The filter I use to hide threads based on keywords doesn’t seem to work for urls but I’m sure this is possible aswell.

  • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I am going to ask a stupid question here, in no stupid questions. I have never used an ad blocker. I’ve been on the internet since before the world wide web was invented. What, exactly, is the purpose of ad blockers?

    • Thorny_Insight@lemm.eeOP
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      6 months ago

      It does what the name suggests: it blocks ads on web pages leaving you with a lot cleaner interface. On some pages the change is purely cosmetic but others like YouTube are completely unusable without one. Why don’t just give it a shot and see by yourself. Look for the uBlock Origin extension for your browser and see how you like it. You can easily toggle it on and off and see how different sites look. It takes literally 30 seconds to install.

      • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Thanks, Thorny Insight. I’ve never felt the need to install an ad blocker, but perhaps I should, just to see the internet the way everyone else does these days.

        • jimmydoreisalefty@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          Hope this helps!

          Ad blocking or ad filtering is a software capability for blocking or altering online advertising in a web browser, an application or a network. This may be done using browser extensions or other methods.

          • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            My original question was badly framed. I know what ad blockers are. I just don’t know why people use them.

            • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              So you somehow have never noticed how miserable ads make life/the Internet? Even if you ignore all the privacy and overconsumption concerns, you still have the fact that ads slow down websites tremendously, and often literally obscure content from view. Somehow you’ve used the Internet for decades and that’s all lost on you. Trolldar is going off hard.

            • GBU_28@lemm.ee
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              6 months ago

              You should hope to never see an ad in your whole life. Obviously that’s impossible, but efforts should be taken to get there