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We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

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Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#71

Post by andrekandre »

nathan_compton wrote: post #46
notpushkin wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly, we can’t just trust everybody else not to try and pull one over us. (Fortunately, uBlock Origin still works and is fairly lightweight, and hopefully we won’t see native ads so indistinguishable from content that it can’t detect those for a while.)

I don't know man, I guess we could like try to build a sort of system where people get together and vote on what kinds of behaviors society should allow which we should discourage and then when a majority of people agree on that stuff we could like make people stop doing bad stuff by using force after some kind of process to make sure that its fair? And like we could vote periodically to make sure that our rules cont…

  > I guess we could like try to build a sort of system where people get together and vote on what kinds of behaviors society should allow which we should discourage and then when a majority of people agree on that stuff we could like make people stop doing bad stuff by using force after some kind of process to make sure that its fair?
you mean, like some kind of... democracy?

idk, one of our internet vulture-capital magnates was on cnn the other day proclaiming "thats not gonna happen"...

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#72

Post by ToucanLoucan »

antfarm wrote: post #35
lukev wrote: post #33

Half the comments here are just pointing out that ad blockers exist, which is missing the point. The damage of an advertising-based internet economy is not limited to just "seeing ads." The entire content and structure of the internet is warped around this economy. Search engines, SEO, content discovery mechanisms, types and variety of content... all could have been different and better.

But how are you going to change that?

Step 1: remove Section 230 protection for algorithmically-elevated content.

If you're going to have attention-mining addiction-creating software funnel people into rabbit holes, then those rabbit holes need to be verified, safe-to-consume stuff. Watching 5 hours of 5 minute crafts is at worst, going to make someone spend too much money at Hobby Lobby. Certainly not good, but a workable issue. Watching 5 hours of white supremacist propaganda is how you get our current sociopolitical climate.

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#73

Post by tastyfreeze »

gonzo41 wrote: post #52
wizzwizz4 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a capitalist society, paying for software is good, actually.

That's just propaganda. Our society is more like kings and serfs that capitalist these days.

This is absurdly false. The serfs can become kings as evidenced by newly minted millionaires every year. However, the reverse is also true as there are plenty of fortunes lost as well.

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#74

Post by tmendez »

stefanfisk wrote: post #36
antfarm wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is the superior way? Pi-Hole?

uBlock Origin as linked.

Also plugging Firefox mobile here if you do any web browsing from mobile. You can add uBlock Origin on Firefox mobile, which you can't do on Chrome mobile.

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#75

Post by wizzwizz4 »

gonzo41 wrote: post #52
wizzwizz4 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a capitalist society, paying for software is good, actually.

That's just propaganda. Our society is more like kings and serfs that capitalist these days.

That's what the word "capitalism" was coined to mean – if you ascribe to the theory that Louis Blanc coined it.

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#76

Post by grugagag »

skygazer wrote: post #42
_cenw wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are using the inferior way to block ads, which will continue to degrade as advertisers take advantage of Google killing synchronous blocking of web requests with Manifest v2. https://ublockorigin.com/#manifest-v3-section

I'm like the parent, on Safari – apparently also using an "inferior" way to block ads that, somehow, inexplicably, works 100% of the time and has never let an ad slip through. Is it supposed to be inferior because it's brittle and requires constant work on the side of the developer? Is it blocking too much and I'm just not aware of it? Is there some new ad tech that it's not prepared for, and can't adapt to, and will…

Me too but expect this to stop working though.

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#77

Post by toomuchtodo »

antfarm wrote: post #28

My way to circumvent most of this: I am using Safari with AdBlock Pro and AdBlock and see zero ads when browsing the web. I spend more time on YouTube than I care to admit, so I got a Premium subscription, bought an extension called UnTrap for YouTube to hide most recommendations and turned off all YouTube history etc. I regularly visit BlueSky, Hacker News and YouTube, but not X, TikTok, Instagram or Facebook. The h…

I’m hopeful browsers with LLM support are the future of ad blocking for users. This enables robust and sophisticated control by users of their experience.

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#78

Post by wizzwizz4 »

gorjusborg wrote: post #63
wizzwizz4 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a capitalist society, paying for software is good, actually.

I don't know if it is that simple. Paying by people who develop software will tend to keep the software in good shape, but there's no guarantee. Also, the developer doesn't necesarily need to own the code to improve it, or build you a copy.

I mean that paying for software keeps the people who write the software from starving to death, or having to fall back on corrupt behaviour (e.g. accepting bribes from the advertising industry) to survive. It is, of course, not a guarantee of continued work quality, but it helps avert the material conditions that inevitably destroy it.

Re: We're building a dystopia just to make people click on ads [video]

#79

Post by HenryBemis »

nelblu wrote: post #41
lukev wrote: post #33

Half the comments here are just pointing out that ad blockers exist, which is missing the point. The damage of an advertising-based internet economy is not limited to just "seeing ads." The entire content and structure of the internet is warped around this economy. Search engines, SEO, content discovery mechanisms, types and variety of content... all could have been different and better.

Interesting you say "seeing ads", because lately when I am volunteering with legally blind population as their "tech-mate", I can't explain them why technology isn't doing what they want it to do. It's a million times worse when we put ourselves into their shoes.... My strategy has changed from helping them learn technology, to helping them avoid how to use technology. One of the person I help, who is legally blind b…

Suggestion in case it helps:

  step 1: install & use Firefox
  step 2: install and use adblockers (multiple)(I got ublock origin, adblock plus, noscript, privacy badger, privacy possum)(nothing gets through!!)
  step 3: install "Open in Reader View" addon (not affiliated in any way). With this, when I DDG-search for something, especially lyrics or something for which I am interested in only the text, I right-click and "open in reader view" so it does exactly that.
  step 4: set the Reader View (F9) in FF, to the font size, color, etc.
and the your 'friend' will Google for: Metallica enter sandman lyrics, and just right-click and pick the "Open in reader view", and presto! new tab with just the lyrics

EDIT: tip: tell your 'friend' to search for Band Song_title AZLyrics (not affiliated) so the first hit will be from "AZLyrics.com" which will have a standard format (I always search for ".... azlyrics" instead of just "..lyrics")

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