vmeurisseFeb 4
Joby (chaotic good)

Dear every programmer working on websites and browsers:

I DO NOT WANT TO TRY CHROME.

I DO NOT WANT TO LOG IN WITH MY GOOGLE ACCOUNT.

I DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE MY SEARCH ENGINE BACK TO THE DEFAULT.

I DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE MY SEARCH ENGINE TO YOURS.

I DO NOT WANT TO SHARE MY LOCATION.

I DO NOT WANT TO SUBSCRIBE TO ONE SINGLE NEWSLETTER EVER.

I DO NOT WANT NOTIFICATIONS.

LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE.

Feb 3 at 4:42pmWeb
Show threadEndlessMasonFeb 3

@joby

"Would you like to subscribe to our email news letter before even reading the article you came here to read?"

I would not.

Show threadJoby (chaotic good)Feb 3
@EndlessMason omg I somehow forgot about newsletters
Show threadEndlessMasonFeb 3
@joby
It's easy to forget about them when you've got 25 cosmetic filter lists installed across 4 different content filtering extensions
Show threadEndlessMasonFeb 3
@joby
screaming "witness me" after trying the chrome
Show threadHanna-Karin GrensmanFeb 7

@EndlessMason @joby Yes! Why _before_?

*frantically double-checking that my own newsletter popup comes after a resonable amount of time on the site πŸ˜…*

Pro-tip: If you're using Brave as your browser, you can make a setting that stops them from popping up altogether.

Show threadEndlessMasonFeb 7

@Grensman @joby
You're telling me that you have, on your own site, a behaviour that you personally run a blocker for?

That's doesn't strike me as empathetic behaviour.

Show threadHanna-Karin GrensmanFeb 7

@EndlessMason @joby Well, no. I don't like newletters personally. Not because they're necessarily bad, but because the ones I do sigh up for, I never get around to read. Others think differently.

If people visit the particular site in question, they come for a reason, most often for information about certain topics. Giving them the option of getting more of that content as a collection is a service to those who like information that way.

I don't have more than like 2 000 recipients, but I have about a 95% CTR. And if you don't open them twice in a row, you'll have to reconfirm your interest. If not, you won't receive them anymore. So, I'm not exactly intrusive.

I'd rather say it's a good thing that the people who like newletters can sign up, and those who don't can refrain from it. To ones their own.

Show threadEndlessMasonFeb 7
@Grensman @joby
I don't follow.
Show threadHanna-Karin GrensmanFeb 7
@EndlessMason @joby People are different. I don't want newsletters, others do. So, why not give those people what they want, rather than what I want?
Show threadEndlessMasonFeb 7
@Grensman @joby
Which of them want a light box popping up while they're reading the article?
Show threadHanna-Karin GrensmanFeb 8

@EndlessMason @joby The subscribers I have, I presume. And also, the ones actually signing up to newsletters in general from pop-ups.

However, I do get your point, and I would indeed prefer another solution. But since I'm not making any money of it, it's not a top priority to invest the time it would take me to do it the way I would prefer.

Also, anyone who doesn't like it can easily make all of the pop-ups disappear. So it's not like it's a huge problem.

Show threadBenjohnFeb 3
@joby you must be here for the notifications then! Have we got notifications for you, kid! Want them?
Show threadDarrenFeb 3
@joby as corollary.. anyone coding a modal dialog with an option "Maybe later" can go to hell....
Show threadJoby (chaotic good)Feb 3
@dplattsf oh yeah. I almost forgot. I also do not want to tell you what I think, or rate you on the app store.
Show threadDarrenFeb 3
@joby The sad thing is that I actually feel some goodwill towards software developers (building software myself) And believe that truly beautiful software thrives on constant user feedback and that if you make it easy for all your users to help you, you can build something beautiful. Nobody is interested in that business model anymore. Sadly the most broken bits of software also not coincidentally have the worst feedback systems. I once tried to report a bug for something in the Microsoft store and it went to the feedback hub and then it broke the feedback hub and then I moved on.
Show threadJochen WoltersFeb 3

@dplattsf @joby You can find plenty of small, indie software shops that produce absolutely beautiful software, and listen to their users.

I wish they'd get more publicity in the current debate about #enshittification, and precisely because they β€œstill” _do_ follow that customer-oriented business model that you outline, Darren.

Some companies that come to mind (for the Mac): Red Sweater, Flying Meat (seriously! 😁), Shiny Frog, Panic, Icon Factory, Omni Group, …

Show threadCachalot the Fediverse WhaleFeb 3
@joby ah, so you want to download our Custom Browser Bar then?
Yes
0%
No
100%
Poll ended at .
Show threadSnosrapkungfu (They/them)Feb 3
@Happyfishmedia @joby you made the options wrong, they should be "yes", and "next month when we make it mandatory hahaha lol kthxbye"
Show threadReinald KirchnerFeb 3
@joby @Happyfishmedia oh, that feels very 90th
Show threadEggs now in different baskets.Feb 3

@Happyfishmedia @joby In a former life working fixing PCs I did actually encounter a browser where the space for the web page content was a thin strip at the bottom of the screen.

This was due to multiple third-party "search bars" having been unwittingly installed by the user.

I remember having to avoid installing a search bar each time I updated Adobe flash.

I sure do miss the old days (NOT).

Show threadDec [{()}]Feb 5
@Happyfishmedia @joby @the_wub
It's OK, WordPress has you.
Just install a few plugins and themes, then wait for Black Friday. Your dashboard will be buried under special offer pop ups.
Show threadJustin MacleodFeb 3
@joby this is modern life, where you have to wrestle with everything that's yours to keep it doing what you want, not what someone else wants. Add to that list I don't want to be forced to update if I don't want to. I don't want to claw through obscure webpages and advice that I barely understand to turn off the features you're forcing on me that I never asked for. It's all so tiring!
Show threadChris KletschFeb 3
@joby I think ypu are not sure about what you want, perhaps we just do it anyway?
Show threadAlan is @cogdog πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦Feb 3

@joby Also

IF YOU INSIST ON ASKING FOR MY EMAIL I FULLY EXPECT TO BE (angrily) UNSUBSCRIBING FROM YOUR SPAM LIST I DID NOT ASK TO BE ON

Show threadSimon EI3JDBFeb 3
@cogdog @joby I own a domain. You will get an email address unique to you. If it gets spam, it will be black-holed (and, most likely, so will you.)
Show threadJo ShieldsFeb 3
@joby @DavidNielsen 15% off your first order, just insert your email address into this modal dialog!!
Show threadEggs now in different baskets.Feb 3

@joby I turn off location on all my devices for privacy and because the public IP address my internet connection uses is geo-located to a spot over 150 kilometers from where I live.

There is no point in getting a recommendation for great pizzas from a restaurant two and a half hours drive away.

That travelling time is by car. It would take a lot longer for the moped delivery person to arrive with our order.

And with the weather as it is at this time of year the pizzas would arrive frozen.

Show threadChris OliverFeb 3

You don’t? OK. Well ask you again later:

https://blog.prototypr.io/not-now-a91c75ad35b6

Not Now

Not later either

Medium
Show threadChris OliverFeb 3
Also, I can guarantee you that it’s not programmers (or designers) that want to make these popups. It’s managers.
Show threadJim Patterson πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦Feb 4
@chrisoliver That's another major annoyance. "No, never" is not on the list of alternatives.
Show threadbabble encatFeb 3

@joby "Use the app? Or continue with Chrome?"

Fuck you I'm not using Chrome

Show threadepicdemiologistFeb 3
@joby But enough about what YOU want!
Show threadPiko Starsider Feb 3
@joby I wholeheartedly agree. And most devs probably do, too. Unfortunately they don't make that crap by choice. The problem here are the fuckers with money calling the shots.
Show threadRonald vd W.Feb 4
@starsider @joby My thoughts as well.
Show threadSimon EI3JDBFeb 3
@joby I do not want your cookies.
I do not want your app.
I don't give a * about your "legitimate interest"
Show threadWynkeFeb 6
@joby @EI3JDB What does 'legitimate interest' even mean? How do several hundred third parties (some of these dialogs tell you the number) have anything legitimate to do with my interaction with a website? And does that mean that whatever they do if you just accept all cookies is illegitimate?
Show threadKakurady (πŸ”œ NFC, FE)Feb 3
@joby I bet someone got a really nice bonus for that feature https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20061101-03/?p=29153
I bet somebody got a really nice bonus for that feature - The Old New Thing

I often find myself saying, β€œI bet somebody got a really nice bonus for that feature.” β€œThat feature” is something aggressively user-hostile, like forcing a shortcut into the Quick Launch bar or the Favorites menu, like automatically turning on a taskbar toolbar, like adding an icon to the notification area that conveys no useful information […]

The Old New Thing
Show threadSimon WaldmanFeb 4
@kakurady @joby The irony that every user-hostile thing that the Microsoft person in that article complained about 20 years ago is now something that Microsoft do themselves.
Show threadJochen WoltersFeb 3
@joby @markhurst Should you just so happen to be using Apple Safari as your browser, the extension Stop The Madness Pro will tackle most of those nuisances for you.
Show threadMastodon MigrationFeb 4

@joby

I DO NOT WANT TO REVIEW YOUR FUCKING PRODUCT

Show thread@martlund πŸŒ²πŸΆπŸ‡ΈπŸ‡ͺπŸ‡¨πŸ‡±πŸŒˆFeb 4
@joby dear Google YES IT'S ME!!!!!!!
And do not update Apple unless you want to spend an hour turning off all the new SHITT nuisances defaults that suck.
Show threadJef PoskanzerFeb 4
@joby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUzdv3S7KTY
Delta 5 "Mind Your Own Business"

YouTube
Show threadPandaChronicle ResistsFeb 4

@joby

βœ‹πŸ»

Show threado/1MS\o ⌨️🐧 | #WeAreNatenomFeb 4
@joby I do not want to chat with your creepy AI chat bot.
Show threadMartin HamiltonFeb 4

@joby Imagine the app version of this!

I DO NOT WANT TO SHARE MY PRECISE LOCATION AT ALL TIMES WITH YOUR 1436 PARTNERS

(continues at length)

Show threadTheosoreassFeb 4
@joby and i don't want to spin anything before i browse your shop
Show threadKerr Avonsen (she/her)Feb 7
@Theosoreass @joby And I don't want to create an account before you show me the prices in your shop. (Granted, this isn't very common, but I definitely nope out of there whenever I encounter it.)
Show threadThom.Feb 4
@joby i do agree but most of the time it's not the devs bro, it's marketing, project manager, top management.
Show threadNuxFeb 4
@joby Those would most likely not be programmer decisions, more like management/marketing.
Show threadMichael αš‹αš”αš‰αš†αš“αšαš‚Feb 4
@joby @Nicovel0 And having answered NO to all of that, don't bloody ask it again when I navigate to the next page.
Show threadOskarFeb 4
@joby but do you want to ACCEPT ALL cookies or do you prefer to go into a menu and unselect 300 toggles?
Show threadJoby (chaotic good)Feb 4
@oskard Or option C: Use a browser plugin that hides the prompt, but now a bunch of stuff doesn't work because we all hold the functionally-necessary cookies hostage behind that stupid prompt.
Show threadpa28Feb 4
@joby @oskard I take this to mean "we really don't want your views so Fck all the way off" and oblige.
Show threadcuan_knaggsFeb 4
@joby <cloudflare slides into the chat> hi! are you even human
Show threadKerr Avonsen (she/her)Feb 7
@mensrea @joby Oh YES (GROAN) so much annoyance.
Show threadJason Evangelho πŸ§πŸŽ’Feb 4
@joby You need this, it will help: https://justthebrowser.com
Mozilla Firefox configuration - Just the Browser

Remove AI features, telemetry data reporting, sponsored content, product integrations, and other annoyances from web browsers.

Just the Browser
Show threadJim Patterson πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦Feb 4
@joby Don't blame the programmers. I'm sure it's the sales team / executive suite / etc. who insist they do these things.
My own pet peave when I need to use Windows (which I avoid when possible) is that any time Windows brings up something in the browser, it will be in Edge ignoring my stated preference to use Firefox.
There are extensions (for #Firefox at least) that can block those annoying "Log in with Google" popups eg Block Origin.
Show threadThales_CuriositiesFeb 13
@SheamusPatt @joby I can't do it with BlockOrigin. I can with AdGuard Adblocker, but individually for each site. Only #Vivaldi browser does not display them after trying several brwosers.
Show threadπŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈPepperTheVixen🦯Feb 4
@joby louder for the product managers lurking in the slack channel
Show threadKorallenherzFeb 4
@joby THIS