A few weeks ago we noted that Bell Canada was the latest to implement DNS redirection advertising, a system that, instead of delivering the traditional 404 response to misspelled URLs, redirects users to an ad-laden portal operated by the ISP. While praised by ISPs as a "service," it's really just a way to generate revenue off of clumsy typists, and is traditionally disliked by 'Net purists. It's getting hard to find ISPs who don't deploy it; Comcast started tinkering with it just last month, and today announced via their blog it's going nationwide:Given the fact that the service went from a seven-state trial to a national deployment in less than a month, one gets the impression that the "success of the market trial" was kind of a predetermined certainty. In most instances, user input into such services is superficial, though Comcast reps have been talking with users in our forums about the new service, noting how they're at least trying to standardize the practice across ISPs. Slashdot users today just discovered Bell's DNS redirection, and aren't happy about the new service:Contrary to the Slashdot poster, Bell does offer a feedback link within the portal, though it's not clear if this was added after the Slashdot post. A major problem with early DNS redirection efforts were that ISPs wouldn't deliver particularly good opt-out processes. In some instances, ISPs have been kind enough to deliver "clean" DNS servers so that users wouldn't have to fiddle with cookies in order to opt-out of the cash grab. In at least one instance, the ISP backed away from the service because customer reaction was so negative.

We've been watching DNS redirection (d)evolve for a few years now, and it's kind of interesting to watch people discover the "service" for the first time. It begins with them thinking it's some kind of scam, quickly dovetails into them complaining that it's a cash-grab and against the basic principles of the Internet, and ends in begrudging acceptance. Some sign up for OpenDNS, so that ad money at least goes to a company they like. Regardless of how users feel about it, it has very quickly become an industry standard.

Update: Our hats off to Comcast for posting this handy list!