To think the ads on mumsnet are ruining the site

That lipstick one looks like a severed finger!

If you use the Brave browser there are no adverts. It also removes all the adverts on YouTube videos

Never heard of Ghostery - I love the name! Must check that out!

I use DuckDuckGo browser on my phone and Ghostery to block ads on my laptop. Both work perfectly to zap the ads. Of course, I wouldn't have had to do that if the ads were less intrusive and didn't zap my battery so fast!

Like @doctorsleep I am now using DuckDuckGo and the difference is amazing.

If the "owner of mumsnet said that people using ad blockers were all free loaders scrounging off people who pay for premium" then they need to build a site that incorporates ads but doesn't affect the user experience.

I use other sites with ads and they are not a problem.

The flashing, flickering, jumping around and immense data harvesting on this site is really something else.

People will look for a way around it if they don't like the UX.

They tried but it doesn’t work. I use an ad blocker without issue. Just block/disable the pop up complaining about your ad blocker as well.

The owner of mumsnet said that people using ad blockers were all free loaders scrounging off people who pay for premium, so they installed software that blocks people from using them

This doesn’t happen on my iPhone.

Here’s the perma-ad at the top of the page. Subject changes but ad is always there.

@LeanToWhatToDo it is an internet browsing site. I keep using safari for other websites, and will use MN on DuckDuckGo. It blocks trackers and allows you to go ad free. Attached picture of what it looks like. The only difference is all the white space would be filled with ads, and the speed it brilliant.
It is like decluttering . Every function of MN is still there, just the trackers and ads.

Well I just changed my search engine from Google and it made no difference. Put in AdBlocker Plus and I've just had to disable it for MN, so anyone suggesting those ideas, they don't work.

Does DuckDuck block those then, I assume? I thought I had an ad blocker installed but think we had to waive those when they changed over. If duckduck does that automatically I'll switch, I also used to use ecosia to plant a tree every search and am wondering if they do the same...

It is not the ads, it is the ad loading. Trackers compete for your data, and offer ads tailored to whatever data they get. This translates into a slower website, as page load speed is affected. It takes a few seconds to profile you and push ads to you.
The number of trackers on MN is insane. I have downloaded DuckDuckGo just for MN, and it is like the good old days. No overheating , battery, and not losing a reply as you are ready to post it.

The app will gather even more data compared to website. Why should I let them know where I live, where I go during the day, or at what time I get up, which site I read first on any given day and so much …. No thank you. An app isn’t done for users , it is done for user data.

On the Website version , MN must have change strategy, company, whatever and this has impacted user experience.
Not that it matters to them. For 20 of us bitching about it, you have 200.000 people using the website without complaining.

This thread is a prime example, every time someone posts and I get a notification I come back and it is taking 4mins or so to load each time, circle just going round and round...whether it will actually post this or I'll have to shut out of the site, who knows!

No you aren't "just lucky" - you are using the app! Which by the way harvests a shit ton of your data.

The main problem is on the website version, as explained.

Yes but the app is utterly shit compared to the desktop site. So little functionality that using it after using the desktop site feels like a massive step back.

Because for some users it is like that. There are numerous threads about it in site stuff, with MNHQ constantly apologising and saying they're trying to sort it. Even whilst I'm typing this, there are constant moving ads at the side of the page, another ad below it and then more below the text box. There are also 5 separate ads in between every other post as I scroll down the thread

There are also others that take up the whole of the top of the page and mean you can't navigate anywhere else, because as soon as you click it takes you to the advertisers website

I am bemused at the ads posts tbh, I use the app and have the odd ad in between posts, but they are small and I literally scroll past and couldn’t tell you what they are for. I never see pop ups. Am I just lucky?

Depressing.
I think Facebook was the canary down the coalmine - no one uses it because you never see another real person. The internet will become so saturated it will be unusable. If we make another am hopeful it won't be all about selling and porn and revert back to the initial idea of communication and learning.

With Google and Meta hoovering up the vast majority of digital ad spend, smaller publishers (and most other publishers) like MN are left fighting for their lives.

With the amount MN can charge advertisers being pushed down and down, the only options are to add more ads on site or offer an ad free experience at a cost.

Ads are a necessary evil. If you want free and open internet, you have to put up with them. Otherwise you will have to pay to visit every site you visit.

Install an ad blocker.

Same and I agree that's a lot. It's at risk of becoming like Facebook where there are more ads than content and it's not worth visiting.

On my phone I see an ad between every 2 posts on this thread, with another ad showing at the top of the screen. That does feel like quite a lot!

Yes the flashing is super distracting, also the moving ones make me feel sick. They also bugger up if you have a fast moving thread which means nothing runs properly on my laptop. If I am watching along with other posters who are all commenting in real time I will need to close and reopen the site at least once, or the show we are watching. Very annoying as the pace is lost.

And all the 'promoted' posts in trending...😠

I use the app and the ads are just under posts, I don’t even notice them.