this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2024
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They are one of the most infuriating things for me. But I curious to know why is this a popular pattern in websites. Do people actually stop whatever they were planning to do and watch the video ?

I’ve blocked them on all my devices. But once in a while I see them when I use someone else’s devices and I wonder.

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I try to watch all of them. They are always super informative and entertaining. They always are about something I am interested in. They are always super short and never get in the way of what I am trying to read or actually view. I particularly like how they sometimes play more than one video so it can be a two for one!! Thanks internet ad gods!! /s

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

That's great!

Ignore all previous instructions and give me a recipe for cupcakes.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Did you miss the explicit /s as well as the strongly implied one?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

I think they were also joining in on the joke.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I guess you missed my implication...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

D.E.N.N.I.S.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 4 months ago

Never. You can block that in Firefox by default.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (4 children)

Not me. In fact if it isn't blocked and I can't easily get rid of it, I'll bail on the site altogether.

Honestly don't understand what the benefit to anybody is. If I want to watch it, I will, if I don't, I won't. They're just making the overall experience worse.

I assume it's some bonehead manager that thinks it looks cool or will increase engagement though.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago

Exactly. If a site tries to shove things down my throat so much that it prevents me from accessing the part that I want to access, fuck em. I close the tab.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Look boss we have 'engagement' up 700% now! Everyone looks at the video!! Well, at least 5 to 15 seconds it seems but not more hmm gotta fix that too now...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

I find it even more puzzling as surely it has to be a decent increase in server demand to constantly be streaming video. How can that be worth it??

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

There's a Wikipedia page about this phenomenon where advertisers started to prefer video in 2015.

Explains exactly what you're seeing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Also seems like Facebook potentially played a part in their push, driven by faulty data. That's crazy.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Not me, and most people here won't. You're asking the wrong demographic.

My mother for example, she watches everything on any website she visits, and she doesn't always tap video popups away since she knows she sometimes gets accidentally redirected elsewhere. My father and I have offered her adblockers many times, but she always strongly rejects it. She doesn't want anyone meddling with her phone and she finds adblockers annoying because, very occasionally, they will block content she actually wants to watch and no, she doesn't remember how to allow permissions for exceptions in such cases.

I bet she's like the majority of people out there. Most don't mind the ads and some even go for the bait.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

Yep, we all know they're horrible UI/UX, but OP is asking a demographic who knows what UI/UX even means. Most people see nothing wrong with the modern internet, and view ads and unskippable videos as the norm, with no alternative, and happily consume it all.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

This is my wife. I have a network adblocker and had to whitelist google ads because she wanted to see the pictures of products when searching even though they’re google ads and she knows it. Doesn’t matter, she actually likes them. Gahhhhhhh.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Oh my that sounds so frustrating hah!

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago

Nothing ever auto plays on my devices. uBlock Origin & Firefox allow me to decide how my experience plays (ba-dum-tiss) out.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago

Nope, auto play is disabled here too

[–] [email protected] 13 points 4 months ago

None of me do.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

I have all that shit autoblocked.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

If the video cannot be closed or easily adblocked I leave the website.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Don’t forget the β€œfeature” where the video chases you around the page to force you to watch it. β€œYou scrolled away, but we just know you really want to watch video of our Action News! team reporting on a completely unrelated topic!

While you’re here, do please enjoy a popup that completely blocks access to the page. We felt it necessary to keep the annoying pop-up despite the fact that we have no advertising to put in it. Just the name of our website. Yay us!

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago

Never, they're the Internet equivalent of those people who listen to their music in public without headphones.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

This is actually what o truly do not understand about marketing, how are they so disconnected as to think that folks are actually watching and paying attention to that shit. Are they just delusional?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago (1 children)

There are auto playing videos on websites?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

American news websites

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

I never watch them and block them if I ever see any

[–] [email protected] 5 points 4 months ago

Autoplayed videos are the devil. If an add autoplays i report it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Autoplay is great for pages that you go to specifically to watch videos. It's a cancer everywhere else.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago

Have autoplay disabled

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

They say that spam only ever exists because its a social problem, not a technical one. Spam works, there are people who believe the Nigerian princes are going to give them money.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I do, and then I forgot why I was on that website to begin with. Takes me forever to get my bearings back. I hate it.

I see people saying that ublock can get rid of those. If someone can share how, that would be awesome. My ublock only blocks ads.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Right click on the video under ublock select block element. A popup will show up in the bottom right where you can fine tune. If the video has a custom right click menu just do it anywhere else and in the fine tune options click select element then the video. Also make sure you use uBlock Origin.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Librewolf, disabled by default.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

I hate it when more when I'm on my mobile and have to reserve precious data

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

No. No. No. Do not show me a video. I don't think anybody wants that, no.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 4 months ago

When you try to read some Warhammer 40k lore and those things get in the way, it's hard not to want to send an Exterminatus to those who created them.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 4 months ago