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Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

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Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#251

Post by jachee »

dwild wrote: post #248
locklock wrote: post #11

I'm really thankful I haven't yet had a job where all I'm developing is new ways to force people to see ads. Imagine working on a 'feature' like this for weeks or months, and the end result is simply that people who don't want to see ads now have to see ads.

> Imagine working on a 'feature' like this for weeks or months, and the end result is simply that people who don't want to see ads now have to see ads. It's not so much different than patching an hole in your payment system to make sure it can't be bypassed. I sure don't want to have to pay for plenty product, yet it's perfectly valid for them to expect to get paid. Same goes for ads, it's the cost to use that produc…

I find that avoiding ads isn't avoiding wanting to pay for a product.

It's avoiding wanting to be a product.

If my attention has value, then I get to determine what that value is.

It's a sad state to be where corporations work so hard to steal people's time, attention and privacy and give them as little as possible in return.

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#253

Post by engineeringwoke »

manigandham wrote: post #250
engineeringwoke wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well you could choose to work at a company that doesn’t treat human beings like money machines? Or you could choose to not lie to yourself about said humans as money machines ideals with classic tropes like “there’s a lot of different teams” or “I haven’t seen that kind of thing at my local office”? Throwing out a couple options here that don’t require intense mental gymnastics

Distilling everything into such simplistic and disingenuous examples like "humans as money machines" is never productive, and a rather poor way to argue against thinking more intensively about a subject. Facebook provides value for billions of people as evidenced by their usage. They don't pay so ads are a trade-off. There's nothing inherently wrong with that unless you have a problem with how business works. And yes…

Red herrings are also a poor way to argue the contrary ;)

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#254

Post by xamuel »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #145
asdkhadsj wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. I feel like ads have such a bad rap because of the state of the internet. Yet, what does everyone expect? Is it shocking that content providers want money for their product? And yes, I know, some sites and ads do terrible things. The actively hurt viewership. BUT, isn't that the same with everything ? Even my groceries are getting worse as companies seek ways to increase profits without pissing me off; the…

I run an old collaborative writing (roleplaying) forum populated mostly by teens that's paid for by a banner ad. When I read HN comments about ads, I see people who are forgetting what ads have actually gotten us: more people able to create more things that are available to everyone for free. HNers like to say "well, then adapt your business model," but look at the incredibly friction that exists for getting people t…

>I run an old collaborative writing (roleplaying) forum populated mostly by teens that's paid for by a banner ad.

I know this is going to sound like heresy nowadays, but you could always just run your forum and pay for it out of pocket. Believe it or not, once upon a time, a huge portion of the web was made up of labors of love like that!

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#255

Post by rnvhhynr »

dwild wrote: post #248
locklock wrote: post #11

I'm really thankful I haven't yet had a job where all I'm developing is new ways to force people to see ads. Imagine working on a 'feature' like this for weeks or months, and the end result is simply that people who don't want to see ads now have to see ads.

> Imagine working on a 'feature' like this for weeks or months, and the end result is simply that people who don't want to see ads now have to see ads. It's not so much different than patching an hole in your payment system to make sure it can't be bypassed. I sure don't want to have to pay for plenty product, yet it's perfectly valid for them to expect to get paid. Same goes for ads, it's the cost to use that produc…

I agree with your general point, but there's no paid version of Facebook that shows no ads and doesn't sell your info. (And, if there was, I'm sure it would bomb.)

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#256

Post by jachee »

badpun wrote: post #240
JacobJans wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a very immature view of advertising, that, unfortunately many advertisers share -- and it leads to scummy ads, with no eye on the long term relationship with the person viewing the ad. However, many ads are not deceptive in any way, and instead simply offer something of value to people who may be interested, without any deceit, psychological trick, or ulterior motive. Just because there are bad ads does not m…

If I were king, all ads would have to be black text on white background, containing ONLY the name of the product/service, its description and advertised merits. The description would have to consist of well-defined and falsifiable statements only.

And the product's non-obfuscated cost.

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#257

Post by blub »

dwild wrote: post #248
locklock wrote: post #11

I'm really thankful I haven't yet had a job where all I'm developing is new ways to force people to see ads. Imagine working on a 'feature' like this for weeks or months, and the end result is simply that people who don't want to see ads now have to see ads.

> Imagine working on a 'feature' like this for weeks or months, and the end result is simply that people who don't want to see ads now have to see ads. It's not so much different than patching an hole in your payment system to make sure it can't be bypassed. I sure don't want to have to pay for plenty product, yet it's perfectly valid for them to expect to get paid. Same goes for ads, it's the cost to use that produc…

Paying is giving money in exchange for something.

Seeing ads isn't like paying, it's being subjected to a small amount of mental pain - that of not being able to do what you want because there's a commercial distracting you or blocking you from your goal.

It's actually a type of cruelty when you think about it.

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#258

Post by sokoloff »

badpun wrote: post #240
JacobJans wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a very immature view of advertising, that, unfortunately many advertisers share -- and it leads to scummy ads, with no eye on the long term relationship with the person viewing the ad. However, many ads are not deceptive in any way, and instead simply offer something of value to people who may be interested, without any deceit, psychological trick, or ulterior motive. Just because there are bad ads does not m…

If I were king, all ads would have to be black text on white background, containing ONLY the name of the product/service, its description and advertised merits. The description would have to consist of well-defined and falsifiable statements only.

Prediction: in your kingdom, product names would evolve to become "World's Best Hair Tonic" with "World's Best" being the company's brand/trade name...

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#259

Post by vikasnair »

engineeringwoke wrote: post #235
manigandham wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The post is about judging people's character simply by where they work and in the most ungracious terms. Doing that actually is poor character.

Well you could choose to work at a company that doesn’t treat human beings like money machines? Or you could choose to not lie to yourself about said humans as money machines ideals with classic tropes like “there’s a lot of different teams” or “I haven’t seen that kind of thing at my local office”? Throwing out a couple options here that don’t require intense mental gymnastics

Perhaps FB is the only company that extended an offer with reasonable pay, or perhaps the only company willing to sponsor a Visa.

The list of possible extenuating circumstances extends to infinity when you think about it more deliberately. If you don’t, you’ve successfully bucketed someone based on quick, irrational judgment. That is poor behavior.

Re: Facebook adds 5 divs, 9 spans and 30 CSS classes to every post in the timeline

#260

Post by manigandham »

engineeringwoke wrote: post #253
manigandham wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Distilling everything into such simplistic and disingenuous examples like "humans as money machines" is never productive, and a rather poor way to argue against thinking more intensively about a subject. Facebook provides value for billions of people as evidenced by their usage. They don't pay so ads are a trade-off. There's nothing inherently wrong with that unless you have a problem with how business works. And yes…

Red herrings are also a poor way to argue the contrary ;)

Ok. You previously stated [1] that you "work in finance" and then described it in the same comment as "People hate finance because at the core it's sales and you make your keep by being predatory since everyone does it."

Perhaps you should have chosen not to work in finance then? Doesn't that industry quite literally "treat human beings like money machines"? Does this judgement not apply to you too?

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18997658

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