Laptop Thoughts: Running an Ad Blocker? Please Read This

Hi there. The topic of ad blockers tends to generate some heated discussions around these parts, so I'm going to keep this really simple: if you're running an ad blocker, this is a polite request that you white-list this Web site and allow the ads to load. Here's why: I work hard to keep the ads on Thoughts Media sites non-intrusive; I say no to pop-ups, pop-unders, full-page ads, ads with sounds, etc. I know that those types of ads are irritating, and I value the readership of everyone who visits our sites. I don't want to irritate anyone with our ads.

What you may not realize about online ads is that, for the majority of them, when they simply load, that helps me pay the bills (our server bill alone is almost $500/month.). Ad blockers stop the ads from loading, which means they generate no revenue. That hurts my ability to generate income from this site - I have bills to pay just like you do. You don't have to click on the ads - just letting them load helps us out a lot. If you do click on them, all the better - that helps us get better advertisers because they know you're interested in the ads. It will help us continue to provide you with the content that you come here for, and that benefits you in the end. So please white list this Web site in your ad blocker.

If you have a particular dislike for the in-line text advertising - Vibrant Media's IntelliTXT ads - you can easily opt out of ever seeing those on any Thoughts Media site. Here's how.

As a side note, I have a personal "1 visit, 1 click" policy in which, when I visit a site and read/watch some content on it, I take a quick look to find an ad that I'm interested in and click on it. It only takes a few seconds of my time to do, and it's my way of giving back to that site, thanking them for creating that thing I just read/watched. The Internet would be a very different place if everyone had a similar policy. Just a thought to ponder as you head into the weekend. :-)