Advertising for Open Source Exception Lists¶
This repository contains filter lists compatible with many ad blockers such as Adblock, AdblockPlus, and uBlock Origin that allows advertising that directly benefits open source software.
Many open source projects depend on advertising to fund their development and operations.
There are two lists:
- Open Source Ads (view list)
- This list allows advertising that directly benefits open source projects by paying for development, paying for operations, or providing direct funding. You can read more for details on the criteria for inclusion or to get your project included.
- Read the Docs Ads (view list)
- This list allows advertising on Read the Docs. Read the Docs is an ad-supported website that builds documentation for tens of thousands of open source projects. Advertising on Read the Docs complies with their policy of ethical advertising which takes privacy seriously. This list is a strict subset of the Open Source Ads list.
Installing Adblock Filter Lists¶
Adblock lists, whether filters that block additional items or allow exceptions like the ones here, can be installed on every major adblocker. Here are the installation steps on the three biggest adblockers.
Installing on AdblockPlus¶
Installing on AdblockPlus
The easiest way to install these lists on AdblockPlus is to use AdblockPlus’ URL listener for subscribing to new lists:
- Click this link for the Open Source Ads List and confirm by hitting the “Yes, use this filter list” button
- Or click this link for the Read the Docs Ads List (a subset of the first list that only allows ads on Read the Docs) and confirm by hitting the “Yes, use this filter list” button
Alternatively, adding filter lists on AdblockPlus can be done in just a few steps:
- Click on the ABP extension icon on your browser and choose “Options”.
- Under the “advanced” tab, click the “Add a new filter list”
- Enter the URL of the list you want to subscribe to (Open Source Ads, Read the Docs Ads), give it a name, and lastly click the “Add a filter list” button.
Installing on Adblock¶
Installing on Adblock
Installing filter lists on Adblock is similar to the manual process on AdblockPlus. Here are the steps:
- Click on the Adblock extension icon on your browser.
- Under the “filter lists” tab in the “Custom Filter Lists” section, enter the URL of the list you want to subscribe to (Open Source Ads, Read the Docs Ads) and lastly click the “Subscribe” button.
Installing on uBlock Origin¶
Installing on uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin is also just a couple of steps:
- Click on the uBlock Origin extension icon on your browser.
- Click the slider / settings icon to open the “Dashboard”.
- Under the “Filter Lists” tab, scroll to the bottom where it says “Custom” and click the “Import” checkbox to reveal the custom URL textbox.
- Enter the URL of the list you want to subscribe to (Open Source Ads, Read the Docs Ads) in the textbox and lastly click the “Apply changes” button in the upper right.
Getting Included on the list¶
To get included on the Open Source Ads list, please verify that the advertising meets all of the criteria below and then open an issue on GitHub with the following information:
- the domain on which the ads are served
- a URL where the ads are visible
- a link to the site’s policy on advertising
Criteria for inclusion¶
Advertising must comply with all of the following:
All of the advertising must directly benefit open source by funding open source development, paying for infrastructure for FOSS projects, or providing direct funding for projects.
Reporting ads that do not meet the criteria¶
If an ad doesn’t meet or no longer meets the criteria for inclusion, please report it by opening an issue on GitHub.
FAQ¶
- Why are you doing this?
- This project started when ads on Read the Docs were added to the common blocking list EasyList. Read the Docs is an open source project and service that builds documentation for other open source projects. It is primarily funded through advertising. The addition to the EasyList made a significant impact on the funding for Read the Docs. After talking with other open source maintainers, this problem is not unique to Read the Docs.
- My adblocker allows acceptable ads. Do I still need this?
Read the Docs identified multiple projects where ads were blocked and those projects lacked the time and resources to work with the AcceptableAds group or educate users about the impact of adblocking on their funding. These lists are specifically to help these projects. These lists are not a strict subset of the acceptable ads list.
Furthermore, some users don’t want to allow acceptable ads while they are willing to tolerate ads to benefit the developer community.
- I run an open source project. How do I get on the list?
- Please see the page on getting included.
- How do I report an ad that shouldn’t be excepted?
- Please open an issue on GitHub.
- All ads are bad. Don’t you think so?
- The advertising industry gets a bad rap. Much of it is deserved. There have been trends toward bigger, more intrusive ads and closer tracking of users. Not all advertising is this way. Read the Docs’ ethical advertising is a good counter-example. Some open source projects would not exist without sources of funding.
- I do not click on ads so why should I bother?
- Not all ads are priced per click.
Developing these lists¶
Generate these docs¶
This is the command to generate the documentation you are reading now. The first step of generating the docs is to generate the lists so they are included in the docs build output.
% pip install -r requirements.txt
% cd docs && make html
Generate the lists¶
To generate the lists only locally, you can run the following:
% pip install -r requirements.txt
% ./generate-lists.py # output written to docs/source_static/lists/
Writing list filters¶
Note
These lists are a service of Read the Docs.