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I accept that it's likely me being cranky, shouting at clouds, but the shift from forums to "platforms" really soured things.

There was still plenty of bullshit and drama on forums and message boards, but there was also no software designed to optimize for it in the name of engagement.

homer simpson is holding a glass in front of a framed picture

ALT: homer simpson is holding a glass in front of a framed picture

media.tenor.com

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 16h

Nope. Sorry for the short answer, but between Amazon, Google, and Apple, you don't really have much control. 😞

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 16h

Yeah, mobile apps are designed to bypass the kind of control you have in a full browser. There are still system wide methods to block ads in mobile apps. And there are alternative YouTube clients that are miles better. But that's the sort of thing to read about in a better format than a BSky post 😁

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 16h

But to answer your actual question, it's an extension for some browsers. Essentially, there are "blacklists" of ad servers. When a page tries to load an ad, instead of reaching the ad server, it gets denied. You just see blank space where the ad would be. The web is borderline unusable without.

J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 16h

Mobile "apps" are a whole other issue, and require system wide ad blocking. Some ways are easy, some are free. Few are both.

But most of them are just wrappers for a website anyway so they're kind of unnecessary.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 16h

The person I replied to mentioned sketchy YouTube ads. A good ad blocker will block them.

This particular one will work on Firefox desktop or mobile (unless you are in an iPhone/iPad because apple only allows you to use their browser engine, so other browsers are still essentially worse safari).

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 16h

She's being paid to gut it. Like those liquidation companies.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

Both can be true.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

Rejoice

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

ublockorigin.com

uBlock Origin - Free, open-source ad content blocker.

uBlock Origin is not just an “ad blocker“, it's a wide-spectrum content blocker with CPU and memory efficiency as a primary feature. Developed by Raymond Hill.

ublockorigin.com

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

They get too much money from telcos and they essentially live online. It'll never happen.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

It's a win-win. The recurring fees just pile up anyway.

The prices keep rising.

The ads keep getting added to paid tiers.

The shared accounts that were selling points are now another upcharge.

The apps track and sell your activity.

Read. Buy Local. Pirate. Buy physical. Adblock. Go outside!

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

Annoying cops is simply not a crime.

They are not being stopped from doing their (shitty, despicable) job, and giraffe man should not be stopped from telling them why they suck.

Pretty straightforward protected political speech.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

Some people are just accustomed to having lots of ball room.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

If it's true, they'll look like idiots either way. And I'm with you on "need to see something to back this up".

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

Anything to back this up? Only thing I've found so far is this Meidas post and...MSN spam quoting said post.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

Not saying it ain't true, but "sources say" doesn't exactly let us verify info. Gonna need to see something to back this one up.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 17h

Meds get canceled again?

J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 18h

I read it as more "we're gonna need to do more than preach to the choir" than anything else.

But yeah, the needed broad/mass movement doesn't just pop into existence.

And I'm still participating. Blue city or not.

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J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 21h

Dude looks designed to melt any auto-white-balance algorithm.

J @soylentc0la.bsky.social · 21h

How people still pay for these shitty streaming services (or don't use an ad blocker) is beyond me.

Even after prices went up, ads were added to paid tiers, password sharing was suddenly not a selling point, and CEOs kissed the ring.

Block ads. Stream/DL unlicensed.

Or just do something else!