Once upon a time, I wanted to keep the ads on so I can support the websites I visit.... Then I got a virus and it was like, f@& that, and have been using adblock ever since. Using the internet without adblock, is no different than having unprotected sex.
I was ok with websites serving me adverts to generate revenue. Which is how ads used to work.
But it's a level beyond that now, and far more nefarious. Websites now use trackers dressed as adverts, so third parties can collate the info, invade my privacy and flog that data in a way that could be used against me.
They broke the social agreement, so I'm not accepting their ads or their cookies, and I'm blocking their trackers whenever I can.
Every ad that we see makes an imprint in our brain. It uses our own brain resources to store itself in memory, in the connections between our own neurons, because that's what our brains naturally do. Who knows, it might even be consolidated in there and compete with actual, useful memories of our real lives.. Biasing the competition in their favour, ads are designed to attract our attention and stick in our memory as much as possible.
Like cigarettes rot our lungs, it's very likely ads rot our brains.. We should protect ourselves from them and set up boundaries while we can!
If a web site is too difficult to use, whether it complains about my software blocking its advertising and/or trackers, a paywall, a tracking wall, questionable terms of service, etc., I'm not shy about pulling up (and sharing) a link to an archived copy.
I never use my smart TV using the TV functions. I *only* use it via HDMI cord from my desktop, which is running Firefox and uBlock Origin.
No ads whatsoever on Prime, YouTube, or Tubi.
I have a visceral, almost trauma response to seeing an ad. If I see an ad from your company, not only will I never buy your product, I will contemplate going to your corporate headquarters and burning it to the ground.
This was exactly my reaction to Boing Boing requiring that I turn off my ad blocker some month ago. Or pay a monthly subscription.
Enshitification has been lurking in the background of the site with their questionable merch vendor. When I came back randomly some 6 month later, they'd removed the ad block ban and switched to a freemium model. But the artlcles were a lot crappier.
did that to many sites. There are many good alternatives that shows ads AND doesn't run intrusive scripts. Same goes for cookies. My answer is NO. If they cannot accept it or makes me turn it off for each 'partner' then I just walk away.
when ads were small static text blocks I didn't mind. As soon as they started to move, pop-up or pop-under I started to block them. I've used an adblock of some sort for so long now I'd forgotten what some sites look like with ads.
Any site that says turn off your block gets ignored, and there are no exceptions.
If ads weren't annoying, were relevant to the site, legal, static, small, then I may consider unblocking them, it's their own fault they get blocked.
I struggle with this. I don't use an ad blocker, because the ones who made the site should get paid. But yes, a lot of sites are F---ING OBNOXIOUS with the way they handle their ads. Typically, I just close the tab when I come across them. Not worth it.
That way, I don't "cheat" sites with acceptable ad practices out of their compensation, and I also don't get to view content "for free" (read: without seeing their ads) on obnoxious sites. I just say no thanks to them. Feels fair.
As the Tory Party subsides (perhaps not quietly) into (temporary?) obscurity, Andy Burge has been doing the maths on the traditional claim that the Tories are the party of economic competence.
Looking at: Inflation; Public Debt; Unemployment; Average salaries; House prices & rents; and Tax receipts.
He demolishes the argument the Tories were competent; but of course they were competent at one thing, clearly: increasing the wealth of the wealthiest!
It's the same everywhere it seems. The German conservatives also present themselves as the economically savvy party. What frustraters me most is that a lot of people still beleive the myth.
Our Friendica is struggling. We get a lot of 502 Bad Gateway (nginx). CPU is at 100% all the time eaten by Friendica. This has happened after the update to the latest Friendica stable. It seems that there are many processes happening in the database.
The post-user table has 64,135,238 rows...I suspect this is an issue. I am not sure if Friendica is reindexing or doing something now after the update...
We are having corned beef stew followed by apple crumble for tea later, because I went to the local* supermarket earlier and got one of their "Too good to waste" vegetable boxes, which I bought for £2. In the box I got (weights in kg)
Apples 1.655 Potatoes 1.561 Carrots 0.276 Parsnips 0.235 Courgette 0.221 Turnip 0.241 Celeriac 0.416 Mushrooms 0.103 small onions 0.057 a large bulb of garlic Cos Lettuce
* local as in HQ'd 10 miles away and store at bottom of street!
I am almost as famous as that other Geri, but unlike her, I have a neurodegenerative disease called #Dystonia, but it is only others who see me as disabled. I am also a big-bottomed, anarchist, green type and a connoisseur of fine wine, although I will quaff any old rubbish.
I am a poor speller and swear more than a decent person ought to.
I love people who love other people and hate those who do not.
On a walk through our local nature reserve and I've seen lots of squirrels, but not a nutty one in sight, probably because they are down at heel, seedy!
Just been outside, happened to look up at the clouds and I couldn't see them! There were some little pinpricks of light, does anyone one know what they are?
@Tuta Hi, I have a paid account and I would like to share my calendar with my wife who will have a free account. Is this possible, or does she have to have a paid account?
One of the important things about combatting & resisting authoritarianism is the logging & publicising of its actions;
so very happy to include a link here to the ICE-list wiki; a log of incidents & agents for the use of any US follower seeking to get to grips with what is going on with the attack on democracy & the US population.
Also includes logs of ICE vehicles...
Our faith in social media can be (partly) restored!
Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.
@stux⚡️ I am on a #Friendica server and I have it set that I will see posts without from people I follow (or their boosts) that do not have #AltText But I do not see the images they have posted, so I just ignore them!
@stux⚡️ I am on a #Friendica server and I have it set that I will see posts from people I follow (or their boosts) that do not have #AltText But I do not see the images they have posted, so I just ignore them!
@stux⚡️ I am on a #Friendica server and I have it set that I will see posts from people I follow (or their boosts) that do not have #AltText But I do not see the images they have posted, so I just ignore them!
I found something useful for AI … using the “Mona” app on iPhone, AI adds the alt text for me … coz, while it may be a “simple” task, it can be a time sink trying make it correctly useful,
How bloody ridiculous! A restaurant near Preston wants wants planning permission for TWO helicopter pads , as one of their customers turns up with a friend in seperate helicopters! #Preston #Lancashire
Flowermob
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Vella The Latias
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •*Blocks your ad-blocker detecting script* Checkmate.
KIP/JΛYCHØU ⁂
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Marjane Strapi 🍆 🥺
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Richard Rathe
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Colin
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •troy_friz_zell
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •MimiWhiskers
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Dave Mc
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •I was ok with websites serving me adverts to generate revenue. Which is how ads used to work.
But it's a level beyond that now, and far more nefarious. Websites now use trackers dressed as adverts, so third parties can collate the info, invade my privacy and flog that data in a way that could be used against me.
They broke the social agreement, so I'm not accepting their ads or their cookies, and I'm blocking their trackers whenever I can.
bhaugland
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Dávid Bárdos
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Lawrence
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •El Duvelle
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Every ad that we see makes an imprint in our brain. It uses our own brain resources to store itself in memory, in the connections between our own neurons, because that's what our brains naturally do.
Who knows, it might even be consolidated in there and compete with actual, useful memories of our real lives.. Biasing the competition in their favour, ads are designed to attract our attention and stick in our memory as much as possible.
Like cigarettes rot our lungs, it's very likely ads rot our brains.. We should protect ourselves from them and set up boundaries while we can!
Mr. Bruno
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •crimsonfall
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Alt Ending:
user: “fine I guess I’ll turn off my ad blocker, just this one time though.”
*immediately gets redirected to a site telling them to download some random ass browser extension*
user: “yeahhhhh fuck no.”
John Carlsen 🇺🇸🇳🇱🇪🇺
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •If a web site is too difficult to use, whether it complains about my software blocking its advertising and/or trackers, a paywall, a tracking wall, questionable terms of service, etc., I'm not shy about pulling up (and sharing) a link to an archived copy.
archive.ph has been a good service
Superstars of the Apocalypse
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •I never use my smart TV using the TV functions. I *only* use it via HDMI cord from my desktop, which is running Firefox and uBlock Origin.
No ads whatsoever on Prime, YouTube, or Tubi.
I have a visceral, almost trauma response to seeing an ad. If I see an ad from your company, not only will I never buy your product, I will contemplate going to your corporate headquarters and burning it to the ground.
Also, thank fuck for VPNs and The Pirate Bay
Gorram
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Phracker
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •estelle
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •fun fact! the adblocker contains an overlay element remover which i can point at the message telling me to remove the adblocker,
*pop
PaulNickson 🕊️🎛️🎼
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Seth Galitzer
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Javier
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Michael Vilain
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •This was exactly my reaction to Boing Boing requiring that I turn off my ad blocker some month ago. Or pay a monthly subscription.
Enshitification has been lurking in the background of the site with their questionable merch vendor. When I came back randomly some 6 month later, they'd removed the ad block ban and switched to a freemium model. But the artlcles were a lot crappier.
Haven't gone back since. RIP.
Thomas Traynor
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Buchling
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •DJGummikuh
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •Adam Trickett
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •when ads were small static text blocks I didn't mind. As soon as they started to move, pop-up or pop-under I started to block them. I've used an adblock of some sort for so long now I'd forgotten what some sites look like with ads.
Any site that says turn off your block gets ignored, and there are no exceptions.
If ads weren't annoying, were relevant to the site, legal, static, small, then I may consider unblocking them, it's their own fault they get blocked.
Bringer of Pants
in reply to AlternativeTo • • •I struggle with this. I don't use an ad blocker, because the ones who made the site should get paid. But yes, a lot of sites are F---ING OBNOXIOUS with the way they handle their ads. Typically, I just close the tab when I come across them. Not worth it.
That way, I don't "cheat" sites with acceptable ad practices out of their compensation, and I also don't get to view content "for free" (read: without seeing their ads) on obnoxious sites. I just say no thanks to them. Feels fair.