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points by nsyne 2 days ago | 0 comments

Who are these people that like ads? I'm so curious. What do they like about midrolls or popups or banners???

Imagine a person who's IQ is a dozen or so points to the left of the curve, those folks like a lot of really really dumb repetitive stuff. I worked with one of these folks in an overnight shift, he had seniority having worked there for many years. He listened to the same comedy show every single shift and laughed at the same jokes at the same spots every single time. I attempted to put on some other comedy thing once, he got pretty angry and demanded that we put on "his" show. Thankfully I was only on with him twice a week, but still I felt like I was going insane.

[–] cattenwallen 2 days ago

This sounds more like autism or other neurodivergent thing than unintelligence. I also have a preferred working soundtrack and get pretty annoyed if someone decides to switch it up on me when I'm working! In fact isn't unintelligence fundamentally the inability to pattern recognize well or easily? That he has a "his" show would counter against it...

[–] Forgeties79 2 days ago

This is a very uncharitable take IMO that veers into (I’m assuming unintentional) snobbery. Some people just have a routine or whatever that helps them get through the workday. My taste gets a lot simpler when I’m at work for sure. I really enjoy putting on shows I’ve already watched a dozen times, regardless of quality.

[–] senbrow 2 days ago

Dumb people also exist. It's okay for a person to be dumb. Thats just how it is sometimes.

The HN crowd tends to filter out lower IQ people from their social circles so that it's easy to forget this simple fact about humanity.

[–] kakacik 2 days ago

Sometimes? Look at IQ distribution, by definition half of folks have it lower. Now I wouldn't use the term 'dumb' if you want any sort of dialog, its not kind (like the opposite would be smart arsehole or similar), ie 'lower intelligence' is derogatory enough.

One thing I've realized - I simply can't grok many of theirs' decisions, viewpoints, values. Its often quite selfish view but rarely just that. And just pure facts rarely pierce the thick veil or version of reality they create for themselves to feel comfortable in this crazy world. Or maybe thats the thing - I don't mind feeling uncomfortable in this world, seeing uncomfortable truths, picking up lesser of evils instead if simple black & white polarity, or the pinnacle - actually changing my opinion on things as I learn more about it.

Or in other words - can't talk to them about anything deeper, nor do I grok them beyond surface layer. But as you say its fine, and also its quite easy to create a life where you just don't meet them, apart from odd situations like car repairs or home reconstruction.

[–] tptacek 1 day ago

You hear variations of this "by definition half are dumber" thing all the time on HN and I'm always curious what the people saying it think it means. It's tautologically true that in some sense a centrality statistic draws a line dividing a group in half. But so what? "Dumb" relative to what? Like, just not "competitively" smart? In what situations does that actually matter? Can you finish the thought?

[–] nkrisc 2 days ago

I must be dumber than I thought since I too sometimes enjoy repeating the same routine when engaged in repetitive drudgery.

I’ve watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail countless times and I laugh at it every time.

[–] seki285 2 days ago

Sometimes things get funnier the more you see them too!

[–] GlickWick 2 days ago

I don't think people like the intrusion. I will say I do like very targeted ads that actually show me the solution to a problem or something fun I'd enjoy. I just don't want them covering the entire internet with garbage, which is the state we're in right now.

[–] alpaca128 2 days ago

Sometimes it's hard to believe how different people perceive things.

I'll never forget the last time I visited the Dell website, it had some popup dialogue constantly jump into view on the side and then disappear again after two seconds or so. It was so infuriatingly distracting to me, meanwhile someone else sitting next to me didn't even notice it before I pointed it out. Which I guess explains why that same person often has trouble finding a seemingly obvious button on screen - it could jump across the screen and some might still not see it.

[–] cowlevel 2 days ago

"Why do people not notice our enormous, prominent and contrasting purple banner?"

https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/120541/why-do-people-...

I find it especially funny that when I point my eyes directly at the banner (because it's the subject of the question) my brain still filters it out by ignoring it.

[–] sublinear 2 days ago

Ads are usually their own vibe and information.

This is especially true when you know how to avoid ads otherwise and are confronted with what must be the default ads for the majority of regular users.

It's like a smell. Some are pleasant, some are fascinating, and some are totally nasty, but I don't willingly plug my nose everywhere I go like a psycho.

What would the world be like without smells? This is a serious question I'm asking. How recalcitrant do you really have to be to get offended by all ads and on the principle of the matter?

[–] wildpeaks 2 days ago

I loathe online ads in general because they're the bottom of the barrel, designed to be inconvenient.

But I enjoy creative ads thanks to growing up watching the french tv show Culture Pub: https://www.culturepub.fr/annee-chapitre/2007/

For example, insight into the french advertisement culture makes you appreciate the full depth of the movie "99 francs": https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0875113/

[–] ravenstine 1 day ago

I wouldn't pin them into a particular demographic. I have simply met people over the years who actually see ads as a form of entertainment, almost like pre-entertainment before the real entertainment. If someone isn't adept at recognizing the patterns of manipulation baked into advertising (something I've always been far too aware of), it makes sense they could like ads. After all, ads aren't intended to make the viewer want to turn them off, even if they have that effect on many people anyway.

One of my best friends had banner ads and YouTube ads on his laptop, and there was a day where I finally had to say something about this. I asked him if he ever considered installing an ad blocker and explained how easy it is. He surprised me by saying "Meh, they don't really bother me. I kinda like some of them." As mind-bending as this is from my own perspective, this mindset does seem to exist.

I can also count with more than one finger how many girls I've gone on a movie date with who said "I dunno, I like it" after I made fun of the stupid Coca-Cola commercial or whatever before the trailers. Looking back at this, I probably was being a bit pompous. I'm pretty sure they liked the commercials for the vibes they picked up from their perceived positivity.

[–] MiSeRyDeee 2 days ago

Just check the thread in this post like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50378942#50382558