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  Ed, 28 Aug 2001 @ 2:41pm

  
  

  The Wrong Reasons

  Unfortunately Gator is being attacked for the wrong reasons. As a user, I don't have any objection to installing a program that covers over banner ads with stock tickers or some other kind of info that is useful to me -- it would be a better utilization of screen real estate. What Gator should be ashamed of is the way their software sneaks its way into your system without any obvious indication. I still don't see the difference between that and a Trojan Horse, and I'll bet the hackers don't, either. I'm waiting for the case where somebody distributes a bunch of data infected with Back Orifice, gets caught, then gets off because he "notified" victims twenty pages into a click-through agreement somewhere.

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  Andy, 29 Aug 2001 @ 8:16am

  
  

  Is this really a net specific issue?

  This strikes me as exactly the same sort of thing as TV networks digitally replacing ads from their competitors in their broadcasts of live events.
  
  A sticky issue to be sure...

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  • 

    Ed, 29 Aug 2001 @ 8:46am

    
    

    Re: Is this really a net specific issue?

    Exactly, and with PVRs like Tivo, digital ad replacement and/or removal could be a reality today. I've heard that Tivo has been reluctant to add features that make skipping commercials too easy; apparently they feel like they shouldn't piss off any broadcasters. If memory serves, weren't they also talking about playing their own downloaded ads whenever you pause a live picture?
    
    I think that all is fair game as long as it's under the control of the viewer. Nobody questions my right to flip channels or mute the volume or push the image into a P-in-P window. Cable companies have very limited rights to insert ads, I believe, in regular commercial slots, but always based on a contract with the broadcaster. Those principles seem just as valid on the web: as an end user, I can install whatever browser software or plug-in I want, including ad filters, but nobody else, like an ISP can make any changes to content as it is delivered to me.

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