DaveAug 18, 2023
Anders Eknert

If you don’t want advertisements in your physical mailbox in Sweden, all you have to do is put a sticker or sign on it saying “No ads, please”. People carrying mail are obliged to respect that. As simple as that.

And you know, that’s how it should work on the internet too.

Aug 18, 2023 at 7:08amWeb
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
If you came here to explain how advertising on the internet works, and how we owe our attention to sustain shitty business models — I’m sorry but that quota has been filled already.
Show threadThorwegian (old account)Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert @siljelb now to add a "no bills please" sign
Show threadZorro Notorious MEB 😡Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert That's how it should work in the US with snail mail! But Congress sold the US Postal Service to the direct mail marketing business decades ago.
Show threadwebhatAug 18, 2023
@AlgoCompSynth @anderseknert in the Netherlands this is true for unaddressed advertising, addressed advertising will still be delivered.
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@webhat @AlgoCompSynth same here. You can opt out of that by contacting them, but it’s a bit of a nuisance.
Show threadwebhatAug 18, 2023
@anderseknert @AlgoCompSynth I've been sending the mail back with the address crossed out and the inscription the addressee has died
Show threadPaweł KuziaAug 18, 2023
@anderseknert in Poland in every building I have lived half of mailboxes had stickers like this. And ads sticking out of them, because there is no such law here, and frankly speaking, people delivering those ads are payed too low to give a crap :-(
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@pawelkuzia 😞
Show thread𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert i understand ads nowadays can be obtrusive and annoying, but this alegory is wrong, it's not like sites spam you with unsolicited ads, you interact with them, using their resources, their work etc
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023

@maniel I'm not sure I follow. What do you mean by "you interact with them, using their resources, their work"?

I understand this though:

"it's not like sites spam you with unsolicited ads"

Yes, they do.

Show thread𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert yes, but you can't compare those ads to ones you get in your snail mail, you can compare it to spam you get in your email, but ads on sites (while annoying) are considered payment, you don't have to interact with pages they're on, right? you have choice, it's not like those pages come to you like snail mail spam, you come to them, i understand we hate ads, but i consider moderate ads understandable
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@maniel That's interesting. How do you know a site has ads before you visit?
Show thread𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert you don't
when i see ads i don't like, i close the tab, same with pub with music i don't like, i just go to different pub instead of asserting my right to drink in silence
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@maniel That sounds like an inefficient adblocker :) But if it works for you, great!
Show thread𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆𝒍 Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert i'm not against adblockers, i use them daily (Brave, uBlock Origin, SponsorBlock), but i'm aware it's gray zone and I'm a bit selfish by using it, because i get my content for free, on the other hand as i said earlier ads nowadays are obnoxious and intrusive, spy on use etc, and using life without them is easier, it would be nice if there were some middle ground here
Show threadKim NilssonAug 18, 2023

@anderseknert Well, on the internet, which has astronomically more inlets (read: spammers), I'd appreciate opt-in, rather than opt-out.

Still, having opt-out is (correction: would be) a million times better than today.

Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@NoSubstitute agreed!
Show threadChris Laprun ⏚Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert @osslate that's how it used to be here as well, now it's the contrary: ad is banned by default, if you do want to receive ads, you have to opt in using a sticker similar to the one you used to need to put on your mailbox to say you didn’t want any! That's the way it should be.
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@metacosm @osslate that’s amazing! Where’s ”here”? :)
Show threadJuhisAug 19, 2023

@metacosm @anderseknert

I love that! Definitely how it should be.

Show thread⚡️Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert better tell youtube they should stop emailing videos
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@medecau they are emailing videos?
Show thread⚡️Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert just the ads, it's annoying
Show threadacbAug 18, 2023
@anderseknert OTOH, advertisers can also take your name and address from the population register and mail their ads to you, in which case they become unblockable regular mail. (I get catalogues from car parts retailers that way, despite never having interacted with them.)
Show threadAnders EknertAug 18, 2023
@acb That's a nuisance for sure. Sending those mails back to the sender as someone else suggested seems like the best way to send them a message.
Show threadChrisAug 18, 2023
@anderseknert Respect and how we behave on the internet, rarely go together. Unfortunately. Some people completely forget their upbringing the moment they see a screen and keyboard.
Show thread🎓 Doc Freemo  🇳🇱Aug 18, 2023
@anderseknert same is true of the Netherlands.
Show threadJuhisAug 19, 2023

@anderseknert I'd love to see the tables turned (both with physical mail and the Internet) where you'd have to opt-in for ads rather than opt-out.

It's good that we at least have the mailbox sticker and ad blocker options but it shouldn't be an "advertisers can do anything unless told not to" world.

Show threadPedro PiñeraAug 19, 2023
@anderseknert 100% agree. It should work the same way here in Berlin, but they tend to ignore it when they see it in the mailbox