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One of the Penny Arcade guys once related an anecdote about when he worked in a telemarketing call center. In this case, all the phone numbers he had were from people who had signed up for an anti-telemarketing service, which had then sold their list to telemarketers. He said that the people he called, understandably, usually responded with snarling rage unusual even by the standards of people getting telemarketing calls. The moral is, when people specifically take determined action to avoid you, and you go out of your way to circumvent them and reach them anyway, they're not going to be especially receptive or warm.

I think publishers deploying anti-adblock technology are making a similar mistake. When someone takes action not to see ads, do you really think they're going to respond well when you deploy trickery to show them ads anyway? Are they going to be especially well-disposed to your brand, or are they going to be filled with determined hatred for you? This is a losing proposition.




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