this post was submitted on 30 Jul 2024
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YouTube's server-side ads resulted in a black screen for ad blocker users (www.ghacks.net)
submitted 4 months ago by ForgottenFlux to c/technology
237 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Mashable reports that users ran into a black screen on YouTube, and that it stayed for about 6 seconds before the video began playing. The reports indicate it affected several browsers including Firefox, Edge, Vivaldi.

Some users joked that they would rather see a black screen than an ad. While that's certainly a better experience, it does waste precious seconds of our time. A simple workaround for the black screen on YouTube is to just refresh the page, hit F5 as soon as the page starts loading. uBlock Origin's filters were updated with a patch to resolve the problem, the add-on updates its filters automatically. If you are still experiencing the black screen issue, just open the extension's dashboard and manually update the filters. This tug-of-war is getting annoying, but it appears to me that Google's efforts are actively promoting the use of ad blockers, instead of attracting new subscribers.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I think the baseline of what I would want is:

  • Have actual moderation of the ads. Don't allow malware ads, don't allow porn ads etc
  • Don't allow obtrusive ads, or at least categorize them and have preferences. Do NOT play my ads 2x the volume of whatever I was watching.
  • Don't interrupt my video with ads. Play before or after. Ideally after, but I can see why that would not be feasible. I guess it is also feasable if the creator marks ad breaks, like the current-day sponsor segments.

I genuinely think Youtube premium is alrightish as it is. I wouldn't pay for it; though, since I do not want to give my money to Google. They are getting enough out of me that I don't want to give them.

I honestly just want the alternatives, like PeerTube, to have a funding model, which allows creators to get paid. Donations? Sure. Optionally ads? Sure. I think peertube having opt-in ads that go to the creator would go a long way.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Don't interrupt my video with ads. Play before or after. Ideally after, but I can see why that would not be feasible. I guess it is also feasable if the creator marks ad breaks, like the current-day sponsor segments.

FYI ad placement and type is decided by the creator not youtube. If you see a video full of ads in the middle it's because the creator of that video chose it to be so.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That's not necessarily true (though I'm sure in most cases it is). I remember cases where creators had to specifically ask Youtube support to disable mid-roll ads since they were disabled on the creators side but viewers still saw them. Also happened with non-monetized videos/channels. But it's been at least a year since I saw the last case of that, so maybe Youtube has fixed it in the meantime.

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

Yeah, just like Twitch, it seems that YouTube has a way of conveniently "forgetting" these directives every now and then

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

Yep. Sadly, in both companies management seems to be kinda inept when it comes to building proper user support

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

Not inept, malicious.