I wouldn't mind so much if they didn't do such a god awful job with ads. Both doing a poor job with when they inject them and treating creators like shit.
It was fresh on my mind from earlier and my blood was still pumping. Here's my thinking, though. I've been using uOrigin with great success. Never saw any ads on YouTube. One day I get a notice from YouTube letting me know that using adblocking is against their ToS and that I can only watch three more videos ad-free. "Well, that sucks. Guess I'm getting ads now." Since then, my usage of YouTube has dropped DRAMATICALLY. I barely use it anymore. That's how I'm protesting. I'm not saying that anything that appears on my screen is subject to MY ToS (I'm choosing to visit their site), I'm not saying that they have no right to force ads on us, and I'm not saying that I'm entitled to free content. All I'm saying is that YouTube can conduct itself how it best sees fit; if I don't like it, I'm by no means obliged to continue using their service. That, I feel, is the best way to let your voice be heard -- vote with your clicks, especially when it comes to a non-vital. YouTube's a for-profit company, so of course they're in the business of making money. They may be the biggest in the game, but unless there are extenuating circumstances, no one is required to use them. I may be missing some nuances, but this is more or less how I see it. Don't like it? Don't use it.
I've since discovered that I can browse YouTube ad-free indefinitely by going in cognito.
I generally agree with your points but I still it's absolutely fine to complain about stuff you don't like. Youtube has gone to ridiculous lengths (including running code locally on other peoples computers without their consent) to figure out if thex have adblock enabled. Slowing down your platform on purpose?
And IMO it was an unwise business decision too. I know of no single person who after all this thought: "Hey, lets buy premium" or "Why not turn off my adblocker?". Ultimately, it doesnt affect me because I use Newpipe anyway and it has no ads (its a Youtube frontend) but IMO complaints is what you get if you do stuff like that.
I don't mind complaints, it was more of people's entitlement that was getting to me; people expecting something for nothing.
Also, I appreciate you asking me, and your response to my response. Gave me a chance to speak my peace without being called a corporate shill. Thanks, yo.