Hey, @intothewild.

There's plenty to this issue to pick at, isn't there?

I think you unpacked this pretty well. Steemit is free to do what they will do, but not necessarily without consequences, since we are also free to do what we will do, which includes blocking ads or moving to another front end.

I have nothing to base my opinion on, other than some pretty limited experience when it comes to using google ads, quite a bit more from buying ads on Facebook, and even more in ad creating and selling space for print newspapers.

Ultimately, I don't think they're going to work, unless they manage to get the masses here now who are used to seeing the ads and have not come here in part, as you mentioned, to escape them. If a certain number of folks don't regularly click on the ads, there will be no ad revenue. And even if it's CPC or CPM, at some point, the advertiser will want to have sales. Which means, if folks here aren't only clicking, but buying, those advertisers will go elsewhere.

So, we'll see. It does cut across the grain for me to see ads here when the whole idea was, we can generate our own income through specific tasks on the social side of things, or by even leasing out delegations, etc. In other words, the financial part is supposed to be built in. Price of STEEM notwithstanding, it doesn't bode well for me for anyone else who might want to come here if the flagship of the platform has basically thrown up its hands and surrendered back to the old way of doing things.