ABP (AdblockPlus) sucks and I will prove it...

[Aractus]

OK, so I wanted to know exactly why ABP (AdblockPlus) has a whitelist enabled by default. Sure it's only installed in one browser (IE) and I'd use Adblock instead if I could, but I want to know what the fuck they're thinking. Here's an example let me show you (all these images are 75% size)...

DuckDuckGo:



StartPage:



Ixquick:



Okay so let's review the ABP policy located here... I want you to pay special attention to "which ads are 'acceptable'?" In that section it reads "Static advertisements only", "Preferably text only", "Advertising should be clearly marked", "it should be distinguishable from page content", "paid search results cannot be mixed with organic results" etc.

Now if you thought any of those were bad, here's Google - with ABP running on the default settings:


(click for full-size)

No I'm not joking, here's ABP's policy:

When ads are placed above the content of a main page, they should not require the user to scroll down. The available vertical space is likely to be at least 700 pixels. Advertising should not occupy more than one-third of that height. Paid search results on search pages are allowed to occupy more space, but they should never outnumber organic results.

Now here's the thing - this is my opinion - the google ads on startpage and ixquick are specifically designed to look like the search results, and particularly on ixquick if you don't pay attention it's difficult to tell where the first ad begins. Furthermore, google ads use javascript to hide the advertising URL. DuckDuckGo's ad does have a clearly different look to the search results. Google's ads are completely excessive. The outnumber the search results (google provided 9 search results, and the first one isn't even visible without scrolling on a 1920x1080 display!)

Now, what ads does AdBlockPlus block by default out of those 4 websites? DuckDuckGo's ad and that's all. And how many of those websites have their own option to disable their ads? That would be only DuckDuckGo!

How the fuck ABP sees that google page full of ads as "non-intrusive" is beyond me. Personally I would call DDG's ad the least intrusive of the lot, but according to ABP it's the only intrusive one in the examples I provided.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Maybe you could get your money back. Oh, wait...

Boru

[Aractus]

My point is that like Firefox, Opera, especially Opera, and Maxthon they've sold-out to Google and their monopoly.

There are no good web browsers any more. Maxthon includes a built-in Ad-Hunter that doesn't block any google ads, and Google is its default search engine. At least you can easily change it to DDG, IX, SP, TPB or whatever you want. FF is worse - their default search engine is Google and you cannot change it in the standard settings. You have to go to about:config and good luck figuring that out. Opera is by far the worst - you cannot set the default search engine to one of Google's genuine competitors. You can add ixquick, startpage, etc but you cannot set any of your added search engine as the default, nor can you delete the default ones. Internet Explorer also sucks - you basically can't change your default search off Bing and if you do (manually in the registry) it has a way of putting it back on Bing without telling you. ABP is a sell-out. There is no way on God's earth you can call Google's ads "non-intrusive", it doesn't fit the definition at all in ABP's policy.

I don't typically use IE anyway, but the point is that every other web browser (Chrome is exempt because it's owned by Google) has sold-out to Google. Google has a complete monopoly on web browsers. And with ABP being the only Ad-blocking plugin available for IE they've found a way to exploit (monopolize) IE users as well.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

MY point is that you're bitching about free stuff.

Boru

[jesus_wept]

FF is worse - their default search engine is Google and you cannot change it in the standard settings. You have to go to about:config and good luck figuring that out.

I'm not using my home computer ATM but I'm pretty certain ff doesn't work like this anymore and you can change search engines without touching about:config.

[Nine]

MY point is that you're bitching about free stuff.

So what? If something is shit and free you still get to say that its shit.

[Aractus]

MY point is that you're bitching about free stuff.

Boru

They (ABP) have a policy. The policy is written here:

https://adblockplus.org/en/acceptable-ads

When you say one thing but do another that makes you a hypocrite.

When you have a written policy you are accountable to keeping that policy.

[Jaysyn]

FF is worse - their default search engine is Google and you cannot change it in the standard settings.

Mozilla gets most of their revenue from Google. There is a pull down to change search engines right beside the address bar. If you want a web browser that supports AdBlock, doesn't sent your info to Google & isn't ad supported you may want to consider Chromium or maybe even SeaMonkey. Either way you shouldn't be using Internet Explorer at all.

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MY point is that you're bitching about free stuff.

Boru

They (ABP) have a policy. The policy is written here:

https://adblockplus.org/en/acceptable-ads

When you say one thing but do another that makes you a hypocrite.

When you have a written policy you are accountable to keeping that policy.

On top of the browser & the extension being free, it's a user configurable setting that works as described (I just tested it on Google in FF). There is just no pleasing some people. Also, have you actually bothered to tell ABP that you think Google is violating their "rules"?

[Aractus]

Mozilla gets most of their revenue from Google. There is a pull down to change search engines right beside the address bar.

In mine there isn't.

If you want a web browser that supports AdBlock, doesn't sent your info to Google & isn't ad supported you may want to consider Chromium or maybe even SeaMonkey. Either way you shouldn't be using Internet Explorer at all.

You know, people have a choice and unlike you I wouldn't tell people that IE11 is the "wrong choice" - they're entitled to their opinion. In my opinion the very worst current browsers are: IE11, Safari and Opera, and all three of them are equally as bad as the other.

On top of the browser & the extension being free, it's a user configurable setting. There is just no pleasing some people.

Read the fucking policy. The policy clearly explicitly lays out the criteria of "non-intrusive" advertising. Google does not meet the criteria for several reasons, not just one.

[Jaysyn]

You know, people have a choice and unlike you I wouldn't tell people that IE11 is the "wrong choice" - they're entitled to their opinion. In my opinion the very worst current browsers are: IE11, Safari and Opera, and all three of them are equally as bad as the other.

Well from a security standpoint you are very incorrect.

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Mozilla gets most of their revenue from Google. There is a pull down to change search engines right beside the address bar.

In mine there isn't.

Then you have screwed up a setting somewhere. Wonder if you have some malware on your PC that has removed it? It's generally not something you can remove from the browser GUI without removing the entire search box.

Read the fucking policy. The policy clearly explicitly lays out the criteria of "non-intrusive" advertising. Google does not meet the criteria for several reasons, not just one.

And yet you are whining about it here instead of complaining to ABP?