No. They wouldn't. Guess how I know what films are out at the moment. I look at billboards. I see adverts. They tell me useful stuff.
You're a tiny tiny minority.
>> "Just because we grew up in a world dominated by consumerism does not mean that's the way it should be, or the only way it can be. If more people were proactive in refusing to be marketed to I believe the benefits would be positive for all of society."
You seem to be under the delusion that marketing is a bad thing. It's providing useful information to potential consumers. It works. People like it. It's not going away.
Just don't come running to me when you can no longer visit most websites since they've blocked you.
I started blocking ads when certain sites would bog down my browser with flash (namely, Entrepreneur.com). That's when I discovered ABP. It's just a nicer surfing experience for me without them. But then again, I'm the kind of person that thinks Nike is crazy if they expect me to pay for a t-shirt that simply says "Nike" on it (or carries their swoosh).
Just between you and me (I doubt anybody else is reading any more) I get annoyed at movie previews for the same reason...:) I think I'm the only one on the planet with that particular defective gene.
What I absolutely hate is adverts in cinemas, and the previews/non skip items on DVDs. To subject people to advertising like that when they have already paid is indefensible.
You solicited it with your visit to the site. You didn't leave when confronted with the choice of using my site and viewing ads or leaving. If you don't like my ads, by all means: LEAVE.
You're not doing this by hand. The selectively loading argument is patently absurd. You're altering the standard behaviour of your web browser with the strict intention of denying a site owner their revenue source. You're using something without paying for it.
> and if your business model cannot support people that do it you're fucked.
This is not about my business model. My business model can support it fine, partly because there's so few people like you.
No, this is about morally corrupt people that need a lesson in civility.
I invited genuine customers of course, not leeches.
Just like if I own a bookstore and you come in every day and read books and never buy anything. Pretty soon I'll ban you.
Your analogy is a terrible one, by the way. A better one is picking up an ad-supported magazine, and asking a helpful friend (one whose judgement you trust - the parallel here being to the EasyList maintainers) to rip all the ads out for you before you read it.
If people could block ads on TV and in print, prevent themselves from seeing billboards, etc, newsflash: they would! If I could go through my life without being subjected to people trying to sell me stuff all the time, I would be a much happier person.
Just because we grew up in a world dominated by consumerism does not mean that's the way it should be, or the only way it can be. If more people were proactive in refusing to be marketed to I believe the benefits would be positive for all of society.