The tragedy of attention.
It doesn’t matter how much money interruptive ads make for publications on the Web. They sap the readers’ tolerance and good will, and any unnecessary amount of that is too high a price to pay.
The problem on the internet (and for advertising in general) is that the attention of readers is a asset that is shared by all providers and advertisers. Like depleted fish stocks or water for irrigation it is a finite, common resource that a group of people compete for. In their rush to get the biggest slice of a limited pie they destroy it.
User attention (and tolerance) for advertising is a classic tragedy of the commons.
