I haven't either and was wondering if it was that or Glimmerblocker. If I did see video ads, I'd rather just close the tab than suffer through them.

That is by the way in everyone's best interest, especially the advertisers. Making me watch some ad will only make me dislike your brand.

Well, as you apparently continue to use Youtube, it's not in their best interest.

That's a problem they will need to solve, not I. My problem (ads) is solved by blocking them. I know for a fact that there are ways to monetize content that do work on me, advertising is just not one of them.

To name just one example, Google certainly has the means to implement a micro-payment system where each click on the thumbs up/like button deducts a small amount of money, assigns it to the uploader's account and keeps a percentage of that for their own hosting expenses. Let's call it Google Flattr.

Perhaps more people using ad-blockers would encourage such (in my opinion) positive developments. Until then, I'll enjoy my content without advertisements while you pay for it by getting your time wasted with ads and your brain crammed full of desires to buy shit you don't need.

> That's a problem they will need to solve, not I. My problem (ads) is solved by blocking them.

"People being easy to mug is a problem they will need to solve, not I. My problem (getting money) is solved by mugging them."

If everyone is looking out for their best interest without thinking about the community in general, things won't function very well overall. If everyone has the same opinion as you and blocks all YouTube ads, it might lead to a future where we have no YouTube. Just sayin'.

Not at all the same as mugging people. Better comparison: Free candy.

YouTube is a bowl of free candy sitting in a public place with a big "free candy" sign posted next to it. Each candy has a flyer for some product attached to it. You take the flyer and the candy. You might throw it away later, or not even read it, but you take it. I just pry off the candy and leave the flyer there.

If enough people do that, perhaps we will have a future where there is no free candy. Or no flyers. Or really strong glue so you can't pry them off. Or the stuff on the flyer gets printed in tiny letters on the candy itself.

We will however not end up with a future where there is no candy, because people still want candy, even if it's not free. Just perhaps not as much.

The mugging example was more to illustrate how you need to optimize for society, rather than yourself, in order to keep things working harmoniously.

When it comes to YouTube videos specifically, your analogy is fair, I agree.

The problem with your idea is that Google likely makes waaaaaay more money selling a single banner on YouTube's homepage then they would make in a month or more of thumb-up micro transactions. A simple banner at the top of Youtube can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and we're not even talking about the fancy stuff you sometimes see on YouTube.

Until that bubble bursts, I don't think you're going to see ads go away on large sites like YouTube.

Yes, It does.