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Web page annoyances that I don't inflict on you

(rachelbythebay.com)
569 points todsacerdoti | 4 comments | 05 Jan 25 01:54 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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swyx ◴[05 Jan 25 02:41 UTC] No.42599320[source]▶
this is exactly the sort of idealistic post that appeals to HN and nobody else. i dont have a problem with that apart from when technologists try to take these "back to basics" stuff to shame the substacks and the company blogs out there that have to be more powered by economics than by personal passion.

its -obvious- things are mostly "better"/can be less "annoying" when money/resources are not a concern. i too would like to spend all my time in a world with no scarcity.

the engineering challenge is finding alignments where "better for reader" overlaps with "better for writer" - as google did with doubleclick back in the day.

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jmathai ◴[05 Jan 25 05:25 UTC] No.42599973[source]▶
Most people don't remember, and some have never experienced, the Internet before it became a money grab.

I think a lot of people outside of HN would prefer that Internet way more than what we have now.

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scarface_74 ◴[05 Jan 25 05:56 UTC] No.42600044[source]▶
The Web has been a money grab since Netscape was went public in 1995.

My first for pay project was enhancing a Gopher server in 1993.

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jmathai ◴[05 Jan 25 14:04 UTC] No.42601793[source]▶
Some people making money on the Internet is a lot different than what the Internet has become today - and what I meant by money grab.
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scarface_74 ◴[05 Jan 25 15:32 UTC] No.42602434[source]▶
You do remember the entire dot com boom and bust, the punch the monkey banner ads, X11 pop under ads, etc?

Don’t romanticize the early internet.

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1. layer8 ◴[06 Jan 25 02:35 UTC] No.42607042[source]▶
I lived through the early internet, and by and large you didn’t come across much page-view monetization or engagement-maximization tactics.
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2. scarface_74 ◴[06 Jan 25 16:46 UTC] No.42612189[source]▶
What do you call banner ads?
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3. jmathai ◴[06 Jan 25 17:38 UTC] No.42612814[source]▶
Banner ads back then were more obnoxious. Today they are deceptive.

The point being made here is that it wasn’t perfect before but for many it was better.

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4. scarface_74 ◴[07 Jan 25 02:42 UTC] No.42618594{3}[source]▶
You do remember the punch the monkey ads that were just an animated gif that you could click anywhere and “win”. They were an early form of engagement bait.

There were unscrupulous people posting on Usenet for monetary gain before the web