This bit about the ethics of ad-blocking by a browser in an article by a google developer who worked on the Chrome browser:
> People seem to think it’s the browser’s job to block ads, but my perspective is that if a business owner wants to make their business repulsive, the only sensible response is to stop using the business. Somehow once technology is involved to abstract what’s happening, people start talking about how it’s their right to unilaterally renegotiate the transaction. Or for another analogy that will likely make you upset: “I hate how this store charges $10 for a banana, so I am just going to pay $2 and take the banana anyway”.
and this Hacker News comment in response:
What if every business owner has decided to make their business repulsive, because that’s a winning strategy for them?
The “don’t just use that business” idea has never worked if your goal is actually to change how the market at large behaves. See the much larger industries such as food (boycott factory farming) or energy (boycott fossil fuels)…
“Cheating”, such as blocking ads but using the service anyway is one way to solve that power imbalance and actually put pressure on sites to look for another business model.
and this other one:
I find the entire analogy dubious. When I see a link, I don’t know what sort of ads or JS is on the page it leads to. By blocking ads I am not renegotiating any transactions, because I never entered any transaction. If anything, it seems the author of the post thinks it’s okay for website owners to unilaterally dictate the terms of transaction and force visitors into them.
When I buy a banana, I see the price beforehand. With ads on websites it’s more as if upon me taking the banana, the banana seller gained the right to search my pockets and take anything they fancy.
Ultimately we need a business model that supports publishers sustainably while not being hostile to their readers. Having seen the web evolve from the late 1990s to its current form today (including app-centric content) I think that model will look very different from the options we debate today. PS: I don’t think it’s going to be micropayments.