Ads are good. And bad.

I have no issue with the concept of advertisements. In fact, unless you're running an ad blocker or some similar utility on your browser -- or network -- you may not even be aware that there are ads on this Website. Of course, if you are not running an ad blocker, then you are very much aware of the ads.

Honestly, I don't like them. Well, I don't like how many there are. So, why do I have so many ads on this Website? I'm lazy. I turned the ad placement entirely over to Google, and they pick what ads show and where they show. And how many.

I don't normally notice them, because I block the ads on this Website. Let me explain why.

When it comes to monetizing a Website, visits matter, so I make sure as much as I can that I only visit from a browser that's I've registered as mine, so my page views don't get counted. I'm not looking to artificially inflate Website traffic numbers in any way.

The number of displays an ad gets can also be artificially inflated. I cannot confirm that the registration of the browser for traffic count also includes ad displays. They're both from Google, and it seems they should be able to tie them together. However, I cannot find anything that says they do. Meaning they may count ad displays to me. And they shouldn't.

To ensure that I don't artificially inflate any stats, I have an ad blocker, off by default, on for this Website. The upside is that I know that I'm doing all I can to ensure that I'm not gaming the system, even unintentionally. The downside is that I don't experience what you experience when you come to the Website. If it's a bad experience because of the ads, I don't know it.

Well, once a month, I will go to the Website on a registered browser and turn off the ad blocker. Then I see the ads in all their glory.

And, to be honest, I don't like how Google does it. It's too many, and they are borderline intrusive. Oh, not nearly as bad as some Websites, so I take some comfort in that. But more than I generally like.

Now, I did mention that I have an ad blocker. I don't normally use it. I understand why Websites have ads, because this Website has ads. They do it to live. I do it to buy a burger every so often. or to upgrade to medium fries.

So I'll view the ads on the Websites I visit. But every now and then, I'll come across a Website that has a horrible experience because of the ads. I'll turn on the ad blocker, finish my business there, and put them on my list of "no-go" Websites.

I believe that if it's an ad-supported Website, and I don't agree to see the ads, I should probably find a different Website. And that's what I do. But I will turn off the ads -- by turning on the ad blocker -- to finish my visit. My last visit. Ever.

I certainly hope the ads here don't make visiting this Website a bad experience for you. I'd put up with the ads here, but it's on the upper limit of what I'll tolerate.

It's the same way with some streaming apps and services. Many are supported by ads. I have found some that are just too much for me, but I can't remember which ones they are. I'll remove the app from my streaming devices if I get to that point. But most ad-supported services don't have an amount that bother me. Like I said, I'm okay with ads. They support some really good quality streaming services and apps, and make my Streaming Life more enjoyable.