When I was in college my girlfriend left me to join a cult. The central activity of this cult was to sit in a circle, chanting and passing around a chillum of really good hash and engaging in random sex. This is a great source of amusement for both of us (God help me, I stay in touch with my ex-girlfriends) but at the time it made me crazy. Now it seems that without even being aware of it, I’ve joined a cult. Yes friends, I’m a Firefox user.
Indeed, the advertising appears innocuous. But Firefox has a dark side. Once you join this insidious cult, you will be lured into a life of crime, according to the courageous cult fighters at whyfirefoxisblocked.com. You will be encouraged to use Ad Block to block ads (duh) when you load web pages. By doing so you are violating copyright laws and depriving web authors of potential income, in other words you are stealing. You are also contributing to the collapse of the internet. There will no longer be anyone willing to produce Web content if Firefox succeeds in it’s campaign to destroy internet advertising. And if you use The Devil’s Browser, you will blocked from much of the net, content providers have been forced to block Firefox in order to remain viable. Never mind that IE has ad blocking software. Can you say “hidden agenda”?
Now, I know that I’m a victim of brainwashing, but it seems to me these intrepid cult busters might be a little biased. And perhaps a bit humor impaired.
Reality – Type in about:mozilla into the Firefox address bar to get “The Book of Mozilla“.
Religion (Definition) – “A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.”
– Source
“Giving
people unadulterated access to the web became something of a religion,
and every wasted pixel, button or dialog that impeded it was a demon
that nagged at us.” – Blake Ross Mozilla Firefox Founder
– The Firefox Religion
So here’s my dilemma. I’ve loaded Ad Blocker. I had to try it. It works. I’m sure most folks would agree that all that advertising is extremely annoying. I almost never click on those ads anyway. But I’m a little worried about contributing to the downfall of the Web. And like about half of the world, I have dreams of making a fortune with my contribution to online culture. After all, I don’t want to be a hypocrite. Plus I’m getting really tired of being blocked from all those sites. Well actually, it’s never happened. I lay awake at night agonizing over this complex and crucial moral decision.
What should I do?!??