I wouldn't mind if there were no counter information on the main thumbnail listings, but I do like it when I view my own gallery so I can see at a glance which images are getting viewed and commented and which ones aren't. However, I do feel for modem users and if we can speed up the experience for them, I'm for it. As for the advertising aspect, I liked the info when I was on a modem. I could look at the viewings compared to the comments and the rating to help determine if I really wanted to use my precious transfer time to view that image. Just my humble thoughts for whatever they are worth.