The Butt Ugly Weblog

I don't like ads. If we all donated money to those who did something for us, most of the money would flow in circles as we in turn donate the money donated to us. So I figure that we (people doing free software, support for it, sharing texts and music, collaborating with each other) have no need of ads, because the net effect will be the same, except that our world is going to be full of ads. Yuck.

--Alex Schroeder, 12-Aug-2005

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But on the other hand, if you do make a product, you need to be somehow able to tell other people that you are making such a thing, so that they know about it and can buy it. And no matter what you do, it is advertising - in one degree or another. You just get to choose the annoyance level...

--JanneJalkanen, 13-Aug-2005

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I find this whole "money flowing in circles" argument kind of far removed from reality, actually. It'd be true if it was a closed system with only a handful of people who only dealt with each and all of each other, but surely, on the internet, there's plenty of traffic that comes from the outside of various social circles... and we all make choices about the sites we visit and the products we use.

Anyway, even if everyone on the net advertised something, it wouldn't work like that simply because everyone is not on equal terms -- some sites are more popular than others, for various reasons. They get more traffic, and their income from advertising is better than others' (not that your average site makes a lot of money from ads these days, but that's kinda beside the point) -- and ads on said sites get more exposure. The net effect most certainly will not be the same regardless of whether advertising is used.

Not that I'm particularly fond of ads, mind you, but that's got nothing to do with dubious arguments about how we don't need 'em.

--Mikki, 14-Aug-2005

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you might want to check out spreadshirt.com to put designs on the black tshirts as well as some other colors and also earn some extra money...

--67.186.11.179, 19-Aug-2005

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This message brought to you by spreadshirt.com?

--Mikki, 20-Aug-2005

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I wondered about that too. But it's clearly on the topic, so I'm gonna let it be.

--JanneJalkanen, 21-Aug-2005

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