisers want to reach. Obviously we don't know the breakdown, but it's reasonable to think that advertisers would be willing to spend 20x less per ad if the high value users never saw them.
anticensor 3y ago
HN/Reddit: "I would love to just give you the money directly instead of watching ads in exchange for advertissers giving you money." Companies: "Sure, here's the ad-free version. You have to pay 20 times as much as the advertissers do though." anticensor: "OK, then; what if I pay the same amount as for the ad-free one, and you show me twice as many ads as before?" Companies: "OK, deal."

mehlmao 3y ago

What, so Google can track me better? I hate YouTube's recommendation system and only watch videos in a Private browsing window. I would happily pay for YouTube if they wouldn't track me, shovel shit in my face, or otherwise misuse my data.

occz 3y ago

There's a really simple reason for this - HN/Reddit is not one person. It consists of multiple people with different opinions, and as such, there is no singular opinion to be found.

littlestymaar 3y ago

Plot twist: the content is actually not ad-free. (sponsored sections aren't removed from the videos)