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Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#101

Post by dragontamer »

sroussey wrote: post #99
dragontamer wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How about an extension that disables video elements until you click on them ... Like how Internet Explorer treated Java applets towards the end on their days. No. Short MP4 files should replace GIFs. MP4 files are more efficient than the terrible compression GIF files have. I've made a few video game pages where auto-playing MP4s were essential at giving the right message... discussion of tactics and "movement" of…

Not sure why you are downvoted. Animated gifs are huge in comparison. One thing to note, however, is that it must be without sound. Auto playing sound of any sort is complete garbage.

> One thing to note, however, is that it must be without sound. Auto playing sound of any sort is complete garbage.

Agreed. I don't think I've ever felt the need to have autoplaying sound, and I struggle to think of any benefit from it.

I'm willing to keep my mind open, if anyone knows of a good website that effectively creates an experience using autoplay sound, please give me it.

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#102

Post by [deleted] »

sroussey wrote: post #99
dragontamer wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How about an extension that disables video elements until you click on them ... Like how Internet Explorer treated Java applets towards the end on their days. No. Short MP4 files should replace GIFs. MP4 files are more efficient than the terrible compression GIF files have. I've made a few video game pages where auto-playing MP4s were essential at giving the right message... discussion of tactics and "movement" of…

Not sure why you are downvoted. Animated gifs are huge in comparison. One thing to note, however, is that it must be without sound. Auto playing sound of any sort is complete garbage.

[deleted]

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#104

Post by makecheck »

I feel like these are “somebody got a promotion” patterns.

Basically, somebody was able to “prove” to Higher-Up Managers that $X number of these videos were “watched” or “engaged with” (or whatever today’s BS lingo is), and therefore the business “benefited” in some way by “reaching” more people. Profit?

In reality, at least in my case, what happens is: (1) I say “WTF!?!?”, (2) I make a mental note to never ever visit the site again, and (3) (sadly) I see it again and again at different sites.

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#105

Post by sli »

sroussey wrote: post #99
dragontamer wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How about an extension that disables video elements until you click on them ... Like how Internet Explorer treated Java applets towards the end on their days. No. Short MP4 files should replace GIFs. MP4 files are more efficient than the terrible compression GIF files have. I've made a few video game pages where auto-playing MP4s were essential at giving the right message... discussion of tactics and "movement" of…

Not sure why you are downvoted. Animated gifs are huge in comparison. One thing to note, however, is that it must be without sound. Auto playing sound of any sort is complete garbage.

All but demanding that the internet's users bend to the will of a single person's pet project is not likely to garner a positive response, if you must know.

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#106

Post by KennyBlanken »

throwawayboise wrote: post #66
VWWHFSfQ wrote: post #9

Have you ever driven across a bridge, or along a highway and run over one of those "hit counter" cables that the Department of Transportation lays out to know how many people are driving on that bridge, or that highway? Now imagine that the cable can reach up into your car at the exact moment that you cross over it and pull down your person and your entire life's history.

That's E-ZPass, FasTrak, etc. Also those toll bridges where they take a photo of your license plate and send you a bill that includes a $6 "convenience fee"

Ohhhh, it's a lot more than that.

You're being tracked by your car and phone bluetooth MAC addresses. That's how the "X minutes to exit Y" signboards work. They time how long it takes to see a particular MAC address appear at the next receiver.

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#107

Post by throwaway81523 »

throwawayboise wrote: post #67

I disable media auto-play in firefox, but somehow some sites are able to play these videos anyway. Are they gifs?

The video can start playing when you "permit" it to by giving it a suitable input event. Apparently a mouse motion is enough. It doesn't have to be a click. There is a bugzilla item about this somewhere, where the FF devs think that is a good interface. Upton Sinclair anyone?

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#108

Post by nightpool »

VWWHFSfQ wrote: post #9

Have you ever driven across a bridge, or along a highway and run over one of those "hit counter" cables that the Department of Transportation lays out to know how many people are driving on that bridge, or that highway? Now imagine that the cable can reach up into your car at the exact moment that you cross over it and pull down your person and your entire life's history.

This is a pretty bad analogy, because there's very little that online advertisers track that license plate readers can't. In both cases, it rarely stretches beyond a dataset of "Which people have visited which (pages|businesses)" and whatever statistical inferences you can claim to make from that data. Businesses already use license plate readers for marketing and analytics purposes. (Although, of course, not as widely deployed or as well-known as advertising cookie tracking)

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#109

Post by Supermancho »

dragontamer wrote: post #92
waltbosz wrote: post #88

How about an extension that disables video elements until you click on them ... Like how Internet Explorer treated Java applets towards the end on their days. You could add a whitelist feature to the extension for YouTube et al. Sure, it would be nice if websites didn't do shitty UX, but as others have said, don't visit those sites. The other extension idea I had was one which would reference a database of sites know…

> How about an extension that disables video elements until you click on them ... Like how Internet Explorer treated Java applets towards the end on their days. No. Short MP4 files should replace GIFs. MP4 files are more efficient than the terrible compression GIF files have. I've made a few video game pages where auto-playing MP4s were essential at giving the right message... discussion of tactics and "movement" of…

You mean "yes and..." not no.

Your post has no content explaining why you wrote "No."

This is a bad habit that makes your sentiment confusing.

Re: You click a link to a news site, to read an article that seems interesting

#110

Post by cabalamat »

dragontamer wrote: post #92
waltbosz wrote: post #88

How about an extension that disables video elements until you click on them ... Like how Internet Explorer treated Java applets towards the end on their days. You could add a whitelist feature to the extension for YouTube et al. Sure, it would be nice if websites didn't do shitty UX, but as others have said, don't visit those sites. The other extension idea I had was one which would reference a database of sites know…

> How about an extension that disables video elements until you click on them ... Like how Internet Explorer treated Java applets towards the end on their days. No. Short MP4 files should replace GIFs. MP4 files are more efficient than the terrible compression GIF files have. I've made a few video game pages where auto-playing MP4s were essential at giving the right message... discussion of tactics and "movement" of…

> I've made a few video game pages where auto-playing MP4s were essential at giving the right message

No. What you say is simply factually inaccurate. I've looked at the web page in your URL and it would be much better without distracting auto-playing video.

The video should play then the user wants it to play. Is that really so hard to understand?

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