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Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

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Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last time I've opened an imgur link on mobile I got served with an ad popup and a "virus warning" dialog. That is something I haven't seen in a long time. Imgur seems to go the way of SourceForge.

SourceForge got bought by new folks who reversed all the misleading ads and bundling stuff: https://sourceforge.net/blog/sourceforge-acquisition-and-fut...

This is good, but I wonder how hard it will be to turn that negative momentum around.

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#272
post #30

Can reddit clone the pics previously uploaded on imgur or does it have its eggs in someone else's carriage?

The announcement Reddit thread contained a Reddit employee mentioning that they already have a cache of the majority of Imgur images because they've been using it to create thumbnails Reddit displays alongside the headlines.

Apparently they've been storing the full size images too and not throwing it away after creating thumbnails (wise move).

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#273
post #263
post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That does not matter. An URL alone does not entice users to do nothing. You need more to get a proper dark pattern, to get the "convincing the user to do things" part of the definition of what makes something a dark pattern in the first place. Please, look as well at the website http://darkpatterns.org/ to see what a dark pattern is about.

So you're saying if it's not on that website it's not valid? Come on.. If I see a URL that ends in JPG, my understanding is that I am about to load an image. If the site then shows me a page full of ads with my image somewhere on there, that's exactly what you described . The site is tricking me into doing something that is to their benefit and to my detriment. Showing me a URL that looks like a link to an image is a…

Agreed, this fits the definition when in this context and with this intent

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#274
Imgur forgot its roots as a dumb image host, rapidly crufting-up its service with things that were not only annoying but interfering with its basic function. If you can’t easily see an image as soon as you click on it — on mobile or otherwise — then the image service has completely failed.

The sad thing is, they could have added non-intrusive ads. DaringFireball does it; write a single line of text such as “This image brought to you by FooBar, Inc.” and SHOW THE LINKED IMAGE. No pop-ups, no tricks, no obscurity; ad+image, done.

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If that isn't a dark pattern, I don't know what is. It isn't. What you are describing is better describe as malicious advertising, or malvertising.

"A Dark Pattern is a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills." [1] Presenting an authentic looking UI dialogue which appears to come from the operating system, and using vibration to further impose the authenticity of a dialogue as having come from the operating system seems very much to be covered…

I checked out that site before commenting. All of the examples they use are of sites that employ the so-called dark patterns as part of a larger, otherwise legitimate site. So while your ad fits the definition that they offer I believe that, given the examples listed, the label is applied more narrowly. This might just boil down to descriptivism vs prescriptivism.

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#277

> I saw that multiple times here on HN now that people misuse the term. It's a pity, the original idea is something to be aware of, and diluting what dark pattern means hinders that awareness. Sorry long post TL/DR Fighting people on word definitions is frustrating and words change meaning when one aspect gets popular. I have fought this war over and over again over the following words: Troll - Everything is a troll…

I want to make a blog series about these words. Mansplaining? Used to mean condescending entitled douchebag. Now it's anytime a man says something I don't like. Feminism? Putting an end to sexism. Or anytime a woman say something I don't like.

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imgur's users are pseudo-anonymous, just like reddit and HN. Advertisers aren't really willing to pay much for that when they can target accurate user profiles like Facebook or anything that connects with Facebook.

Heavy emphasis on the pseudo part of that I assume? A quick glance at third party sites accessed when loading imgur.com: - facebook - twitter - amazon ads - google ads - quantserve - google analytics - scorecardresearch Because this is pretty much the standard list for any major site, each of those providers has a highly detailed profile built for the average web user. While the top three will often have login data a…

And how many of those services share their user profiles with imgur so that imgur can monetize that data by selling expensive premium ads to advertisers?

No one is arguing that facebook/google/tw... (well maybe twitter heheh) aren't profitably mining lots of user data. But imgur probably isn't able to mine much value out of it's own data.

Re: Reddit launches image uploads, ditching alliance with Imgur

#280
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of image upload sites does this, start out good and eventually add a lot of crap to monetise. Does it mean they cut their throat or does it mean the creator just set himself up for a life of money? Genuine question, maybe this is just a way to become rich, maybe these shitty upload sites make enough money that they simply pick this way instead of keeping it pure.

My guess is that imgur started out profitable but that ended when gifs became popular. /r/all is about 50% gifs nowadays. The low bandwidth of an image host makes it possible to allow hotlinking but that doesn't work with videos.

The drive to make imgur its own community with its own comments, logins, etc greatly predates its support of gifv. If anything gifv has saved it tremendous bandwidth. Its been hosting gifs since the beginning, even absurd 50-100mb ones. They never bothered to put in a reasonable file size limit. Also, this move also only happened when a lot of traffic was going to gfycat, which supported mp4/h264/webm/whatever files for ages. gifv support from imgur pretty much killed them.

I think the larger narrative is that imgur wasn't some geek's side project. It was a VC-run enterprise that will eventually find a way to be profitable. I think ultimately, this type of service is difficult to monetize. Reddit running its own makes a lot of sense.

From an experience perspective, my god, its terrible. I'm constantly being nagged to install the imgur app and sometimes Im not sure if the comments I'm seeing are reddit's or imgur's due to using a dark theme on my reddit app. Its all around a shitshow and I'm surprised reddit tolerated them for so long.

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