46 comments

  • Marcel ChristianisMarcel Christianis, over 7 years ago

    Respect

    19 points
  • Andre WeierAndre Weier, over 7 years ago

    He should make an update with an easy whitelisting feature instead of pulling the app. It's not like Peace was/is the only iOS ad blocker. He could have make a difference by making it the best balanced one - e.g. by adding a suggested whitelisting list for publishers like The Deck etc

    10 points
    • ポール ウェッブポール ウェッブ, over 7 years ago

      Agreed

      0 points
    • Connor Tomas O'BrienConnor Tomas O'Brien, over 7 years ago

      I really think the issue is that Arment had ethical qualms about remaining in the ad blocking space. He's got other stuff to work on, and it seems fair enough to jump out of a space that he didn't feel comfortable being in.

      3 points
    • Account deleted over 7 years ago

      I think the opposite would ease his moral concerns more. No blocking by default, but use the share sheet to blacklist offensive publishers (like The Verge).

      0 points
  • Pierre de MillyPierre de Milly, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

    Reading his blog posts, this guy seems to spend a lot of time having inner debates about stuff!

    10 points
  • Joe TurnerJoe Turner, over 7 years ago

    Adapt, or die.

    9 points
  • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 7 years ago

    read: he blocked his own ads, hurt more than he realized.

    9 points
    • Ed AdamsEd Adams, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

      I really very much doubt this is the reason why. I only have a fairly limited knowledge of how advertising works, but I really doubt 2 days is enough time to see the impact this will have.

      That does bring up a quite interesting point though, I'd like someone to share numbers of how this has affected their ad revenve...

      6 points
      • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

        yes, but not only his ad revenue was affected; also his friends' -- such as gruber -- mentioned in the article.

        some sites are ad-supported and not shitty. hard to believe, but true.

        5 points
        • Ed AdamsEd Adams, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

          Oh sure, I bet Gruber's tweet influenced this decision.

          I do hope someone creates a more complex (i.e., not blanket) Content Blocker in time and perhaps white lists ad networks like The Deck that are - as you say - not shitty.

          1 point
          • Joe TurnerJoe Turner, over 7 years ago

            I think what people are saying is why should The Deck by whitelisted by default (as @gruber was saying). If you buy Ad Blocking software, it should block Ads. Period.

            5 points
            • Kyle BavenderKyle Bavender, over 7 years ago

              That would be your opinion, Joe. And I see your logic, and it checks out. Yet personally I'd like something a little more opinionated & nuanced. My concern is less blocking any and everything that comes in as an ad, and more blocking asset-heavy ads, tracking ads, and ads that significantly skew the layout. Unfortunately, that's really hard to do...unless if you whitelist ad networks that don't do any of those things.

              0 points
        • Nate vNate v, over 7 years ago

          Whenever I mention this to people who have an ad blocker, they're always like, "Huh... I didn't even think of that..."

          Ads keep the internet going round to a degree, and blocking them is a step towards limiting who has a voice online. I will never block an ad, if the ad is intrusive, report it.

          2 points
          • Kurt MadsenKurt Madsen, over 7 years ago

            From my understanding, it's not so much about ads being intrusive on the page, but more about the speed and bandwidth they take up for the end user.

            3 points
            • Nate vNate v, over 7 years ago

              Right, but usually the people I talk to its about actually seeing them, I've only recently heard the argument about speeds (which is a more valid argument IMO)

              1 point
          • John PJohn P, over 7 years ago

            Ads keep the internet going round to a degree, and blocking them is a step towards limiting who has a voice online

            How so? Everyone is welcome to a voice online, you're just not entitled to make a living off that voice. Some people seem to forget there was a time when people made YouTube videos for passion not profit.

            0 points
          • Joe CJoe C, over 7 years ago

            Where do you report the ads to? I'm interested to take this route too, as I'm not too keen on a blanket blocker.

            0 points
      • Nathan NNathan N, over 7 years ago

        ~3 dollars per impression, ~1k to buy the ad; yeah this would hurt.

        0 points
      • George ChenGeorge Chen, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

        "Ad Guy" here. Ad Blocker long term is not an issue. I expect it will have some impact at first but flatten out.

        Just take a look at Desktop ad blocking numbers, roughly 14% of ads are blocked on the Desktop in the US. Europe tends to have higher number (close to 33% in Sweden which is the highest).

        The best way to think of it is these people decided to opt-out from advertising compleley. These folks might not be your best customers to begin with.

        4 points
      • John PJohn P, over 7 years ago

        Most of his friends are part of the Apple/tech journo set, he was literally shipping a product where people would be paying him to take money out of his friends hands.

        Not sure why he didn't realise this until he'd actually shipped though.

        2 points
    • Dan Charlesworth, over 7 years ago

      Pretty sure being the top paid app on the App Store was making him more money than lost ad revenue to his blog, folks...

      P.S. Arment has tens of millions of dollars in tumblr stock kicking around.

      3 points
  • cliff nowickicliff nowicki, over 7 years ago

    If I download an ad blocker, I hope that I'd get a program that blocks EVERYTHING. I don't want to download a program where the creator says "My new program blocks everything! Except these ads because those people are cool." That defeats the purpose of creating an ad blocker. You can't just cherry pick it because someone complains. I personally love ads, call me crazy. I like be introduced to new things and thats why I never use ad blockers. I get why Peace was pulled though. I would find it annoying if people were trying to shame me online too. It'd be stressful for me. Maybe he got a big'ol paycheck from advertisement companies?

    6 points
  • M. AppelmanM. Appelman, over 7 years ago

    I blame Gruber http://www.marco.org/2015/09/17/why-peace-blocks-deck-ads

    4 points
  • Elliott ReganElliott Regan, over 7 years ago

    Major respect, but I'm not sure if I would do the same. It seems like he should have used his place at the top of the list to enforce/suggest responsible ad-blocking.

    A subjective whitelist of non-invasive and acceptable ads would be better than shutting down the entire app.

    3 points
  • Diego LafuenteDiego Lafuente, over 7 years ago

    Oh, no please. One day justifying, the other day retracting. I found this really disgusting.

    Cartago delenda est.

    2 points
  • Mahdi FarraMahdi Farra, over 7 years ago

    Yep. They bought him.

    2 points
    • Nic TrentNic Trent, over 7 years ago

      Its refreshing to see someone following their values instead of capitalism... unless there was some under-the-table deal :/ -eternal skeptic

      0 points
      • Andre WeierAndre Weier, over 7 years ago

        Good for him he is making enough money overcast and got a good payday from instapaper and possibly tumblr. Also he already made around 50k to 100k from Peace. Most developers would go bankrupt from such a decision

        0 points
  • J FJ F, over 7 years ago

    Probably feels guilty from making a profit.

    1 point
    • George ChenGeorge Chen, over 7 years ago

      He's not really making a profit. He's doing a data licensing agreement with Ghostery which provide the list of sites / tracker to be blocked. The (good protion) of the money goes to Ghostery.

      0 points
      • Grady Kelly, over 7 years ago

        As someone who works at Ghostery and is familiar with this, I can tell you that is not true. (the good portion of the money going to Ghostery) part.

        0 points
      • Andre WeierAndre Weier, over 7 years ago

        I bet Ghostery will release their own iOS adblocker soon. They could get the source code from Marco and offer a free download for all Peace customers.

        0 points
      • Jesse HeadJesse Head, over 7 years ago

        How do you know how much goes to Ghostery? He never disclosed those figures...

        1 point
        • Grady Kelly, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )

          Because I work at Ghostery. I know those details. Without giving specifics, I can only say that we are not getting the lions share.

          0 points
  • Marc Olivier LapierreMarc Olivier Lapierre, over 7 years ago

    Bold move but I can see why he pulled it. It's such a tricky situation. I installed Crystal on my phone but I'm still torn between keeping it or not.

    1 point
  • Nick Matarese, over 7 years ago

    Interesting choice to pull the app after 2 days, but I respect his decision. It's not always about the money.

    1 point