Internet Pet Peeves

[Joe]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

Podcasts that don't update their websites or post to Reddit or Facebook with vital info like when they're taking a break and when they'll be back. 

Absolutely! And not all of us use Twitter either, so we're sometimes left in the dark until we actually go and look for the info.

[Zola]

Constant phone app updates.

A week doesn't got by without my moby telling me this needs updating, or that needs updating etc. I know there's a setting where you can automatically download these updates without you even knowing, but I never allow that because some apps seem to want permission to do almost anything on your phone, not least finding out who your contacts are, your photos, text messages, even the ability to delete or change things such as your wifi settings. So I always have my phone set to that I get alerted before any updates take place and I can decide for myself if an app really does need to see my PI.

But its also the frequency of these updates that irritate. Outlook and Google Maps updated twice in the space of about 8 days, and some are even more frequent than that. 

[Joe]

Google seems to have messed up its image search function. I can't just view an image without going to the actual page, or view multiple of the same image in different sizes. Why are so many internet updates downgrades?

[omgsowicked]

1 hour ago, Joe said:

Google seems to have messed up its image search function. I can't just view an image without going to the actual page, or view multiple of the same image in different sizes. Why are so many internet updates downgrades?

Getty Images complained about the View Image function, so that's why Google removed it. I agree, I'm really annoyed with this change. Some alternatives to try are StartPage, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo! Images. And I suppose (in Firefox) you could go to the page, right-click and select View Page Info, go to the Media tab and find/save the image you want that way.

[Joe]

5 hours ago, omgsowicked said:

Getty Images complained about the View Image function, so that's why Google removed it. I agree, I'm really annoyed with this change. Some alternatives to try are StartPage, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo! Images. And I suppose (in Firefox) you could go to the page, right-click and select View Page Info, go to the Media tab and find/save the image you want that way.

Thanks, I'll try those. It's seeing the image in multiple sizes that I really want back, so I can find the best one.

[GaT]

16 minutes ago, Joe said:

Thanks, I'll try those. It's seeing the image in multiple sizes that I really want back, so I can find the best one.

If you right click on a picture, the "search Google for image" option should still be there. You can get all the sizes from that, but I agree, I used "view image" all the time, I'm really annoyed they took it away.

[Joe]

1 hour ago, GaT said:

If you right click on a picture, the "search Google for image" option should still be there. You can get all the sizes from that, but I agree, I used "view image" all the time, I'm really annoyed they took it away.

Is that a Chrome feature? I don't see it on Firefox.

[GaT]

14 minutes ago, Joe said:

Is that a Chrome feature? I don't see it on Firefox.

Oh, maybe, I use Chrome.

[Joe]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

Oh, maybe, I use Chrome.

Damn. I might have to try Chrome, just to use that one feature.

[Zola]

It looks like Google is taking steps to reduce the number of adverts in its Chrome browser, that will be of benefit to all users with tablets, smart phones and laptops etc. Btu be aware, not all ads will be blocked by Chrome - only those that don't meet necessary regulatory standards set by the "Coalition for Better Ads" . The most annoying ads are these, and according to Google the owners of these ads will be warned to make changes or face being blocked:-

Mobile:

• Pop-up ads
• Prestitial ads
• Mobile pages with more than 30% ad density
• Flashing animations
• Poststitial ads that require a countdown to dismiss
• Fullscreen scrollover ads
• Large sticky ads
• Auto-playing videos with sound

Desktop:

• Pop-up ads
• Auto-playing videos with sound
• Prestitial ads with a countdown
• Large sticky ads

However, those ads that do make the grade, will still appear on your device, albeit less intrusively, otherwise without advertising a lot of companies will lose substantial revenue in order to exist. So unfortunately these "approved" adverts should be considered a necessary evil. Unless you go to the next level and use something like AdBlocker Plus, to block even those ads from your online experience.

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/14/google_chrome_ad_blocking/

[bmasters9]

On 9/18/2017 at 10:29 AM, Popples said:

Pages with ads that play videos, but you're unable to scroll down. It keeps jumping up to the part where the ad is playing, and it plays on a loop so you can't stop it. WHO thought that was a good idea, and WHY?!

Especially if you're metered on your usage, in which case it counts (outside of free time in the morning, when it doesn't)!

[Zola]

fixed-sized pop-ups!

Sometimes when filling out online forms or trying to go through online installation instructions for an application you want to install locally, you'll get a pop-up appear for you to either read or fill out. However, the pop-up is generally quite small, and because it's fixed, there's no way to maximise or expand it. This is even more difficult on a laptop or tablet.

I really don't understand why developers don't design such pop-ups with a bit more flexibility for the user

[Zola]

On 03/11/2017 at 7:18 AM, Zola said:

The utter belligerence of some large corporations when it comes to the hacking of their supposedly "secure" data centres, and subsequent compromise of their customer database.

I won't name names, but Google will reveal quite a handful of companies that have been hacked this year, with millions of customer details stolen.

This is bad in itself, but then the company PR machine rolls into action with blatant lies, suggesting that:

1. only a small number of customers have been stolen,
2. the information stolen consists of names and addresses, but certainly not sensitive PI or password information.
3. it takes several weeks, or even months in some cases, before the company finally admits points 1 and 2, were way off the mark and generous at best!

What is even more infuriating is their abject dismissal to compensate said customers, other than to say "Oh well, just change your password then!"

So those customers, several million in some cases, now have to fret about what information has been stolen and what actions need to be taken. All the legwork is done by them, while the affected company just wants to sweep the "incident" under the carpet and hope it will go away for fear of scaring investors and/or shareholders!

It is a great pity said companies cannot be brought to account: if they get hacked, and the fault is theirs, they should be forced to financial compensate its customers, rather just walk away.

 

 

Let's add Facebook to that list of companies who love to play roughshod with your personal data, as well as affecting elections via 3rd party agencies (allegedly)

 

Quote

Mr Zuckerberg and Facebook’s top executives have been silent since the company suspended Cambridge Analytica on Friday night. Allegations subsequently emerged that the company had failed to protect the data of 50 million users obtained by the data analysis firm, whose work has been linked to Donald Trump’s election campaign and the Brexit referendum.

 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/03/20/facebook-boss-mark-zuckerberg-summoned-mps/

[Joe]

Whenever there's a new Firefox update, I have to spend time restoring the interface. Stop messing around with these things!

Also, I discovered a video that chased me down the page and wouldn't go away when I clicked the X. Fuck you, USA Today. I hope the web developer behind this suffers an embarassing accident.

[Zola]

10 hours ago, Joe said:

Whenever there's a new Firefox update, I have to spend time restoring the interface. Stop messing around with these things!

Also, I discovered a video that chased me down the page and wouldn't go away when I clicked the X. Fuck you, USA Today. I hope the web developer behind this suffers an embarassing accident.

Firefox used to be my browser of choice when it first came on the scene a few years back, but then the developers started over-engineering the product with version 4.x in 2010, and then Chrome came along and that was that. 

Shame really, because i really liked the Firefox frontend back in the day, but nowadays its just too flaky to bother with; although it is still superior to IE and Edge.

[dusang]

On 4/1/2018 at 5:45 AM, Joe said:

Whenever there's a new Firefox update, I have to spend time restoring the interface. Stop messing around with these things!

Also, I discovered a video that chased me down the page and wouldn't go away when I clicked the X. Fuck you, USA Today. I hope the web developer behind this suffers an embarassing accident.

Last week I clicked a link to a news site (I can't remember which one) but it started autoplaying a video that I literally could not find on the page.  I scrolled and scrolled and finally just had to close the tab because I couldn't stop it and was too annoyed to adjust my speakers.

Edited April 2, 2018 by dusang

[bmasters9]

On 7/5/2017 at 5:35 AM, Zola said:

When you install an app you're usually asked that the app needs permission to do read/modify/delete a whole bunch of things on your phone/tablet/laptop! 

I have a cellphone now, and I wanted to put the Washington Post app on it (because albeit I don't live in our nation's capital, I think the Post has [and has always had] great journalism, unlike their rival the Times, and also unlike my hometown Greenville News, which is nothing more than a Gannett rag), and as soon as I made the move to get that app and install it from Google Play, that app wanted to know everything on my phone (contacts and all)! Why?!

[Joe]

4 hours ago, bmasters9 said:

 that app wanted to know everything on my phone (contacts and all)! Why?!

So they can collect all your personal information and deliver better targeted ads.

[omgsowicked]

6 hours ago, bmasters9 said:

I have a cellphone now, and I wanted to put the Washington Post app on it (because albeit I don't live in our nation's capital, I think the Post has [and has always had] great journalism, unlike their rival the Times, and also unlike my hometown Greenville News, which is nothing more than a Gannett rag), and as soon as I made the move to get that app and install it from Google Play, that app wanted to know everything on my phone (contacts and all)! Why?!

I can't stand all the permissions these apps apparently need! Like, why does the Michaels app (craft store) need access to my Bluetooth?! (Apparently it's to track your movement around their stores. Yeah, that's not creepy.)

If you're on Android, you can try Hermit Lite Apps, which is a privacy-oriented app that allows you to basically make a wrapper for mobile versions of sites. I just checked and they have a Washington Post "Lite App" included in their pre-made apps, and it comes with notifications, so that might work for you. (That's the only thing I don't like about Hermit, the lack of notifications... if you make your own app, or it doesn't come pre-loaded in the pre-made apps, you have to add them yourself and that takes a bit of technological savvy.)

I try not to install apps with intrusive permissions but if you want to, one thing you can do (on Android) is go into Settings > Apps, and then click on the app name, and disable permissions you don't want. You can also go to Settings > Apps, and then click on the three dots in the top right corner and select "App permissions" to see all the permissions and which apps use them.

It might cause problems (don't mess with the default app permissions unless you really know what you're doing) but then you can re-enable the permission or just uninstall the app. I do that with the Instagram app, I disable the location and microphone permissions until I want to use the "Stories" function or tag a photo's location. Then I allow it, do what I want, and disable it again. They don't need access to my microphone 24/7!

[Joe]

This may sound silly. But YTers/streamers who use facecams when playing games. I often find their faces annoying to look at. Some of them make exaggerated expressions, but most of them are boring white guys. If I wanted to see another boring white man, I'd look in the mirror.

[Blergh]

IMO, believing Facebook's latest claim that they will NOW safeguard its customers' privacy makes as much sense as believing a serial cheater caught fooling around for the 100th time will   be completely faithful from that point onward.

[bilgistic]

What the shit is this? Drew Barrymore is 43! That's my age, coincidentally. I hate the clickbait ads on this site.

[Lizzing]

I absolutely hate that IMDb stopped listing which particular episode(s) of a television show an actor appeared in. 

[Joe]

1 hour ago, Lizzing said:

I absolutely hate that IMDb stopped listing which particular episode(s) of a television show an actor appeared in. 

That is annoying. However, I found a guest star via the other way. Show, episode, actor. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

[shapeshifter]

14 hours ago, Lizzing said:

I absolutely hate that IMDb stopped listing which particular episode(s) of a television show an actor appeared in. 

Wait. What? I'm not sure what you mean. For example, Helen Hong's page displays episodes: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1998151/?ref_=rvi_nm

[paulvdb]

Looks like they changed it back. At the time of the original post they only showed the series name without the episode titles.

[Joe]

46 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

Looks like they changed it back. At the time of the original post they only showed the series name without the episode titles.

And they did it after my last post. Maybe someone from IMDB is reading this thread?

[shapeshifter]

11 minutes ago, Joe said:

And they did it after my last post. Maybe someone from IMDB is reading this thread?

Heh. Not likely. But you never know. 

Hopefully it was just a glitch, but ever since IMDb shut down their message boards, I've been waiting for another shoe to drop.

[Jaded]

In addition to closing their message boards I hate that IMDB took away the way to search on their site using character names.

[Joe]

1 hour ago, Jaded said:

In addition to closing their message boards I hate that IMDB took away the way to search on their site using character names.

Yes, I'd forgotten about that. Very annoying.

[Lizzing]

Hmmm, maybe I should post my complaints more often. ;) I do wish they would restore character search too, but I am glad the episodes are back.

[Zola]

i wish some sites would stop with the "Sign up for our newsletter" pop-up as soon as I jump onto their home page and start scrolling down, or hover my mouse cursor towards the "close tab" box.

 

Does my head in!

[StatisticalOutlier]

More Q&A from Amazon, this time about a collapsible silicone funnel:

 

Q: Will the tip fit into one of the mini Dasani water bottles Delta Airlines gives to first class passengers?

A: Never having flown first class, I am not able to answer your question.

 

Q: Are these bleach safe?

A: Bleach ???This product does not have any bleach  [This answer is from the seller/manufacturer.]

[JNM5505]

So, I got a whole load of Internet related complaints and pet peeves. But I am not going to list them all at once in fear of sounding like my grandmother who was a bitch until her final breath. Right now, this pet peeve is not 100& Web related, but I can't help be paranoid. If anyone can relate, then please let me know so I can believe I'm not turning into a Schizoid.

There is this really bad fan-fic being written over on FFN, a site that I strongly believe has no moderators these days. Anyways, I notice every time I leave a review, I get a neighbor spoofed number call that's always saying ".... and you may be eligible for a 10% interest rate..." by which point I have erased the message. I never answer these calls anymore, but have to sit through the messages, or a part of it. It is so fucking annoying.

Anyways, getting back to the Internet topic, I swear that I am being doxxed. If anyone can. corroborate, please do so.

[JNM5505]

So, not exactly sorry to post twice in just a matter of hours because this thread is pretty much dead. But understandable, I wouldn't want to complain about the million and one things I hate about the Internet all at one and blow up the forums.

However, I have to bitch again, just mere hours later. I'm sorry about that.

So, I just spent the past hour or two looking through Facebook at this cat&kitten rescue page based in British Columbia, that also has a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program; I was looking at the main feed and the pages of the adopted cats&kittens that I grew familiar with during their time with this rescue group. Anyways, so, I log out of that maybe twenty minutes ago, switch Facebook account (was using my pseudonymous one and now on my IRL one. Realize I should probably switched back, but I trust PTV... Facebook on the other handd...) so, anyways, I decide to check out Etsy because someone on my FList said they were heading to Europe (but not a country I have any interest in visiting) and I decide to check out if there's anything relevant to my European country of interest there.


Guess what shows up on "Recommended for [my real name]" /that annoying dash plus underline plus dash or that greater than, underline, less than emoticon

Cat toys, catnip products, cat paraphernalia. What the fuck, man? Hey, Etsy, back the fuck off. But I am partially to blame here, though. I always log out of every account I own and evidently forgot to log out of Etsy when I was on it a couple weeks ago. But still, does this mean every website you've forgotten to log out of are tracking your activity?

Super creepy, Interwebz. Super creepy.

PS: I would log out of PTV but they make the login so freaking difficult!

Edited August 7, 2018 by kinnej5

[Joe]

You probably want to delete your cookies.

[omgsowicked]

1 hour ago, kinnej5 said:

Guess what shows up on "Recommended for [my real name]" /that annoying dash plus underline plus dash or that greater than, underline, less than emoticon

Cat toys, catnip products, cat paraphernalia. What the fuck, man? Hey, Etsy, back the fuck off. But I am partially to blame here, though. I always log out of every account I own and evidently forgot to log out of Etsy when I was on it a couple weeks ago. But still, does this mean every website you've forgotten to log out of are tracking your activity?

Super creepy, Interwebz. Super creepy.

If you use Firefox, you can try installing the Multi-Account Containers add-on. Here's an explanation of how it works. I've been using it to separate my "surfing types," such as shopping, Facebook, banking, etc. So in your case you could make two different Facebook containers for each of your accounts, and then whatever you do outside of those containers won't be accessible to Facebook. That's the idea, anyway.

You can also install Privacy Badger, which is available for a few different browsers. Privacy Badger allows cookies to work as usual unless they track you across sites; then the cookie gets blocked. That might break some sites, so you might have to disable it on sites you really need them on.

[shapeshifter]

7 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

Guess what shows up on "Recommended for [my real name]"

7 HOURS AGO, JOE SAID:

You probably want to delete your cookies.

 And cache.
And the whole damn history.
Regularly.
Or at least whenever you start getting stalked by kittens, LOL. 
PTV is relatively easy to log back into: just username and password. The Social Security website is, understandably, one of the toughest. 

[GaT]

9 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

So, not exactly sorry to post twice in just a matter of hours because this thread is pretty much dead. But understandable, I wouldn't want to complain about the million and one things I hate about the Internet all at one and blow up the forums.

However, I have to bitch again, just mere hours later. I'm sorry about that.

So, I just spent the past hour or two looking through Facebook at this cat&kitten rescue page based in British Columbia, that also has a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) program; I was looking at the main feed and the pages of the adopted cats&kittens that I grew familiar with during their time with this rescue group. Anyways, so, I log out of that maybe twenty minutes ago, switch Facebook account (was using my pseudonymous one and now on my IRL one. Realize I should probably switched back, but I trust PTV... Facebook on the other handd...) so, anyways, I decide to check out Etsy because someone on my FList said they were heading to Europe (but not a country I have any interest in visiting) and I decide to check out if there's anything relevant to my European country of interest there.


Guess what shows up on "Recommended for [my real name]" /that annoying dash plus underline plus dash or that greater than, underline, less than emoticon

Cat toys, catnip products, cat paraphernalia. What the fuck, man? Hey, Etsy, back the fuck off. But I am partially to blame here, though. I always log out of every account I own and evidently forgot to log out of Etsy when I was on it a couple weeks ago. But still, does this mean every website you've forgotten to log out of are tracking your activity?

Super creepy, Interwebz. Super creepy.

PS: I would log out of PTV but they make the login so freaking difficult!

It's Facebook, it tracks everyone.

[StatisticalOutlier]

8 hours ago, GaT said:

It's Facebook, it tracks everyone.

From the article:

Quote

For those without a Facebook account who are concerned about the company tracking them across the web, there is little that can be done to stay away from its Eye of Sauron-like gaze. Using the “Incognito” and “Do Not Track” capabilities offered by modern browsers is a good first step, and add-ons can stop your data from being siphoned off by third parties. However, if the website you are visiting uses Facebook technology, you are often left with little choice.

I've always hated that so many businesses don't have their own website, and instead use a Facebook site, and I especially hate it when the FB site isn't "open" or whatever it takes so you can see it without being logged in without half the screen being covered up.  In fact, truth be told, that colors the way I view a business.

But now I know that every time I see "Facebook" flash by as a page takes forever loading, it's not just making things run slower--it's loading me into FB's database.  Shit.

I do have to give credit to the article for their photos of Zuckerberg.  I've always found him relatively benign looking, but not in these pictures.  Good work!

[JNM5505]

Yeah, but who's going to be able to catch that in the status bar? It goes so damn fast that you think "was that fb.blahblah I just saw?" but you can't go back and look. But perhaps you can find out via 'insights' (Firefox) or the "About Page" (also Firefox" under "Media". It lists every single component of the website.

Mhmm, the cookies. Like I haven't thought of that. But then it erases all your login info, the things that make all the convenience. :)

Latest bitch: Google is updating their email platform. But why? I like it just the way it is. There are a couple things they could stand to fix, such as tabs/category (whatever they call it) and the Google Chat which never works anymore. But other than that? I think it's just fine.
 

But I have to applaud Google for not updating things every other week like a certain web browser. For the past five or six months, I've been getting alerted that my version of Firefox is critically out of date. I have 56. what are they on now? 1,000? /snark

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

Latest bitch: Google is updating their email platform. But why? I like it just the way it is. There are a couple things they could stand to fix

Is there a name for this kind of lament?
Sometimes I still miss 1990s original flavor DreamWeaver.
But I really miss Windows 98 for its direct FAX feature. Totally impressed the court with my legal documents back when my ex and I were fighting about nothing.

But I'm pretty sure they got rid of the FAX feature for security reasons (not just to thwart me).
This was back when emails containing hard-drive-crashing attachments would arrive from colleagues without their having done anything to send them beyond opening GIF of Fourth of July fireworks "from" another friend's email.

So I guess Google mail will be more secure with the upgrades? I mean, can it get any more nosy?

 

 

3 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

For the past five or six months, I've been getting alerted that my version of Firefox is critically out of date. I have 56. what are they on now? 1,000? /snark

60-something. I had to check it today at work. But in FireFox you can customize it to not bug you about updating.

[StatisticalOutlier]

16 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Sometimes I still miss 1990s original flavor DreamWeaver.

I'm still using a version of Eudora that is copyrighted 1997.  But it recently started refusing to send outgoing emails.  I tried a version from 2006, but I just can't stand how it looks.

So I'm using my 1997 version for everything but the act of sending emails--I compose them like usual, and copy and paste them to the "new" version for sending.  I can't say I like having to do that--it's a PITA--but dammit, I like that old version, so it's worth it.

[JNM5505]

At least it still functions for being a two decade old software.

Another Google related bitching today. Kind of. Does anyone find Google Doodle incredibly annoying?

My computer is a 2011 Mac release, so sometimes, I have to try to minimize all the intense graphics, sounds, etc. But on a day Google decides to have a graphic intensive Doodle, it fucking slows my ancient computer down. Is there a way to disable it permanently? You think there would be if you were logged into your own account. Sucks to be a guest though.

[bilgistic]

This ad (on this very site) irritates me so much. "Photoshop didn't exist back then, so yes this is real". Photoshop exists now and can be used to manipulate photos from any time period, dummies! Photoshop doesn't work inside a camera to change the picture as it's being taken. Stupid clickbait! I refuse to click on it. REFUSE.

[JNM5505]

Bahaha, I remember very basic image editing software (Paint, anyone?) before I could even afford Photoshop. I'm sure many, many of you remember times even before Paint existed, when computers were these big-ass machines the size of a small office. (Ok, maybe not that old!) There's this fancy smanchy feature you can find in any photo editing software today–and it's not just restricted to Photoshop, Instagram filters anyone?–where you can manipulate pictures to look like they were taken in the fifties or sixties. You can degrade the image quality, do a sepia or half-tone filter, and then let's not forget the people. :)

So clickbait. Who are they designed for anyways? I guess Gen Snooze, perhaps? But I know quite a few Gen Snoozers who are actually intelligent.

Sidenote: We need to come up with a name for these intellectual up and coming high schoolers.

Edited August 18, 2018 by kinnej5

[JNM5505]

Oh, how kyoote! Google thinks it knows what I want my reply to be! /eyeroll

[bilgistic]

I assume you are talking about Gmail? There's a way to turn that off, but I don't remember how. I know I turned it off immediately because I don't need my email program responding for me!

[ALenore]

On 8/18/2018 at 7:31 PM, kinnej5 said:

 

Bahaha, I remember very basic image editing software (Paint, anyone?) before I could even afford Photoshop. I'm sure many, many of you remember times even before Paint existed, when computers were these big-ass machines the size of a small office. (Ok, maybe not that old!) There's this fancy smanchy feature you can find in any photo editing software today–and it's not just restricted to Photoshop, Instagram filters anyone?–where you can manipulate pictures to look like they were taken in the fifties or sixties. You can degrade the image quality, do a sepia or half-tone filter, and then let's not forget the people. :)

 

Hey, way before computer image manipulation existed, people were able to manipulate photos.  It's been around forever, it's just easier to do now.   

[Joe]

No, I don't want to visit the Australian Kotaku. I want the good version. Fuck off with this redirect bullshit and give me the American version.