dp has installed an ad blocker

[mshanj]

Dp has installed an ad blocker on our machines. Aibu thinking this is highly unethical? The app he installed has been banned by Google on the google play app store!

What's unethical about controlling what others put on your screen?

Unethical is a strong word.

But it's the revenue generated from advertising that allows most websites to function, so I'm a put-up-and-shut-up kinda gal.

Well Google would ban it, wouldn't they. They get paid for all the advertising. If no-one sees it, they aren't going to make much money.

As long as it doesn't contain a virus I'd say can you tell me what it's called so I can install it?! Hate being stalked by ads for things I searched for weeks ago. Ruins present surprises too as I can't always be arsed to go incognito.

Unethical?

I have adbocker. I hate pop ups and things flashing all over my screen.

Its not illegal to have one and i don't want yo be stalked by shops to buy stuff online

What do you think is unethical about it?

If he has installed it on your machine without asking you he is out of line.

If they are shared machines and he generally has the go-ahead to make changes then I see no problem.

If you don't like it then tell him why and have a conversation with him and you can decide between you to a. leave it b. take it off c. take it off and user another one which you deem to be more "ethical"

Huh? I have adblocker because I hate seeing ads on screen. How on earth is it unethical?

I make a point of never buying anything that has "popped up" and disturbed what I'm doing.
If you have an old PC or low spec, you might give up before your page has loaded: it takes so long because its trying to load increasingly large/colourful/ dynamic ads... fecking videos, even!

Google and ethics in the same sentence? Google hoover up more data than the NSA and GCHQ combined, which is why I use Startpage. An AdBlocker can stop all sorts of nasties, specially when teamed with NoScript.

Doing something that Google doesn't like is hardly unethical

Adblock Plus is my best friend. Occasionally I catch myself wondering why someone is complaining about all the adverts they see because it's so long since I saw any at all on that site.

I think your DP's got a lot of sense.

Unethical?! Bloody sensible more like.

Tell me OP, if you're waiting to watch a video on YouTube do you skip the ad as soon as you're able, or do you sit and watch the whole thing for fear of being unethical?

I don't use an adblocker as such, but I do use a Firefox add-on called NoScript, which has the side-effect of blocking ads too. I've never heard of anyone regarding adblockers as unethical, let alone highly unethical. I think you should thank your DP.

Why unethical OP?

Google removed my nectar search bar because it's not from their playstore. I'm extremely annoyed about that because I used it a lot. Google don't like it because it's powered by their rival. I feel it's my choice to make and not theirs.

Ethics!!! You know that Google and other companies track your history, monitor your emails and posts, look for keywords and then give you adverts based on your internet history, FB posts etc. Is that ethical or just clever?

^^THIS

I have Firefox Adblocker.

I would also recommend a free add-on called Ghostery. It lists all the trackers lurking on the website and what they do, so you can see who is watching what you click and what the information is for.

I was literally at the amount of trackers on some websites, some are perfectly legit (FB/twitter buttons eg) but most are designed to target you with ads/ work out what demographic you fall into etc etc.

Some have more than 30 ffs.

Oh and you can turn the trackers off (which I now do as default) and its made such a difference to the amount of targeted shite I get in emails/ on fb etc.

Sorry but if everyone installed an add blocker then the lovely girls at mn would be without a job surely?

I love AdBlock! The ads stll annoyingly come up on my Kindle and mobile so the poor hard done by Mad Men are still getting their solid gold Mercs.

Sorry but if everyone installed an add blocker then the lovely girls at mn would be without a job surely

Most ads are pay per click. If no-one clicked on any of the adverts on Mumsnet they wouldn't get any advertising revenue from them. Surely you don't believe that ethics requires you to click on ads?

Ad blockers are not unethical. They give you faster response times and improved security. They can also save energy. The browser you are using almost certainly blocks unsolicited pop-up ads already.

OP, why don't you ask the people at MNHQ whether any of them use an adblocker?

Love Ghostery app from the Apple Store ! Just turned off a load of trackers from my most frequently visited sites. No wonder I was getting so much targeted shite. EVERY site is at it, big time.