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Re: [tor-talk] ads slow Tor Browser dramatically



On 11/2/2012 10:29 PM, k e bera wrote:
I'm not sure why there would be leaks with ABP. Afaik it doesnt send information. However it does update its blocklists which might be language-specific, which splits the anonymity set (if i understand the concept). Regarding use of ABP itself among non-Tor users, i have personally installed it on hundreds of computers every year while servicing them and updating Firefox. So i am sure the user base is at least as large as the TBB user base.
Perhaps there is a concern about ability to fix vulnerabilities in the code - who will do that and maintain it.  Do they accept patches?  It seems to use Mozilla Public License.

ABP itself has changed default policy to accept some simple text ads, on the grounds of keeping small well behaved websites alive. Should we be worried about ad-revenue corruption and creep? _______________________________________________ tor-talk mailing list tor-talk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-talk
I wasn't suggesting that TBB absolutely try to use AdBlock Plus or any specific Fx extension. I'm suggesting the concept of somehow limiting ads that by their size, design & content, dramatically increase page loading time. Who would "maintain" this new function? I guess the same people (or additional ones) that maintain Tor Project & try to attract new users. I've done many side by side tests, w/ & w/o AdBlock. Often, pages time out before loading, w/ all ads enabled & load fairly fast w/ ads blocked. Again, I don't care about AdBlock, per se. Tor Project could develop their own extension or functionality.

One of the most repeated concepts is, the more users on Tor network, the more anonymous users are. By TBB's very design & lack of any control over ads, it keeps droves of potential users away, reducing overall anonymity.
Yes, it's expected Tor network will be slower than regular internet.

No, pages shouldn't fail to load because of far too many or "over the top" ads, on an already slow network. TBB devs design it, Vidalia, Torbutton, etc., so whatever they deem necessary is blocked or limited. Everyone talks about needing more Tor users to increase anonymity, but part of TBB's design & all the ads / scripts, sometimes making it one of _Earth's slowest creatures,_ discourages millions / 100's of millions of potential users. Ads aren't inherently bad. I'm suggesting that too many ads on a page, or ones so large or of a design that slow page loading to a crawl & greatly increase Tor network data load, limits growth of new Tor users.
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