Death to Bullshit
September 4, 2015 2:48 PM Subscribe
Popups, jargon, junk mail, anti-patterns, sensationalism, begging for likes, tracking scripts, marketing spam, dark patterns, unskippable ads, clickbait, linkbait, listicles, seizure-inducing banners, captchas, QR codes, barely-visible unsubscribe buttons, 24-hour news networks, carousels, auto-playing audio, bloatware, sudden redirects to the App Store, telemarketing, ticked-by-default subscribe buttons, "your call is important to us", pageview-gaming galleries, native advertising, the list of bullshit goes on and on and on.
Do not miss the "Turn bullshit on?" button. Also, the blog, which unfortunately features tumblr redirects instead of links, which is a bit of bs. (via Daring Fireball. Here's a Monty Python skit as a chaser.)
Do not miss the "Turn bullshit on?" button. Also, the blog, which unfortunately features tumblr redirects instead of links, which is a bit of bs. (via Daring Fireball. Here's a Monty Python skit as a chaser.)
Respect the hustle.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 3:02 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by The Devil Tesla at 3:02 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Today I learned that CSS is a gateway drug to bullshit and Times New Roman is a deeply sincere font.
posted by mccarty.tim at 3:04 PM on September 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by mccarty.tim at 3:04 PM on September 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
i cut yahoo from my opera speed dial page yesterday - too many crashes because of too much bullshit - way to lose a viewer since 1997, yahoos
posted by pyramid termite at 3:06 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by pyramid termite at 3:06 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Close this window. I am a racist.
posted by louche mustachio at 3:07 PM on September 4, 2015 [16 favorites]
posted by louche mustachio at 3:07 PM on September 4, 2015 [16 favorites]
Ahh, I love the "be sure to like us on facebook if you hate racism" and then the js alert, "wow, are you really a racist?". Those popups that are like "are you a good person? If so put your email in!" make me want to become a very very bad person.
posted by dis_integration at 3:09 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 3:09 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Kill it with fire!
Aside from The Deck and similar that I whitelist to support sites I love, it's all-adblock, all the time. Which is why I prefer to browse on a computer rather than on the recline-friendly tablet.
posted by a halcyon day at 3:09 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Aside from The Deck and similar that I whitelist to support sites I love, it's all-adblock, all the time. Which is why I prefer to browse on a computer rather than on the recline-friendly tablet.
posted by a halcyon day at 3:09 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
First thought: Huh? It's a mostly blank page.
Second thought: Oh, right, I've got adblock enabled. Guess that's a good cure against bullshit then?
posted by bigendian at 3:10 PM on September 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
Second thought: Oh, right, I've got adblock enabled. Guess that's a good cure against bullshit then?
posted by bigendian at 3:10 PM on September 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
I had this idea a while back for a browser plugin that would block all ads, but for sites you liked and wanted to support it would occasionally "click" on a few ads and load whatever sites they led to in the background, so your favorite sites would get ad revenue without you having to actually see anything. It seemed a little too unethical, but I still kind of like the concept.
posted by uosuaq at 3:15 PM on September 4, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by uosuaq at 3:15 PM on September 4, 2015 [8 favorites]
I wish to hell Apple would allow things like AdBlockPlus and Ghostery on mobile Safari. Surfing the web in iOS can often be a cavalcade of re-directs, re-directs of re-directs, banner ads that cover a third of a page, and those damned "Your iOS is frozen. Call us to unfreeze" scams.
I know ad blocking is coming in iOS 9, but I'm not holding out much hope that it will be as powerful, or fine-grained as it needs to be.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:17 PM on September 4, 2015 [9 favorites]
I know ad blocking is coming in iOS 9, but I'm not holding out much hope that it will be as powerful, or fine-grained as it needs to be.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:17 PM on September 4, 2015 [9 favorites]
i cut yahoo from my opera speed dial page yesterday - too many crashes because of too much bullshit - way to lose a viewer since 1997, yahoos
The only yahoo site I visit is the puck daddy hockey blog, just because it's a good quick way to catch up on interesting stories from all around the league. But it's absolutely unusable on either my tablet or phone. Every.Fucking.Inch of screen real estate is jammed with links, even with an adblocker running. Trying to scroll down I inevitably hit one and it sends me off, usually to some other corner of the yahooverse, which then takes five minutes to load because it too is filled with bullshit image links.
posted by mannequito at 3:23 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
The only yahoo site I visit is the puck daddy hockey blog, just because it's a good quick way to catch up on interesting stories from all around the league. But it's absolutely unusable on either my tablet or phone. Every.Fucking.Inch of screen real estate is jammed with links, even with an adblocker running. Trying to scroll down I inevitably hit one and it sends me off, usually to some other corner of the yahooverse, which then takes five minutes to load because it too is filled with bullshit image links.
posted by mannequito at 3:23 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Here are instructions for blocking ads on every device on your network with a Raspberry Pi.... not that it helps when you're out and about, but still.
posted by Huck500 at 3:27 PM on September 4, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by Huck500 at 3:27 PM on September 4, 2015 [13 favorites]
Second thought: Oh, right, I've got adblock enabled. Guess that's a good cure against bullshit then?
It cures a ton of the bullshit. And is actually the reason I have adblocker. I'm not against the idea of seeing ads in exchange for content. But some bad actors violated an implicate contract not to destroy my viewing experience; and gave me pop-ups, autoplaying video ads, and flash content. Add the possible security issues with random asshats serving you ads (and not screening out malicious content), and adblockers, here I come.
posted by el io at 3:33 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
It cures a ton of the bullshit. And is actually the reason I have adblocker. I'm not against the idea of seeing ads in exchange for content. But some bad actors violated an implicate contract not to destroy my viewing experience; and gave me pop-ups, autoplaying video ads, and flash content. Add the possible security issues with random asshats serving you ads (and not screening out malicious content), and adblockers, here I come.
posted by el io at 3:33 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
I purposefully disabled adblocker to incentivize avoiding bullshit websites. If I end up somewhere with a bunch of junk sliding into the screen and obscuring half the article I'm reminded "right, this isn't what I should be doing with my time".
posted by deathmaven at 3:44 PM on September 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by deathmaven at 3:44 PM on September 4, 2015 [7 favorites]
thought i should point out that i have adblocker enabled on opera - and yahoo STILL became such a mess i'm not willing to deal with it anymore
posted by pyramid termite at 3:47 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by pyramid termite at 3:47 PM on September 4, 2015
Speaking of bullshit and outdated UX patterns, the first thing I clicked on lead to a site warning because it's some kind of opaque ass redirect bullshit.
posted by ob1quixote at 3:47 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by ob1quixote at 3:47 PM on September 4, 2015
Where TV is warm, the Web is cold. It is a user-driven experience, where the user is actively engaged in determining where to go next. The user is usually on the Web for a purpose and is not likely to be distracted from the goal by an advertisement (banner blindness is one of the main reasons click-through is so low). This active user engagement makes the Web more cognitive, since the user has to think about what hypertext links to click and how to navigate. This again makes the Web less suited for purely emotional advertising. The user is not on the Web to "get an experience" but to get something done. The Web is not simply a "customer-oriented" medium; it's a customer-dominated medium. The user owns the Back button. Get over it: there is no way of trapping users in an ad if they don't want it.
(Thanks Jakob 18 years ago)
posted by BigCalm at 3:48 PM on September 4, 2015 [9 favorites]
(Thanks Jakob 18 years ago)
posted by BigCalm at 3:48 PM on September 4, 2015 [9 favorites]
I distinctly remember how "banner blindness" caused me to ignore to top 1/8th of my physical reality for a damn decent while. For real, I just blocked out anything above a certain height (besides traffic lights, lol). Now almost 20 years later the "youtube 30" has lead to me ignoring the first 30 seconds of anything I hear. Sighs.
posted by Annika Cicada at 3:54 PM on September 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by Annika Cicada at 3:54 PM on September 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
>I wish to hell Apple would allow things like ... Ghostery ...
A Popular Ad Blocker Also Helps the Ad Industry
Ad-Blocker Ghostery Actually Helps Advertisers, If You "Support" It
Ghostery: A Web tracking blocker that actually helps the ad industry
posted by AGameOfMoans at 3:56 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
A Popular Ad Blocker Also Helps the Ad Industry
Ad-Blocker Ghostery Actually Helps Advertisers, If You "Support" It
Ghostery: A Web tracking blocker that actually helps the ad industry
posted by AGameOfMoans at 3:56 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
From the Electronic Freedom Foundation - Privacy Badger blocks spying ads and invisible trackers.
posted by AGameOfMoans at 3:58 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by AGameOfMoans at 3:58 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
WTF...this site has been repeatedly posted on Hacker News for the last week or two and I was wondering what was the point of generating such fake interest and, lo, it shows up on the Blue. Someone has been busy.
posted by kjs3 at 4:07 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by kjs3 at 4:07 PM on September 4, 2015
We didn't start the fire
The internet's been burning
Since the servers were running
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't like it
And tried to block it
posted by lmfsilva at 4:25 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
The internet's been burning
Since the servers were running
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't like it
And tried to block it
posted by lmfsilva at 4:25 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
A Popular Ad Blocker Also Helps the Ad Industry
Ad-Blocker Ghostery Actually Helps Advertisers, If You "Support" It
Ghostery: A Web tracking blocker that actually helps the ad industry
If you deliberately check the option to let it do that, sure. It's turned off by default.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:27 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Ad-Blocker Ghostery Actually Helps Advertisers, If You "Support" It
Ghostery: A Web tracking blocker that actually helps the ad industry
If you deliberately check the option to let it do that, sure. It's turned off by default.
posted by Sys Rq at 4:27 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
I know ad blocking is coming in iOS 9, but I'm not holding out much hope that it will be as powerful, or fine-grained as it needs to be.
It's funny, I was just reading up on the specifics of the iOS 9 changes yesterday and doing some "how terrible could this be for us?" napkin math about iOS 9 adblock stuff, given that mobile AdSense revenue from search traffic is a decent chunk of Metafilter's regular revenue. (Based on the reading I've done and some prevailing assumptions, the answer is "probably not particularly terrible", which is good, but obviously it's something we have to at least think about and plan for.) And one of the things I saw as a recurring theme is that even with the improved API hook into Safari to make custom content-blocking routines more workable than previously, the powerful, fine-grained stuff is still asking for a relative ton of resources from a phone. Like a "your user experience gets worse as a result of using this adblocker" sort of catch-22.
I imagine people will tune to the balance over time and so I'd guess reasonably fine-grained stuff will still find its way on to phones in a workable manner, but it's an interesting wrinkle in the whole thing, where despite how much beefier mobile devices have gotten over the years there are still these situations where desktop vs. mobile are very different beasts, where desktops have the kind of resource headroom to also do a bunch of extra shit vs. a mobile device feeling relatively snappy mostly because it's been kept lean and the throttle's wide open much of the time.
posted by cortex at 4:51 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's funny, I was just reading up on the specifics of the iOS 9 changes yesterday and doing some "how terrible could this be for us?" napkin math about iOS 9 adblock stuff, given that mobile AdSense revenue from search traffic is a decent chunk of Metafilter's regular revenue. (Based on the reading I've done and some prevailing assumptions, the answer is "probably not particularly terrible", which is good, but obviously it's something we have to at least think about and plan for.) And one of the things I saw as a recurring theme is that even with the improved API hook into Safari to make custom content-blocking routines more workable than previously, the powerful, fine-grained stuff is still asking for a relative ton of resources from a phone. Like a "your user experience gets worse as a result of using this adblocker" sort of catch-22.
I imagine people will tune to the balance over time and so I'd guess reasonably fine-grained stuff will still find its way on to phones in a workable manner, but it's an interesting wrinkle in the whole thing, where despite how much beefier mobile devices have gotten over the years there are still these situations where desktop vs. mobile are very different beasts, where desktops have the kind of resource headroom to also do a bunch of extra shit vs. a mobile device feeling relatively snappy mostly because it's been kept lean and the throttle's wide open much of the time.
posted by cortex at 4:51 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Someone call John Oliver, he is the bugler that can save us
posted by sfenders at 4:53 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sfenders at 4:53 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
But it's absolutely unusable on either my tablet or phone. Every.Fucking.Inch of screen real estate is jammed with links, even with an adblocker running. Trying to scroll down I inevitably hit one
Yeh well, the worse sort of bullshit is the combination of greed, short-sightedness, authoritarian impulses, risk-aversion, and whatever other malevolent forces have led to "smart" phones being the locked-down limited un-free temples of commercial subjugation that they are. Oh sure you can escape, partly, if you want to spend three days working out how to unlock and re-flash your phone. Maybe. I haven't yet been convinced it's worth it to even try. All I wanted was to make the volume control buttons, the only physical controls on the phone, scroll web pages. It may or may not be possible on my phone, but the amount of bullshit involved is staggering.
posted by sfenders at 5:06 PM on September 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Yeh well, the worse sort of bullshit is the combination of greed, short-sightedness, authoritarian impulses, risk-aversion, and whatever other malevolent forces have led to "smart" phones being the locked-down limited un-free temples of commercial subjugation that they are. Oh sure you can escape, partly, if you want to spend three days working out how to unlock and re-flash your phone. Maybe. I haven't yet been convinced it's worth it to even try. All I wanted was to make the volume control buttons, the only physical controls on the phone, scroll web pages. It may or may not be possible on my phone, but the amount of bullshit involved is staggering.
posted by sfenders at 5:06 PM on September 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
The user is usually on the Web for a purpose and is not likely to be distracted from the goal
I am so single-minded about my why am I here and how did I get here oh wait I need a tunic are tunics in style why did the Roman empire decline hang on I need blinds wait curtains seeya guys.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:06 PM on September 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
I am so single-minded about my why am I here and how did I get here oh wait I need a tunic are tunics in style why did the Roman empire decline hang on I need blinds wait curtains seeya guys.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:06 PM on September 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
I know ad blocking is coming in iOS 9
If ads are annoying enough that you're willing to spend a few bucks, try Weblock until iOS 9 arrives. It also blocks ads in apps.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:10 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
If ads are annoying enough that you're willing to spend a few bucks, try Weblock until iOS 9 arrives. It also blocks ads in apps.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:10 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
The worst thing I'm coming across when trying to read an article on my smartphone is that I'll try to scroll down the page, end up accidentally opening a new link from an embedded ad or a pop-up, and then have to go back and reopen the article and find my spot. Sometimes I'm annoyed if it means I'm giving some terrible clickbait bullshit article two clicks; sometimes I mind less if it's a really good piece and the double-click is helping out the author's visibility. But I don't like it.
posted by mirepoix at 5:13 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mirepoix at 5:13 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeh well, the worse sort of bullshit is the combination of greed, short-sightedness, authoritarian impulses, risk-aversion, and whatever other malevolent forces have led to "smart" phones being the locked-down limited un-free temples of commercial subjugation that they are.
When were smart phones the hobbyist's devices people keep complaining that they aren't?
posted by deathmaven at 5:16 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
When were smart phones the hobbyist's devices people keep complaining that they aren't?
posted by deathmaven at 5:16 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
This reminds me of this article I saw the other day, about the rise of pop-ups that say things like "Enter your email address for free delicious recipes!" and the opt-out text is something like "no thanks, I don't like delicious food."
I really like clicking the "no thanks" part when those things show up, because I enjoy being contradictory and acting like I totally hate whatever the website's trying to sell me.
posted by Metroid Baby at 5:22 PM on September 4, 2015 [9 favorites]
I really like clicking the "no thanks" part when those things show up, because I enjoy being contradictory and acting like I totally hate whatever the website's trying to sell me.
posted by Metroid Baby at 5:22 PM on September 4, 2015 [9 favorites]
When were smart phones the hobbyist's devices people keep complaining that they aren't?
Never, far as I know. Which is probably why those people keep complaining.
posted by sfenders at 5:28 PM on September 4, 2015
Never, far as I know. Which is probably why those people keep complaining.
posted by sfenders at 5:28 PM on September 4, 2015
I will not turn off Adblock. Period.
Even for sites that I love and want to support. Advertisements are very nearly the only source of malware on the web. No one really needs a virus scanner these days, just an ad blocker.
Advertisers have made their bed.
posted by johnnyace at 5:32 PM on September 4, 2015 [25 favorites]
Even for sites that I love and want to support. Advertisements are very nearly the only source of malware on the web. No one really needs a virus scanner these days, just an ad blocker.
Advertisers have made their bed.
posted by johnnyace at 5:32 PM on September 4, 2015 [25 favorites]
I use Reader View on iOS whenever it's available. So much easier on the eyes, because it hides ads AND web designers' attempts at cutting edge typography.
posted by monospace at 6:29 PM on September 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by monospace at 6:29 PM on September 4, 2015 [5 favorites]
Never, far as I know. Which is probably why those people keep complaining
Ah I thought "led to" meant from somewhere. From what I can tell, the dedication to practical, immediate, real-world usability and the cost effectiveness inherent in that that inspired the development of smartphones is what brought personal computing in general from something for enthusiasts (or office workers and students) to a staple of life for everyone.
I remember in college, about 5 years before the iPhone was released, being asked to check the web for something by a classmate because she thought it would be "loserish" for her to log on to the Internet on Valentine's Day (yes we did have broadband at this time).
It seems like the contingency that complains about mobile devices being designed for use rather than hacking are just upset that computing got focused more on the masses than the elites.
posted by deathmaven at 6:33 PM on September 4, 2015
Ah I thought "led to" meant from somewhere. From what I can tell, the dedication to practical, immediate, real-world usability and the cost effectiveness inherent in that that inspired the development of smartphones is what brought personal computing in general from something for enthusiasts (or office workers and students) to a staple of life for everyone.
I remember in college, about 5 years before the iPhone was released, being asked to check the web for something by a classmate because she thought it would be "loserish" for her to log on to the Internet on Valentine's Day (yes we did have broadband at this time).
It seems like the contingency that complains about mobile devices being designed for use rather than hacking are just upset that computing got focused more on the masses than the elites.
posted by deathmaven at 6:33 PM on September 4, 2015
I find the best solution is to just stay off the internet.
Wait.
Goddamnit, how did I get here?
posted by gwint at 6:36 PM on September 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
Wait.
Goddamnit, how did I get here?
posted by gwint at 6:36 PM on September 4, 2015 [6 favorites]
What is problem with QR-Codes
posted by Mitheral at 7:02 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 7:02 PM on September 4, 2015 [1 favorite]
sudden redirects to the App Store
This is an absolute deal breaker for me. I'm as upset with Apple for allowing it to happen (and no way to disable App Store links AFAIK) as I am with the ad syndicates and the websites themselves.
posted by clorox at 7:10 PM on September 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
This is an absolute deal breaker for me. I'm as upset with Apple for allowing it to happen (and no way to disable App Store links AFAIK) as I am with the ad syndicates and the websites themselves.
posted by clorox at 7:10 PM on September 4, 2015 [10 favorites]
I had a horrible find recently about the sudden redirects.
Chrome doesn't block them. Safari doesn't block them.
The pigfucking FACEBOOK app asks if you want to go. That, right there, is a sign of the apocalypse or something.
Also, a site I go to a lot has 'we want to keep working so let us show you ads' notes if you have an ad blocker running. I emailed them with "your video ads crash the page in Chrome, so fix that and maybe I'll stop running my adblocker on your page". They didn't reply.
posted by mephron at 7:23 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
Chrome doesn't block them. Safari doesn't block them.
The pigfucking FACEBOOK app asks if you want to go. That, right there, is a sign of the apocalypse or something.
Also, a site I go to a lot has 'we want to keep working so let us show you ads' notes if you have an ad blocker running. I emailed them with "your video ads crash the page in Chrome, so fix that and maybe I'll stop running my adblocker on your page". They didn't reply.
posted by mephron at 7:23 PM on September 4, 2015 [3 favorites]
It seems like the contingency that complains about mobile devices being designed for use rather than hacking are just upset that computing got focused more on the masses than the elites.
Couldn't agree more. It's the distinction that, say, Boing Boing either doesn't understand or willfully ignores between "hey, it would be good for there to be a way for people to get into their hardware and/or software to poke around and fix things or even just tweak stuff for shits and giggles" and "if it's not 100% open it's loserware and you are a loser for even touching it."
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:26 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Couldn't agree more. It's the distinction that, say, Boing Boing either doesn't understand or willfully ignores between "hey, it would be good for there to be a way for people to get into their hardware and/or software to poke around and fix things or even just tweak stuff for shits and giggles" and "if it's not 100% open it's loserware and you are a loser for even touching it."
posted by Halloween Jack at 7:26 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
the development of smartphones is what brought personal computing in general from something for enthusiasts (or office workers and students) to a staple of life for everyone.
That's stronger love for the smart phones than I would have expected. There are some demographics that hadn't been previously reached by personal computers in 2005 and have since had the misfortune to be introduced instead to a rough semblance of the idea through phones, but I suspect that's due more to time, cultural circumstance, and economic development rather than technology and design. Still, I suppose it's some combination of all those things.
My particular complaint about this phone was absolutely about it not being designed well for ease of use. The whole point in this particular instance is that I would have to do way too much hacking in order to get it to do things I want it to do. The web page scrolling thing, but also fixing the stupidity of the new(-ish) android lock screen which as it happens I also do not like. There are apps that try to fix it, but they all have problems; in part because of the dysfunctional nature of the software ecosystem, in part because the OS developers made it hard for them. I can come up with another half dozen end-user type complaints if you like. It reminds me of nothing more than an early handheld GPS I used to have, which had the most ridiculously convoluted user interface that was obviously designed for the convenience of the people who did the programming. Except this time there's the added bonus of consideration being also given to the people who do the advertising. The same kind of difficulties are of course even worse if you do want to hack things, or so I would assume, but that's not the only grounds for complaint.
Yeah I realize there are people who absolutely love every little thing about the way their iPhone does things. Those of us who don't, in particular those who have decades worth of the experience of easily being able to make computers work in ways we do like, we might just complain a little on occasion. Perhaps some day one of the promises of a new phone that does things better will come true and we'll all live happily ever after. I always suspect it already has and I just haven't got one yet. Seems probable, I mean someone is bound to be able to get these things right eventually.
posted by sfenders at 7:58 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
That's stronger love for the smart phones than I would have expected. There are some demographics that hadn't been previously reached by personal computers in 2005 and have since had the misfortune to be introduced instead to a rough semblance of the idea through phones, but I suspect that's due more to time, cultural circumstance, and economic development rather than technology and design. Still, I suppose it's some combination of all those things.
My particular complaint about this phone was absolutely about it not being designed well for ease of use. The whole point in this particular instance is that I would have to do way too much hacking in order to get it to do things I want it to do. The web page scrolling thing, but also fixing the stupidity of the new(-ish) android lock screen which as it happens I also do not like. There are apps that try to fix it, but they all have problems; in part because of the dysfunctional nature of the software ecosystem, in part because the OS developers made it hard for them. I can come up with another half dozen end-user type complaints if you like. It reminds me of nothing more than an early handheld GPS I used to have, which had the most ridiculously convoluted user interface that was obviously designed for the convenience of the people who did the programming. Except this time there's the added bonus of consideration being also given to the people who do the advertising. The same kind of difficulties are of course even worse if you do want to hack things, or so I would assume, but that's not the only grounds for complaint.
Yeah I realize there are people who absolutely love every little thing about the way their iPhone does things. Those of us who don't, in particular those who have decades worth of the experience of easily being able to make computers work in ways we do like, we might just complain a little on occasion. Perhaps some day one of the promises of a new phone that does things better will come true and we'll all live happily ever after. I always suspect it already has and I just haven't got one yet. Seems probable, I mean someone is bound to be able to get these things right eventually.
posted by sfenders at 7:58 PM on September 4, 2015 [2 favorites]
Mod note: Gruber derail is weird, please cut it out.
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:41 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by cortex (staff) at 8:41 PM on September 4, 2015
I initially didn't understand why Firefox was making an Android version, but once adblockimg was available I started using it all the time to escape google's clutches.
posted by benzenedream at 9:05 PM on September 4, 2015
posted by benzenedream at 9:05 PM on September 4, 2015
...jargon...
... OK, I'm with you so far.
anti-patterns
dark patterns
clickbait
linkbait
listicles
bloatware
native advertising
That's an awful lot of jargon.
carousels
...and that's either jargon or somebody hates rotating carnival rides with statues of horses.
All in all, as much as certain things on the web bother me, this manifesto just seems to be "bullshit = stuff I don't like." I have the feeling we should all get off of the author's lawn.
posted by mmoncur at 9:59 PM on September 4, 2015
... OK, I'm with you so far.
anti-patterns
dark patterns
clickbait
linkbait
listicles
bloatware
native advertising
That's an awful lot of jargon.
carousels
...and that's either jargon or somebody hates rotating carnival rides with statues of horses.
All in all, as much as certain things on the web bother me, this manifesto just seems to be "bullshit = stuff I don't like." I have the feeling we should all get off of the author's lawn.
posted by mmoncur at 9:59 PM on September 4, 2015
I really cannot understand how watching ads became a moral issue. I get that sites want to ask, and that's fine - I even drop my shields occasionally to chip in, but I also toss money in the hat for buskers. I don't feel guilty for watching the hoochie girl dance and then not buying the snake oil.
Nobody ever AFAIK has even tried to implement a true micro payment system - although I've seen a ton of philosophical dissertations on why it's naive to think it might work.
FEH!
A complete lack of imagination.
Time to try something completely different and "disrupt" something or other.
posted by Alter Cocker at 10:08 PM on September 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
Nobody ever AFAIK has even tried to implement a true micro payment system - although I've seen a ton of philosophical dissertations on why it's naive to think it might work.
FEH!
A complete lack of imagination.
Time to try something completely different and "disrupt" something or other.
posted by Alter Cocker at 10:08 PM on September 4, 2015 [4 favorites]
mmoncur, the target audience for this is the people who build websites or write for them. Those words are on thelow end of the jargon scale for the industry.
I love this site because it's about everything that sucks the soul out of me when I'm working. I make websites because I want people to be able to communicate their message, not so we can all make a million bucks. But no-one has yet come up with a way for the little guy to make a self-sustaining (I.e. hosting paid for) site without advertising. So A-listers like Brad Frost are leading a call for people to try alternatives, to find a way out of this.
If you've got a bright idea about how to have an Internet that isn't like a giant animated flashing billboard, but where people still get paid for creating new content, this guy will hear you out and promote it.
posted by harriet vane at 2:47 AM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
I love this site because it's about everything that sucks the soul out of me when I'm working. I make websites because I want people to be able to communicate their message, not so we can all make a million bucks. But no-one has yet come up with a way for the little guy to make a self-sustaining (I.e. hosting paid for) site without advertising. So A-listers like Brad Frost are leading a call for people to try alternatives, to find a way out of this.
If you've got a bright idea about how to have an Internet that isn't like a giant animated flashing billboard, but where people still get paid for creating new content, this guy will hear you out and promote it.
posted by harriet vane at 2:47 AM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
What is problem with QR-Codes
- many if not all QR code scanners are spyware
- the only purpose of QR codes is to say, "Thanks for looking at our ad. Please prove yourself worthy enough to see another."
posted by Sys Rq at 8:26 AM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
- many if not all QR code scanners are spyware
- the only purpose of QR codes is to say, "Thanks for looking at our ad. Please prove yourself worthy enough to see another."
posted by Sys Rq at 8:26 AM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
Site chides me for blocking ads, then leaves a pop behind for Ashley Madison.
up yers
posted by Trochanter at 8:41 AM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
up yers
posted by Trochanter at 8:41 AM on September 5, 2015 [2 favorites]
mmoncur, the target audience for this is the people who build websites or write for them.
It works for anyone contributing to any type of industry.
Personally I'm convinced the commercial Web is a dead end for anything outside of retail. No one expects to pay for anything on it which makes advertising pretty much a ponzi scheme that'll eventually fall.
posted by deathmaven at 9:27 AM on September 5, 2015
It works for anyone contributing to any type of industry.
Personally I'm convinced the commercial Web is a dead end for anything outside of retail. No one expects to pay for anything on it which makes advertising pretty much a ponzi scheme that'll eventually fall.
posted by deathmaven at 9:27 AM on September 5, 2015
Whoever invented the mobile ad that blocks the whole browser screen and will not go away at all unless you click on said ad (and even if you do, the ad comes back when you return to the page you were trying to see!) needs to die a horrible death.
posted by SisterHavana at 12:19 PM on September 5, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by SisterHavana at 12:19 PM on September 5, 2015 [3 favorites]
Sys Rq: "the only purpose of QR codes is to say, "Thanks for looking at our ad. Please prove yourself worthy enough to see another.""
To certain extent true. But I've seen them quite a bit on touristy stuff to bring up more information. Coolest thing is there use in transit. And it is not like QR-Codes are only able to be used for URLs.
posted by Mitheral at 3:02 PM on September 5, 2015
To certain extent true. But I've seen them quite a bit on touristy stuff to bring up more information. Coolest thing is there use in transit. And it is not like QR-Codes are only able to be used for URLs.
posted by Mitheral at 3:02 PM on September 5, 2015
Coolest thing is there use in transit.
So if you want to see an accurate transit schedule, you need a smartphone with a data plan? Awesome! No, wait, that's completely fucking horrible.
"You must be THIS RICH to ride the bus."
posted by Sys Rq at 3:44 PM on September 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
So if you want to see an accurate transit schedule, you need a smartphone with a data plan? Awesome! No, wait, that's completely fucking horrible.
"You must be THIS RICH to ride the bus."
posted by Sys Rq at 3:44 PM on September 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
QR codes tend to be a supplement to the existing sign not a 100% replacement. Geez around here the signs have nothing but "Bus Stop" and (sometimes) the route number. A QR Code would be a massive improvement for the vast majority of people who have a smart phone/data plan.
Anyways, yes a QR code is going to require the technology to decipher it. But then so are all the web sites this guy is ragging on. I can't see how people how don't have it can be offended by their implementation.
posted by Mitheral at 4:06 PM on September 5, 2015
Anyways, yes a QR code is going to require the technology to decipher it. But then so are all the web sites this guy is ragging on. I can't see how people how don't have it can be offended by their implementation.
posted by Mitheral at 4:06 PM on September 5, 2015
But mainly they're ugly to see and clunky to use.
posted by deathmaven at 5:09 PM on September 5, 2015
posted by deathmaven at 5:09 PM on September 5, 2015
mmoncur, the target audience for this is the people who build websites or write for them.
I know that, I'm one of those people. My point was that lumping "jargon" into this list just makes it overly inclusive, just like the title (anything the author considers "bullshit".) I'd much rather it said "let's get rid of the annoying aspects of web advertising and promotion" instead of seeming quite so get-off-my-lawnish.
Otherwise I pretty much agree with it.
posted by mmoncur at 8:17 PM on September 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
I know that, I'm one of those people. My point was that lumping "jargon" into this list just makes it overly inclusive, just like the title (anything the author considers "bullshit".) I'd much rather it said "let's get rid of the annoying aspects of web advertising and promotion" instead of seeming quite so get-off-my-lawnish.
Otherwise I pretty much agree with it.
posted by mmoncur at 8:17 PM on September 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
The inclusion of jargon probably comes after reading the latest vapour-ware-fest over at Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
I find the best solution is to just stay off the internet.
And I think we have a winner here. I switched over to uBlock origin a while back and ever since, it's been a constant back and forth between Firefox and Chromium to see if I can actually use the damn site. I don't know if it's too aggressive or what, but it seems to break more stuff than it blocks. When I couldn't book a flight because of this nonsense, I ended up doing it on my phone.
I'd ask Firefox to bake in adblocking and all the privacy addons but unfortunately it might break the web a little bit.
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 4:26 AM on September 7, 2015
I find the best solution is to just stay off the internet.
And I think we have a winner here. I switched over to uBlock origin a while back and ever since, it's been a constant back and forth between Firefox and Chromium to see if I can actually use the damn site. I don't know if it's too aggressive or what, but it seems to break more stuff than it blocks. When I couldn't book a flight because of this nonsense, I ended up doing it on my phone.
I'd ask Firefox to bake in adblocking and all the privacy addons but unfortunately it might break the web a little bit.
posted by Juso No Thankyou at 4:26 AM on September 7, 2015
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