Internet advertising is in danger of eating itself. I think most of us understand that sites need advertising in order to provide a free service, and I am prepared to tolerate it up to a point, provided it is not too intrusive (although I've very seldom seen anything that interests me). However the advertising has become so intrusive in some cases that the site itself becomes unreadable. Mudcat is by no means the worst, I've seen online newspaper reports where the text is squeezed around the ads and almost impossible to follow. If this drives users away (and it does me) then the publisher isn't getting its content seen, the advertisers aren't getting their ads seen, and the viewer isn't finding the information they were seeking. How can this work for anyone?

I also wonder whether advertisers have thought about the negative impact of excessive and repetitive advertising? The first time I have to sit through an ad which is preventing me from getting on with what I want, it is simply an irritant. By the fourth or fifth time I am seriously pissed off with them and I am likely to actively avoid purchasing something from them.