anti-adblock-killer VS uBlock-issues

So, for most of the history of advertising, you didn't have a choice. Advertising was a part of someone else's property that would ambush[0] you before you could even ignore it. Internet advertising is an outlier in that it happens on your property. You ask for a web page, the web site sends back the page with a bunch of JavaScript that tries to run an ad auction on your computer, then your browser extensions delete the JavaScript, then another bit of JavaScript sent by the web site detects this and deletes the content, except no because your extension also defeated the antitamper script, except no because the web site legally threatened your ad blocker with billions of dollars in litigation for breaking the "don't rip DVDs" law.

I'm not kidding about that, BTW[1][2][3]. There is a silent and ongoing effort by everyone - including ad companies - to appropriate your physical property with their intellectual property[4]. You see, on the totem pole of capitalist legitimacy, physical ownership is actually really weak. There's all sorts of government-granted monopolies that can be traded like property[5], but let you bulldoze lesser ownership over physical objects. You might own your computer, but I own the content, so I own your computer for as long as my content is somewhere on it.

Talking about fundamental rights is interesting. Right now, at least in the US, people have a fundamental right to advertise - it's called the 1st Amendment. We can't even have functional campaign contribution laws because SCOTUS demands that billionaires have a god-given right to spend their billions shouting over everyone else in campaign ads. Several other fundamental rights mean you have the right to ignore shouty ads, but you don't have the right to shut the advertisers up. Likewise, the right to refuse ad exposure online is implied by the fact that the website runs on your computer. But other rights - such as the right to control copies of your speech - can negate that same implication.

Anyway, this is why I think we should bring back the Boston Strangler[6]. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[0] This is separate from the concept of "ambush marketing" where you try to ride another marketer's coat tails as close as possible without violating trademark law, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambush_marketing

[1] https://digiday.com/media/adblock-plus-accuses-axel-springer...

[2] https://torrentfreak.com/dmca-used-to-remove-ad-server-url-f...

[3] Here's a longer GitHub issue/flamewar full of people debating whether or not you can apply DMCA 1201 equivalents to ad blockers: https://github.com/reek/anti-adblock-killer/issues/1034

[4] Shut up Stallman, you know what it really means. - Not Cory Doctorow

[5] I'm afraid to call them property because if I do that means the Takings clause applies and we can't ever roll back the life+70 insanity that Berne, Germany, and the EU foisted on us.

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Valenti#Valenti_on_new_te...

On Windows, I use Anti-Adblock Killer + uBlock Origin + SponsorBlock + YouTube Enhancer (which adds many features such as granular custom speed up to 14x).

Try Anti-Adblock Killer.

Should also be using Anti Adblock Killer

Link

There is an open issue for this: https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBlock-issues/issues/2786 uBO should report such filter as en error in Firefox, so that is the thing to fix.

This would be the price of one of the four CDNs (6000$ per month): https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBlock-issues/discussions/2958

opened a bug report https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBlock-issues/issues/3003

Current estimated cost for just ONE of uBO's CDNs: HERE. This is with other lists updating every few days. uBO's not a company, it's a volunteer project using free services, which have limits that we cannot cross.

The extension with the best success rate seems to be **uBlock Origin**. It is a community driven project with a team of volunteers, you can review the source code [here](https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock). You will need to update your filter lists regularly, this because Youtube changes detection methods daily. Here is how you do that:

Definitely a much-needed area for development. However, having gone down the browser extension rabbit hole, I've largely shifted my focus to user scripts. Granted, there will always be a need for specialized browser extensions like ad blockers (uBlock[1]), keyboard shortcuts (Vimium-C[2]), and password managers (Bitwarden[3]).

That said, I find user scripts superior for most tasks, despite some lacking UI niceties. They are easier to share, use, and crucially, audit—be it in terms of scope, permissions, or code updates. Plus if Manifest V3 is any indicator, the future for browser extensions looks bleak. While I don't agree with this direction, it's probably for the best for the majority of users, like my mom.

Your effort is commendable; however, should you find yourself looking for a viable pivot in the future, I believe the user script space is primed for innovation and could offer a good alternative.

[1] https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock

const defineProperty = function(chain, cValue, middleware = undefined) { let aborted = false; const mustAbort = function(v) { if ( aborted ) { return true; } aborted = (v !== undefined && v !== null) && (cValue !== undefined && cValue !== null) && (typeof v !== typeof cValue); return aborted; }; // https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBlock-issues/issues/156 // Support multiple trappers for the same property. // // trapProp is used to trap a single property within an object. const trapProp = function(owner, prop, configurable, handler) { if ( handler.init(owner[prop]) === false ) { return; } const odesc = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(owner, prop); let prevGetter, prevSetter; if ( odesc instanceof Object ) { if ( odesc.configurable === false ) { return; } if ( odesc.get instanceof Function ) { prevGetter = odesc.get; } if ( odesc.set instanceof Function ) { prevSetter = odesc.set; } } Object.defineProperty(owner, prop, { configurable, //When a property is accessed (get), the custom getter function is called. get() { if ( prevGetter !== undefined ) { prevGetter(); } return handler.getter(); // cValue }, // When a property is modified (set), the custom setter function is called. set(a) { if ( prevSetter !== undefined ) { prevSetter(a); } handler.setter(a); } }); }; // trapChain is used to recursively trap properties along a chain of properties (e.g., object1.object2.property). const trapChain = function(owner, chain) { const pos = chain.indexOf('.'); if ( pos === -1 ) { trapProp(owner, chain, true, { v: undefined, init: function(v) { if ( mustAbort(v) ) { return false; } this.v = v; return true; }, getter: function() { return cValue; }, setter: function(a) { // Middleware is called when a property is set, allowing additional processing or validation of the new value. if (middleware instanceof Function) { cValue = a; middleware(a); } else { if ( mustAbort(a) === false ) { return; } cValue = a; } } }); return; } const prop = chain.slice(0, pos); const v = owner[prop]; chain = chain.slice(pos + 1); if ( v instanceof Object || typeof v === 'object' && v !== null ) { trapChain(v, chain); return; } trapProp(owner, prop, true, { v: undefined, init: function(v) { this.v = v; return true; }, getter: function() { return this.v; }, setter: function(a) { this.v = a; if ( a instanceof Object ) { trapChain(a, chain); } } }); }; trapChain(window, chain); }

Maybe https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBlock-issues/issues/2725 ?