Technology

However no one who uses adblock should be using Facebook either

If you ask me for help with your computer, whether you're my mother, mother in law, or uncle, if I had to open your browser at some point then I'm gonna install uBlock Origin. It's unfortunately the price you have to pay for my help.

What I'm getting at is I've installed it on many people's computers even if they are regular Facebook users.

It's a small team, they do great work and keep the internet functional for a huge chunk of us, and they're burned out. It's a defeat.

Putting work into blocking any ads is phenomenal, and tackling Facebook as long as they did is heroic, full stop. I'm a little bummed that there seems to be no way to donate to the uAssets team.

However no one who uses adblock should be using Facebook either, it's a garbage platform that is literally 97% ads.

I hate Facebook with a burning passion, but I believe it's important to keep blocking ads on it because

• Philosophically, ad blockers aren't just for niche websites, they are supposed to be general-purpose content blockers for literally everybody, which is part of the purpose of web browsers: to be a user agent. (I saw a lot of people use this point back when Google was contemplating implementing Manifest V3, which ultimately prevented as users from using a browser the way they chose)
• I bet a lot of people who use content blockers are not nearly as invested in privacy technology as us, which is perfectly fine, especially if it provides a gateway into being more aware.
• The more normalized content blocking is (e.g. if it's even for Facebook boomers who don't care about privacy), the harder it is for it to be written off as some niche activity.

Even more lightweight and arguably even more privacy-friendly is not using Facebook at all. 🤘🏼

I think some of us remember MySpace days, when you reconnected with old friends and quickly remembered why you're no longer friends. For my cohort, Facebook solved a solved problem. Once I got anything other than from friends, I bounced. Haven't talked to a few since, but if that's their bag, more power to them.

Facebook users are the parents, aunts, uncles, and technologically illiterate friends of uBO users :)

Ah, yes. The ol' forks FTW! 🤘🏼

Genuine question, are there a good number of people using Friendica? I looked at it back in like 2017 or whenever Hak5 did a video about setting up Friendica servers, but it always seemed like Mastodon was the way to go, I k ow they aren't technically filling the same space, but still.

Website seems kinda sus (via Reddit)

My experience with StackSocial is mixed. Yes, I did buy MS Office Professional 2021 from them, and successfully downloaded the software, and the product key worked for me. The software functions as expected. However, I started getting massive amounts of spam, mostly from east European countries, in my inbox. I had to block the spam country codes on my email provider's webpage (Yahoo) and route the email from Stack Social, which they send out multiple times per day, to my Junk folder automatically. It took a while to get rid of most of the spam. I still get an odd one here and there after 2 years.

I'd take the deal if I knew it was basically a donation towards whoever's maintaining the filters, I'm just not sure about where that cash is going.

And in a case like this I'd want to use a disposable email address and disposable card for the actual purchase. Which I have (hooray) but most people may not

Unfortunately it's literally the only place my local bike shop posts their group ride information.

honestly no excuse to be on it. I remember years and years ago when I left FB people kept saying "how will you stay in touch with your parents? family? etc" and i'm like "uh I have this device called a phone. ya see I input 10 numbers into it and it allows me to talk to my parents and family whenever I want. there's also this new fangled thing called email."

Plus my Mom is the only person I know that still uses it. My Dad was never into it and I have easier time rolling into the IRC chat rooms he frequents to get in touch than anything else. which usually means logging into a Slackware IRC room or the TechTV room he made hoping other former TechTV viewers will show up. but that's a story for another time.

I disagree with this thought process for all the reasons I listed above. I don't like Facebook, but I have friends who either appreciate it or need it for things like work.

But even if you consider all Facebook users to be an acceptable casualty, this blocking won't stop on Facebook. If it works, why would anti-adblock developers confine a lucrative success to one site?

Edit: dialed down my opinion of Facebook because Beehaw

I wish all my friends would delete their accounts en mass.