[subego]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

I really wish there was a way to live-stream the arrival of that fucker’s soul in hell.

Don’t mince words. Tell us what you really think.

[reader50]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

I really wish there was a way to live-stream the arrival of that fucker’s soul in hell.

Pat Robertson is the one who claimed a direct connection to God. I expect he would have asked about the afterlife, as those are obvious questions. So he shouldn't be surprised. Televangelists rip off a lot of people's savings. Convince retirees they can buy their way into Heaven. Hint: their money went to the televangelist, and it all stayed on Earth. None of it was forwarded to God.

[subego]

I had the impression Billy Graham wasn’t too bad.

[Spheric Harlot]

FUCK Billy Graham.

[subego]

Don’t mince words. Tell us what you really think.




What’s the specific beef?

[Laminar]

I suppose it would be contributing to the rise of modern Evangelical culture as shaped by Republican strategists in the late '60s and early '70s. Billy Graham wasn't overtly political although his son simps for Trump.

[Laminar]

Anyone else following the Reddit third party app drama? The Reddit app is so horrible I cannot use it, so if Apollo really does die, then I guess I'm done with Reddit on my phone. And since I only really browse it on my phone, then, well...

[subego]

Not being political I feel immediately puts him in a different class from most other televangelists.


I’m watching it as entertainment. The app doesn’t bother me. I’m told Apollo blocks Reddit ads and then the dev puts in their own. Don’t know if that’s a scurrilous lie or not.

The Apollo dev also got a fuckton of Reddit stickers, which is entertaining..

[andi*pandi]

I guess I'd have to try those other apps because I don't really mind the default reddit app?

[Thorzdad]

One little detail I’ve always liked on the old.reddit website is the sidebar where the sub mods can list other associated/similar/friends-of subs they like. The iOS app doesn’t have anything like that in the subs I visit. The app also doesn’t carry-over the custom css a lot of sub mods have used to give their community a unique look. That’s all gone in the app. All the subs look alike except for whatever banner image they use.

Does the new.reddit website still have that sidebar, or the custom css? I’ve been avoiding switching to new.reddit.

[subego]

New Reddit is like the app.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by subego 

I’m watching it as entertainment. The app doesn’t bother me. I’m told Apollo blocks Reddit ads and then the dev puts in their own. Don’t know if that’s a scurrilous lie or not.

Zero ads. In the however many years I've daily used Apollo, I think I've seen a pop up like 5 times suggesting I buy the paid version of Apollo which has additional features like letting you create posts. There are no 3rd party ads for any products other than full-featured Apollo, and even those are like once a year.

No ads, no suggested bullshit, no sponsored bullshit, no posts from subreddits I'm not subscribed to, more compact and efficient comment thread viewing, and a clean, usable video player that just shows you the video; no horrible Tik-Tok style overlay with rEaCtIoNs and other distractions. Every time I'm Googling for an answer on my phone and I click a Reddit link that brings up the stock Reddit app, I'm immediately revolted by the horrendous interface.

This was a fascinating read:
https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-p...cory-doctorow/

HERE IS HOW platforms die: First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.

I call this enshittification, and it is a seemingly inevitable consequence arising from the combination of the ease of changing how a platform allocates value, combined with the nature of a "two-sided market," where a platform sits between buyers and sellers, hold each hostage to the other, raking off an ever-larger share of the value that passes between them.
...
Search Amazon for "cat beds" and the entire first screen is ads, including ads for products Amazon cloned from its own sellers, putting them out of business (third parties have to pay 45 percent in junk fees to Amazon, but Amazon doesn't charge itself these fees). All told, the first five screens of results for "cat bed" are 50 percent ads.

This is enshittification: Surpluses are first directed to users; then, once they're locked in, surpluses go to suppliers; then once they're locked in, the surplus is handed to shareholders and the platform becomes a useless pile of shit. From mobile app stores to Steam, from Facebook to Twitter, this is the enshittification lifecycle.
...
Google Search was based on principles set out in founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin's landmark 1998 paper, "Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine," in which they wrote, “Advertising funded search engines will be inherently biased towards the advertisers and away from the needs of consumers.”

Even with that foundational understanding of enshittification, Google has been unable to resist its siren song. Today's Google results are an increasingly useless morass of self-preferencing links to its own products, ads for products that aren't good enough to float to the top of the list on its own, and parasitic SEO junk piggybacking on the former.

The whole thing is worth a read. I know I've specifically complained in the Minor Irritants thread about Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, and Google's absolutely useless results that are completely polluted with unrelated sponsored bullshit. I've quit Amazon and do my tech shopping on NewEgg now, but just yesterday I received some smart plugs I bought after searching for Homekit-compatible smart plugs. Oops, turns out they're not Homekit compatible, but because it's a sponsored item, they show up when I searched for Homekit compatibility even though they're not.

[subego]

For whatever reason, the house app doesn’t bother me nearly as much.

The ads only bother me when the thumbnail intrigues me, but the thumbnail isn’t in the ad itself. Likewise, I think it’s reasonable Reddit makes some money, and can see why they might be peeved at someone leaning on their API for income, but then stripping the ads.

The suggestions used to annoy me, but now I like them. It gave me a bunch of trade and tool subs, some circlejerks, and some *porn (i.e., architectureporn). It also gives me random local subs, which I find fascinating. It gave me one of my favorite new subs, which is justrolledintotheshop. Always good for reminding myself my van isn’t anywhere near as filthy as I think it is.

The video player is standard iOS user interface. Tap the video, and all the TikTok shit disappears, just like in Photos.


I still buy everything off Amazon, though I will fully agree their search is shit. A large amount of the time I do a “curated” search using my purchase history… or using Google to search Amazon.


Edit: just stumbled across a link to the Doctorow article… on Reddit (r/truereddit).

[OAW]

The official Reddit app is an abomination. And the website only sucks marginally less. The only reason I even bother with Reddit at all is because of Apollo.

OAW

[subego]

Tough crowd.

[subego]

So, I hear spez threatened closed subs with the janny pinsweeper.

Popcorn is tasty.



Edit: may have been sodypop and not spez. Imagine caring.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

One little detail I’ve always liked on the old.reddit website is the sidebar where the sub mods can list other associated/similar/friends-of subs they like.

This still exists on the house app, it’s just buried.

If you go directly to a sub’s main page, there’s a “see community info” link below the sub description. That has all the old Reddit sidebar shit.

[subego]

From NN ads…



Hand painted, 3D printed capybara earring.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by subego 

The ads only bother me when the thumbnail intrigues me, but the thumbnail isn’t in the ad itself. Likewise, I think it’s reasonable Reddit makes some money, and can see why they might be peeved at someone leaning on their API for income, but then stripping the ads.

I get it - but the whole point of enshittification is that "some money" isn't enough. The point is to make it juuuuust horrible enough that your lucrative users don't quite leave. Unfortunately, lucrative users are a...certain type, and a platform that appeals to them is a...certain type.

I'll say I've noticed a decline in the quality of AskReddit posts over the last year or two, but this last week it has been reeeeally bad between the horny-jail posts, tired reposts, and the thinly-veiled prompts to complain, usually about women.

Wedding photographers of Reddit, what was your "they're not gonna last long" moment?
What was the worst NSFW thing you did?
What ruins sex life in a marriage?
What are your sexual regrets?
What's a stupid myth that's still floating around?
Would you ever date a pornstar? Why or why not?
What is the first thing you would do if you woke up as the opposite sex?
What fact do some people simply refuse to accept?
What is your first date dealbreaker?
What did your ex do to become your ex?
Who is the person you truly hate more than anything else in your life?

I get that AskReddit has never been The Louvre, but recently it feels...optimized.

[subego]

The only case of “optimization” that really jumped out at me was earlier this year when it felt like the entire site was being used as a content generator for AIs to munch on.


Edit: isn’t waves of similar content par for the course on Reddit?

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by subego 

From NN ads…



Hand painted, 3D printed capybara earring.

I know people who would think that was adorable and also does that store make lizards just asking...

[subego]

Bearded dragons.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/OrangeYewC..._id=1261582121

It is adorable, but I find ring-gauge size holes to be really off-putting.

[andi*pandi]

the reviews say it works with regular piercings and they are light... thx for the link! Shipping from maine!

I have ads turned off so I'm missing the good stuff apparently. Let's skew the ad machine to more bearded dragons.

[subego]

YW! I thought you had to stick the whole butt through your ear.

[reader50]

You work at a restaurant. A priest shows up, and offers to take confessions during work hours. To “get the sins out,” including asking employees if they had been late for work, stolen money from the restaurant or had “bad intentions” toward their employer. Nothing suspicious here.

The restaurant owner hired the "priest" of course. The local Catholic diocese says he isn't one of theirs. And the US Dept. of Labor has cracked down, to the tune of $145K in back wages and fines.

Investigators also found that the restaurant denied employees overtime pay, managers were paid bonuses from the employee tip pool and some employees faced “adverse immigration consequences” for cooperating with investigators.

“This employer’s despicable attempts to retaliate against employees were intended to silence workers, obstruct an investigation and prevent the recovery of unpaid wages,” Pilotin said.

I might have confessed to interesting things unrelated to employment. What an opportunity. Paid hours to make up stories, back wages assured once they bust the employer, and a good time leading the bogus priest around. Which he deserved.

[Laminar]

Yiiiikes

[reader50]

Maybe subego can use a few of those in his next horror movie. Put them in cupboards or other places where you don't expect them.

[subego]

I draw the line at Taylor Swift.

[reader50]

I was referring to the "reborn" baby dolls. Creepy.

[subego]

Originally Posted by reader50 

I was referring to the "reborn" baby dolls.

I know.

[Laminar]

Week 1 of Apollo App shutdown:

[subego]

Got an odd vibe off a Corvette convertible I was stuck in traffic with on the interstate. If I had to pin it down, it was “you aren’t as cool as you think this car makes you”. Nothing about the vibe was specifically based on his driving.

Later see it on the same interstate, up against the concrete divider, empty, facing the wrong direction, with the three sides I could see raked to shit.

[reader50]

Got a pic from your dashcam? Sounds like he spun out.

[subego]

It was a few days ago, so it may have already been wiped. It didn’t occur to me until you mentioned it.

[subego]

Oh. There was one thing I can point to which was out of the ordinary. Car had no rear license plate. That was also how I positively identified it as the same Corvette.

[reader50]

After missing out on some footage I wanted to keep (i prevented a truck accident once), I routinely buy the biggest memory cards my dashcams can accept.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by subego 

If I had to pin it down, it was “you aren’t as cool as you think this car makes you”.

If the Corvette ever had a slogan, you just nailed it.

It's funny because I have friends that own Covettes because they're legitimately good race cars, but the typical Corvette owner is an entirely different demographic. Miatas are a similar case.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

If the Corvette ever had a slogan, you just nailed it.

It's funny because I have friends that own Covettes because they're legitimately good race cars, but the typical Corvette owner is an entirely different demographic. Miatas are a similar case.

Miatas are definitely good little racers. I think the owners have a little different vibe than vette owners, though. You aren’t overcompensating for anything driving a miata

[Jawbone54]

The Corvette in regard to cool factor has been downhill since '67.

Oh, and hi, everybody.

[subego]

Hi!!!

I remember when I was 19, I thought the CERV III was the shit. Looking back, it’s got way too much ass.

[Spheric Harlot]

When I was a kid (like, 7 or so), the De Tomaso Pantera ruled my world:



Then the Lamborghini Countach took over. Looking at them now, the Pantera is still a real heartthrob (as opposed to the Countach).

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by subego 

Hi!!!

I remember when I was 19, I thought the CERV III was the shit. Looking back, it’s got way too much ass.

This car looks like catdog. Either end could be the driver side.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

The Corvette in regard to cool factor has been downhill since '67.

Oh, and hi, everybody.

Woo hooooooo!

Originally Posted by subego 

I remember when I was 19, I thought the CERV III was the shit. Looking back, it’s got way too much ass.

Kind of reminds me of the McLaren Speedtail.

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

This car looks like catdog. Either end could be the driver side.

Now the theme song is stuck in my head.

[subego]

While that’s wildly in the opposite direction of what I consider a proper hood-to-ass ratio, I can’t help but love the thing.

[Gregg]

It appears to be sticking out its tongue.

[subego]

Seeing ads on Reddit for eyewear with integrated ChatGPT.

[Laminar]

What even is this.

[subego]

A mower and a wheelbarrow. Duh.

[subego]

Duracell dropped their own branding from Procell batteries, and then redesigned the product packaging to look like a knockoff.


Edit: I was quite literally compelled to Google whether these were fake, and I’m still not entirely convinced the box I have is real.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

Week 1 of Apollo App shutdown:

Week 6 of no Reddit. Hovering around 1 hour less of phone screen time per day. Mental health...up? Generally in a better mood.

Ironically, I left Reddit due to ads and horrible suggested content, and then replaced it with Instagram browsing, which is nearly entirely ads for stretchy shorts and sunglasses and horrible suggested content. I guess the terrible content is a decent trigger for me to put the phone down, so I spend less time on it.

My biggest complaint is that they'll show a reel in my feed, but if I click the "Watch Again" button, it takes it full screen and TURNS ON SOUND. This is without me pressing anything specific to sound and with my phone on silent. Again, an instant app close from me just to get it to shut up.