Yes, ban both adblock blockers and paywalls.<p>The first are overtly refusing to accept users&#x27; terms.  The second are trying to have their cake and eat it too:  viral content propogation whilst refusing to present content to those who come at it via link aggregators and discussion sites such as Reddit.<p>Both actively thwart Reddit&#x27;s intended aim:  informed discussion of an article _by having read it_.  If they don&#x27;t want to participate, then don&#x27;t participate.<p>Moreover, advertising, the advertising infrastructure, and multiple aspects of it are creating a seriously problematic WWW information structure:  crap content, user-hostile design, hugely excessive bandwidth usage, slow browser response, and privacy and security risks galore.  At the same time, the actual <i>creative producers</i> and <i>journalists</i> responsible for primary content are hugely undercompensated.<p>Eliminating the existing advertising regime would allow all of these to be addressed.<p><i>That said, high-quality information has a very serious revenue problem, and I&#x27;d like to highlight that.</i><p>It&#x27;s a topic I&#x27;ve explored in some depth, &quot;Why Information Goods and Markets are a Poor Match&quot;
(<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;np.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;dredmorbius&#x2F;comments&#x2F;2vm2da&#x2F;why_information_goods_and_markets_are_a_poor_match&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;np.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;dredmorbius&#x2F;comments&#x2F;2vm2da&#x2F;why_info...</a>).  Or if you prefer a real economist, Hal Varian&#x27;s &quot;Markets for Information Goods&quot; 
(<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;people.ischool.berkeley.edu&#x2F;~hal&#x2F;Papers&#x2F;japan&#x2F;index.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;people.ischool.berkeley.edu&#x2F;~hal&#x2F;Papers&#x2F;japan&#x2F;index.h...</a>).<p>A frequently proposed solution is micropayments.  I don&#x27;t see those as viable, Clay Shirkey, Nick Szabo, and Andrew Odlyzko have all written at length on why not.<p>Rather, a universal content tax or broadband tax seems an alternative.  Phil Hunt of Pirate Party UK and Richard M. Stallman of the Free Software Foundation have suggested this, I&#x27;d made my own universal content proposal some time back 
(<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;np.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;dredmorbius&#x2F;comments&#x2F;1uotb3&#x2F;a_modest_proposal_universal_online_media_payment&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;np.reddit.com&#x2F;r&#x2F;dredmorbius&#x2F;comments&#x2F;1uotb3&#x2F;a_modest...</a>)<p>I&#x27;ve also done some back-of-the-envelope calculations on amounts.  _Total_ global ad spend in 2013 was $500 billion, online was $100 billion.  If _only_ the world&#x27;s richest 1 billion (roughly:  US, EU, Japan, Australia) were to contribute to this, the tax would be $100&#x2F;year to eliminate _all_ online adverts, and $500&#x2F;year for _all advertising entirely_.  The money could fund existing creatives -- writers, editors, film producers, journalists, and musicians -- at roughly _twice_ today&#x27;s compensation.<p>It&#x27;s worth a thought.