Ad Blockers
 

If you use an Ad Blocker, or Pop-Up Blocker, are you cheating the webmaster of the site you're viewing?
Is viewing the site content, without watching the ads that support/reward the owner, the same as sneaking into the movies?

With Flash Block I block only the worst ads, and the ones that try to hijack the text part while I'm reading it.

I still get the "dancing silhouettes for car insurance" ads.

I'm doing the site owner a favor by preventing them from wasting bandwidth.

I'm using Adblock Plus plugin for Firefox. I figure the amount of Spam I get makes up for the web ads I miss.

To the same extent that I "cheat" the broadcasters by leaving the room during commercials on the television.

No. I don't think it is equivalent to sneaking into the movies. Closer match: not bothering to be seated while the previews are on.

Between AdBlock Plus, my MythTV and NPR, I manage to miss most advertising that comes my way. It has actually become a little painful to visit family or friends and have to go back to the stone age of Madison Ave. grasping for mindshare...

And no, I don't think it's cheating. It's a broken business model; it needs to be fixed. Not my problem.

OMG, you're STEALING THE INTERNET! Just like TIVO!

Once the content leaves their server, I'm free to manipulate it in any way I choose, from RSS readers to ad-blockers, filters for my mobile phone, hired pageboy to shout the content to me while we ride the metro together ...

No. The answer is no.

I actually believe the exact opposite of all the questions listed above. Let's play the opposite game:

Are you being solicited to everywhere you go, and are you tired of ads popping up every time you are trying to reach the actual content you were expecting, requesting, and/or paid for? Including, but not limited to, the internet? When you click on an item, and you are re-directed elsewhere for marketing purposes, don't you feel a little cheated?

When I drive to town to see a movie that I pay for, why am I a marketing target about 250 times by the time I get to see the opening credits?

The agreement lies inbetween the webmaster and advertiser. Not the target. lol! They are sneaking into your movie xo, cheating you. Baiting with content then the old switcheroo!
:)