Yahoo stops a few users accessing emails

Users who were running ad blocking software were greeted with a screen which instructed them to disable their ad blocking software in order to continue using Yahoo Mail.

Yahoo had the internet in an outrage on Monday following the revelation that while implementing a “test”, users who have ad block software installed in their browsers had been unable to access their email accounts for several days. That might be a far better strategy than alienating their few loyal users by holding their email hostage for using ad blockers. Yahoo’s latest action was first spotted by DigiDay, which located the issue on an Adblock Plus forum.

A Yahoo spokesperson said in a statement provided to Mashable that the blocking is only being tested on a portion of Yahoo email users.

Yet while a few firms – notably, The Washington Post – have put up messages asking users to turn off their ad-blocking software in exchange for access to content, Yahoo may stand alone in actively blocking users from reaching their own correspondence.

As of now the Yahoo Mail’s blocking of ad blockers is not affecting everyone and probably the feature is just in a testing phase to see how users respond to it.

According to a Yahoo, the test is just part of the company’s continual development of “new product experiences.” OK…

EE chief executive Olaf Swantee said he believes that not all ads are bad, but when they’re intrusive or crass they tend to drive people insane.

The move may bring one thing into sharp focus: When it comes to free services, companies have to balance the needs of their users with the needs of the advertisers who pay the bills.

If Yahoo determines this exercise to be a success, it will be interesting to see if others adopt a similar model.