Why do ads feel so intrusive? Well, while you use the term “imminently blockable” it wouldn’t feel that way if the ads were not annoying, frustrating, badgering, hassling, and intrusive. If an advertisement meets the needs of the individual seeing it, it is an aide and not a panhandler. And that’s what this comes down to being: people begging for money, all the time, constantly, no matter which way you turn or what you are doing while they do it.

Long before “social media” the Internet was a forum for social ideas. It was “the infinite backyard”. Everyone hung out, talked, shared ideas, and generally treated it as an open forum. Gated yards, like the old AOL, quickly went away because of their restrictions. People wanted their freedom to socialize. And, yes, often that socializing would entail Person A telling Person B about something they just spent money on.

This, however, is not the same as a person elbowing their way into a conversation and saying, “Wouldn’t you like a Coke right now?” If someone did that at a backyard BBQ, I suppose that might be nice but only if it were in context … only if the offer did not interrupt, at least pretended to acknowledge the environment in which it was occurring, showed simple respect for the others already in conversation, and generally treated the offer as if it were really happening in someone’s private space.

The fact that the Internet isn’t private doesn’t figure in, here. People treat it as personal space.
If ads were truly targeted, if they were relevant and respectful without appearing like beggars or someone passing “the collection plate”, they wouldn’t be as annoying, frustrating, badgering, hassling, and intrusive. But they aren’t.

The ads see that I’m a “foodie” or identify as a “gamer” and all I see are ads for restaurants, fast food, or the latest first-person shooter. But those algorithms don’t find out that I’m also struggling with my weight, that I think fast food tastes terrible (after all, you can get a better burger at just about any local café or Mom-n-Pop diner), or don’t play FPS games but, rather, prefer tabletop RPGs. And don’t get me started on the fact that I listed my sexual orientation as part of my Facebook profile and, suddenly, only got these really skeezy dating ads “for cute guys in your area”.

Ads have to catch up to how people live. Blocking entire sites unless you “pay up” is a shakedown put forth by an industry that doesn’t want to evolve or can’t innovate a solution. Remind you of anything (like the music industry)?

I accept that advertising is crucial for many sites to function; for much of the ‘Net to function. However, just because they provide under-writing doesn’t excuse their poor behavior. It doesn’t mean they get to keep playing the same game by making us the product without at least showing us a little respect and care.

In short: buy me dinner before you try to screw me.