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Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

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Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#381
post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

kasey_junk said "I'm a stupid moron with an ugly face and a big butt and a my butt smells and I like to kiss my own butt". Should this not include quotes, even though you didn't say it? "AP, MLA & CMS" are an absurd counterpoint that falls well within 'that's not how anyone writes'. They are, if anything, lengthy exceptions to how anyone writes. It's a deeply silly argument and my point is 'an internet messageboard s…

It should include those quotes if you are asserting that I said it.

Yes, but then you should include something like "might as well have said". Or "like".

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And the response, "we're not trying to sell you a modem, we're just encouraging you to strongly consider buying a new one" Making up quotes like this is against HN guidelines (and common decency).

My "quote" isn't significantly different from what was actually said, in fact hews extremely closely to it, and is designed for rhetorical purpose of making clear how small a distinction is being relied upon in order to claim the statement is something other than a request for you to buy a new modem. Moreover there's nothing in the guidelines about "making up quotes" (which again isn't a reasonable interpretation of…

Making up a weaponized quote that's close to what was originally said is actually worse, because then it's harder for passers-by to tell apart and more injurious to the original statement. By 'weaponized' I mean altering it to sharpen the point for indignation or snark purposes. It's a harmful internet practice that we've asked to users to abstain from.

You're right that it isn't explicitly mentioned in the site guidelines, but those aren't a list of proscribed behaviors but a set of values to internalize. I'd say "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize" covers this case pretty squarely.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#384

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With all the junk mail I get from my cable company about "upgrading" my service to include some crap I don't want, I would think they could find a way to slip in a "hey, your modem's busted" notice.

But you probably wouldn't read it, because lots of people don't read their email (at least partially because of the junk).

And I'm more likely to read a pop-up?

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#385
post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's simply false. No, it isn't. I'm saying what somebody else is saying, in their voice. This goes in quotes, because it's someone else's speech, even if it's my version of their speech. The fact that they didn't actually say it comes from context. Punctuation is not semantic markup. This doesn't come from reddit, it comes from, you know, the way people actually write. The fact that it requires repeated and length…

> I'm saying what somebody else is saying, in their voice. This goes in quotes, because it's someone else's speech, even if it's my version of their speech. That's fine, when you're writing fiction. But in most online forums, fiction is frowned upon.

I don't think paraphrasing is limited to fiction any more than metaphor or hyperbole or idiom are. And those are in online forums all the durned time!

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#386

I'm annoyed by this on several levels. The biggest issue is that I'm using an Arris SB 6121 and I'm getting notifications that my modem is EOL. However, the SB6121 is listed as a supported modem for my speed level on their supported modems page. If I go to their supported modem page, I literally get a page where my current modem is shown as not supported, and the exact same modem is shown next to it as "supported." I…

There is a reason they are doing this. After signing up for Xfinity I noticed that the modem we were leasing was broadcasting a public access point with no way to disable it. I purchased my own modem immediately. Then some time later they rolled out their mobile services, which you guessed it, rely’s on those open access points and Sprint as a fall-back. So now customers are paying monthly to host Xfinity mobile serv…

> customers should not be subsidizing the cost.

Can you please explain to me how you think this is a thing? Are you really that concerned about the extra watt or so of power usage a virtual SSID uses?

Or are you operating under the misconception that this somehow impacts your bandwidth allocation?

It's by far the most innovative and awesome thing Comcast has ever done. And they get ultra-hate from people who should absolutely know better.

The single and sole complaint you could have here is spectrum utilization.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#387

I'm annoyed by this on several levels. The biggest issue is that I'm using an Arris SB 6121 and I'm getting notifications that my modem is EOL. However, the SB6121 is listed as a supported modem for my speed level on their supported modems page. If I go to their supported modem page, I literally get a page where my current modem is shown as not supported, and the exact same modem is shown next to it as "supported." I…

> edit: Proof https://imgur.com/lzKBkMs If you look at the far right device you see a non-EOL SB6121. The one on the left that is EOL is the leased one, and the retail one is still allowed. I'm not sure if you have a leased device or retail device.

I had a purchased SB6121 that they wouldn’t let me move with 2 months ago. It’s not just leased ones. They will support it until you need to make any changes, then will make you use a “supported” one.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Xfinity/Comcast deal is with Verizon, not Sprint. The deal to allow Xfinity Mobile to use Verizon happened years ago. Doesn't change much or any reasoning, but VeriOn is a lot better in terms of service area [and strength] vs Sprint.

Verizon has poor service in many places, eg Hawaii or when roaming up near the Canadian border. They still haven't figured out how to support international roaming reliably, half my family was w/o service for our few hours in Canada. Service in SoCal seems to be one of their last strongholds, but even then voice calls sound like a robot.

Verizon is far and away the market leader in international roaming and it isn't even remotely close. At least in my experience.

Source: Tried to get away from VZW for a decade now - international roaming always being the ultimate decider.

Curious who you've found to be better.

Verizon has always been that shit-tier company ran by borderline criminals which happens to have the far superior network and hard product.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#389
post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My "quote" isn't significantly different from what was actually said, in fact hews extremely closely to it, and is designed for rhetorical purpose of making clear how small a distinction is being relied upon in order to claim the statement is something other than a request for you to buy a new modem. Moreover there's nothing in the guidelines about "making up quotes" (which again isn't a reasonable interpretation of…

Making up a weaponized quote that's close to what was originally said is actually worse, because then it's harder for passers-by to tell apart and more injurious to the original statement. By 'weaponized' I mean altering it to sharpen the point for indignation or snark purposes. It's a harmful internet practice that we've asked to users to abstain from. You're right that it isn't explicitly mentioned in the site guid…

How about to sharpen the point for brevity and clarity in order to convey a perfectly legitimate point? Arguing against something doesn't mean that you interpreted it uncharitably and doesn't merit the exaggerated description of being weaponized (and the comfort level with such exaggerations as "injurious" and "weaponized" is amusing in the context where the concern is about insufficient proximity between a statement and how that statement is subsequently characterized. There's a lot more distance between those adjectives and what I did than between the statement and my paraphrase of it.)

And virtually anyone in any argument could insist, tediously, that those disagreeing with them have failed to interpret with sufficient charity.

But it's one thing to note that as a hypothetical possibility, and another entirely to point to something that's actually a clear cut offense. I don't think I twisted or misrepresented anything, and no one seems to be suggesting the anything was actually misrepresented or misinterpreted so much as they're using this occasion as a jumping off point to litigate the abstract principle. Which I don't think is a constructive use of anybody's time, which is why this is a bad norm that shouldn't be observed.

Re: Comcast is injecting 400+ lines of JavaScript into web pages

#390

J. Livingood (a Comcast VP) responded to the OP: > [JL] We are not trying to sell you a new one. If you own your modem we're informing you that it is either end of life (EOL) or that you are about to get a speed upgrade that the modem will be unable to deliver. Incidentally, Livingood is a co-author of IETF RFC 6108, which he has conveniently linked. From the RFC's general requirements numero uno: > R3.1.1. Must Only…

Wait wait WHAT? This standard seems like a terrible mistake. Isn't this exactly what malware creators want? To condition users to click the browser pop up that says "YOUR COMPUTER IS INFECTED WITH MALWARE, CALL THIS NUMBER/INSTALL THIS HORRIBLE THING TO FIX IT?" Why on Earth would anyone issue a standard that says that ISPs should deliver that kind of notification, thus training consumers to believe them?

IETF RFCs are not "standards" in the sense that you are thinking. The RFC process is deliberately designed to be open to submission from anyone, and there is no particular vetting or consensus forming that happens.

When used by practicing engineers as a low-overhead way to document interoperability requirements for working software, it's been fantastically successful. But it also lends itself to this kind of pseudo-fraud "standardization" by less ethical players.

Bottom line: an "RFC" means nothing per se. What matters is whether the community wants to support it. So RFC7540 is an important standard everyone agrees to support. RFC6108 is garbage.

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