David is absolutely right that its time to dust off the ideas behind the 402 error code. The model and suggestions he makes are spot on, and mark the beginning of the next phase in the ads vs. adblock discussion.

Instead of going back and forth between whether ad-blocking is good or bad, or what kind of ads constitute as “acceptable”, lets talk about alternatives. Where HBO first showed that TV viewers were willing to pay for premium content, and Spotify showed that a business model could be built on charging a static monthly fee and then dividing the revenue to artists based on consumer attention (or time listened), there needs to be a digital business that can sustainably execute and prove this model on the web.

We’re in the middle of a protest phase: lets not miss the forest for the trees and create working groups to define acceptable ads, but think longer term and understand that consumers want more options.

At FairTread we’ve started building, much as David discussed, a 402 server that would allow the web to be monetized appropriately. We’re building the future, come join us.