<p>The company is shifting to behave more like a standard profit-seeking enterprise and less like an idealistic start-up.  There's no doubt that it takes a lot of money to run SE, and that money has been provided by venture capitalists who want a return on their investment.  There's a new CEO, I think there's been a lot of turnover elsewhere as well.  Jeff is long gone, and I think Joel is gone now, too.  More specifically, this seems to be an extension of <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/329763/187282">the new ad policies SE has been rolling out</a>.  </p>

<p>I certainly don't like it (and <a href="https://meta.stackexchange.com/q/333965/187282">it's not my only complaint</a>).  That said, other than the new AWS thing, I've never had issues with ads: I've had adblock plus forever.  Personally, I like the 'acceptable ads' feature.  I recognize that sites need revenue, and ads are ultimately going to be necessary, but there should be limits on their nature (e.g., no animation).  </p>
