There are no acceptable ads
I dislike nearly all ads and want the ability to block any ads I dislike.<p>But the fundamental question is: without advertising, how do you learn about products you might want to buy? Ad-funded search is not a good answer, and in the limit, proprietary search result ordering would be just another type of advertising.<p>Word of mouth is slow and unreliable, especially if you are looking for unusual things or if your preferences are often unusual compared with the people you ask for reviews.<p>The only thing I dislike more than ads is social media, so that&#x27;s not an option.<p>When I personally bear a higher cost conducting a product search to fit my needs than the costs of viewing ads, then ads <i>are</i> better and they do add value.<p>This is not a heroic defense of the abject shit ads that litter the internet, the rampant malware or tracking, the creepy attempts at unnecessarily specific personalization, or content creators selling out.<p>But it&#x27;s also not reasonable to say the Platonic idea of an ad is intrinsically unethical or intrinsically cost-ineffective.