UK Courts move towards blocking access to The Pirate Bay

[sbroome]

Originally Posted by Jyster

A hour long tv show in realty is only 38-43 minutes long, the rest commercials.

A 30 minute tv show in realty is only 18-23 minutes long, the rest commercials.

Yeah, thank god we have the internet, where we're free from advertising..

[Belfaborac]

"My" internet is entirely advertising-free, thank you very much. My browser has an ad blocker and a flash blocker, Google Mail is incredibly effective at intercepting spam and I don't use any kind of software that is supported by ads. In fact most of my existence is ad free, since my mail box has a notice saying "no advertising of any kind!", my phone has an unlisted number and I pretty much only watch the news on regular TV.

[cjr72]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

"My" internet is entirely advertising-free, thank you very much. My browser has an ad blocker and a flash blocker

I do the same. I'm so used to placid ad-free web browsing now if I do get on a browser without adblock and flashblock it almost gives me a seizure.

[Belfaborac]

Yup, same here. The only place I see ads and commercials is in shop windows in town and when driving past shopping centres and such. Which is where advertising belongs, as far as I'm concerned.

[murraypaul]

And incidentally some would view browsing web-sites with ad-blocking software as just as great an evil as downloading mp3 without paying for them.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by sbroome

Eliminating casual users would seem to be progress. I don't understand your deduction.

Casual users will just go back to buying pirate content on CDR/DVDR from people at work or car boot sales like they did before. Until TPB and similar came along those type of stalls always had huge crowds around them, and just about every workplace had at least one person selling them.

[Belfaborac]

It'll never again come to that though. Big business and law enforcement may perhaps score limited and very temporary victories now and again, but there are such a plethora of avenues for sharing files these days, both existing and in the works, that thoughts of a significant and durable culling of downloaders are totally and utterly unrealistic.

As far as "casual" downloaders and pirates go, those are really confined to my generation (40+) and those older. Move one generation down and most people are sufficiently tech-savvy that VPNs, DRM removal and whatever is no obstacle whatsoever. Move down to kids and teenagers and >everyone< (+/-1-2%) is technologically adept enough to not consider such things as any kind of barrier at all. So while many of those may be seen as casual downloaders, they will equally casually brush away whatever obstacles are put in their way.

Or at least that's the picture here; I can't say I know how tech-savvy people elsewhere are.

[Belfaborac]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

And incidentally some would view browsing web-sites with ad-blocking software as just as great an evil as downloading mp3 without paying for them.

I'm sure you're correct. Perhaps in time it will also become illegal to block advertising in our own homes and on our own devices. It wouldn't surprise me one little bit.

[sbroome]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

"My" internet is entirely advertising-free, thank you very much. My browser has an ad blocker and a flash blocker, Google Mail is incredibly effective at intercepting spam and I don't use any kind of software that is supported by ads. In fact most of my existence is ad free, since my mail box has a notice saying "no advertising of any kind!", my phone has an unlisted number and I pretty much only watch the news on regular TV.

"The" internet is so advertising-heavy that google has built an entire empire on it, thriving while segments of their business like youtube continue to lose money. Games and other content are support more often than not by ads because people online are so often unwilling to pay anything. Sorry, is all this not obvious? Are you guys also going to try to argue against the internet being retail and advertising based?

[Belfaborac]

You did notice I never said the internet? Purposefully, I might add.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by cjr72

I do the same. I'm so used to placid ad-free web browsing now if I do get on a browser without adblock and flashblock it almost gives me a seizure.

Same here, ad-block on the internet, and no television. We do all our "tv watching" via youtube or borrowing videos.

We get the highlights of the things we want only.

I was probably the last person in the world to learn what a "swiffer was". I found out while a group of us were casually conversing and one of them said, "I am so tired of that swiffer ad!"" It was then I asked what one was, and they said, "seriously?" I also had to google to get a picture.

[Belfaborac]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

I was probably the last person in the world to learn what a "swiffer was".

I'm afraid you're quite wrong, since I've no idea what a "swiffer" is. I will in a moment, after I've googled it, but still. Anyone else, or am I the bona fide last person in the world?

PS: it feels slightly surreal to be having a competition about who is the greater luddite...

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

I
PS: it feels slightly surreal to be having a competition about who is the greater luddite...

hehe, especially on the internet.

[Giggleton]

Ah yes. Is it ethical to use adblock? We should certainly be able to dictate what we view in our own private spaces but let us go further.

What about advertisements placed in private places that are viewable by the public? We should certainly be allowed to tear these down as they are infringing on our mental spaces correct?

What is an ebook or an mp3 file but an advertisement for an idea...

The UK courts decision is simple suppression of subversive ideas and should not be allowed to stand.

[cjr72]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

I'm sure you're correct. Perhaps in time it will also become illegal to block advertising in our own homes and on our own devices. It wouldn't surprise me one little bit.

Several years back there was legislation that contained a provision to block skipping commercials with a DVR here in the US. It didn't pass but I wouldn't be surprised if they try to sneak it in again under some legislation to save us all from scary bad job-killing cyber-terrorist pedophiles.