I remember life without adblockers. Back when they were not needed, because web sited did not have ads.
Ah yes, the less than three years before banner ads showed up, and exploded, everywhere
At least those were a) just banner ads and b) not as annoying as modern JS/HTML5/popup/popover ads are. You just scrolled down a few pixel, and had 100% information.
Yes we had 3 more years where numerous other variants of things like pop-up/under ads, ads that ran malicious java script, infinitely self-replicating pop-ups, ads that instantly played music at full volume, ads that kept opening themselves again as you closed them, and so on.
Basically, the time when ads were not super intrusive, on the web, was a fleeting time, in its infancy. Didn’t even make it 6 years before ad blockers were required to safely use the web.
I remember when I first noticed YouTube had ads. They’ve had them a while but before they got ads I had installed an ad blocker. So when I was setting up a new laptop and just testing if everything worked I loaded up a YouTube video and suddenly there was a pre roll playing and I wondered “What the fuck is this … Ah yes still need to install an ad blocker”
Edit: Toni? Who the fuck is he? ;)
FDunny, though, that I only know Pepperidge Farm from memes. I assume that is/was an American brand, right?
did you use the internet in '92 or something? because even in mid to late 90s the ads were so cancerous that pop-up blocking eventually became a standard feature of browsers before ad blockers were even a thing.
My first contact with the web (I had been in the internet for some time already) was when a collegue at university told me about the Arena browser, and this new system, “like Gopher, but with Hypertext and pictures”. And yes, I’ve seen the CERN website, served from Tim Barners-Lee’s NeXT cube, too.
So yes, I knew the web before there were ads, the internet when services were normally open to all sides, and when people on the internet that were actually much smarter than average.
The installers for every major software company riddled every single computer with adware. And you needed a compsci degree to get rid of it. Weren’t there lawsuits over that shit, that led to regulations? I remember that happening. It’s not like they were going to stop doing that of their own accord.
Up to early 00’ most webs didn’t really have many ads. Some may have abusive advertisement but it wasn’t everywhere like now.
