[tor-talk] ads slow Tor Browser dramatically

[Joe Btfsplk]

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 at lists.torproject.org 
> 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.