I ditched it around 2014 when I noticed it had effectively become the yellow pages. Its pretending to be one thing to the ‘user’ when its actually serving someone else. This is transparent of course but the balance/compromise or tradeoff of it still providing some utility to the user despite this is what may vary for different people. My threshold was low. That and the privacy violations. Unfortunately its a corporation.

wtf. I’m glad I won the lottery with where I was born. But saying that, it has to be a constant struggle to prevent that dystopia anywhere. Not luck. Were the shots required for visas? Did you look into the price difference getting them at your destination? - more out of curiosity . $200nzd is the highest price I could find for full dose here in NZ - and thats private (not publicly funded). Approx 100usd. Some of your others would be free. I’m guessing you’re not coming to NZ though so not questioning your choice to vax for whats required at destination - sensible. Just the absolute scam world you poor Americans have to live with. We are all headed there if we aren’t careful, and keep our wits.

Thats a job for ‘journalists’ these days.

Me too. Tried twitter way back in the early days of it. Never found it useful. Others did though obviously, which I don’t understand, but they did. What I find interesting is the seeming need to replace it with something similar. Why? Is it like gradually kicking an addiction by switching to something slightly less bad, but not going full cold turkey?

Good thing FB and Insta themselves are skippable.

Yeh it’s a sign-in for a free trial wall. Alternatively

Meanwhile the NZ gov use this as a distraction while they display a disgusting lack of humility, regret, or compassion to the people who will be most affected by this. What an embarrassment. They behave as if this is a minor loss by the All Blacks, while traipsing around the world on trade junkets with smarmy CEO-like abandon. Talk about up ending NZ’s already tenuous reputation in the South Pacific, and with our long disrespected neighbour Samoa. Not enough that this gov are trashing our local environment and services within the country. They really had to cherry pick these trolls out of a sea of moderate response , most likely at the instruction of their PR social media and info strategy overlords. I’m sure the skipper of this vessel is suffering enough without her government (and employer) cynically using her as a political opportunity for distraction.

Yeh people learn and it becomes normal which is fine. Ebay is as bizarre to me. Not hate, more a morbid fascination that things so maze-like to navigate can also be successful. Could be semi cultural as well. I’ve noticed this being the way in other US platforms with a similar legacy. I’ve also being (attempting to) subvert tracking for quite a while so maybe that’s working and its less useful as a result lol. I’m lucky in a sense that their corporation isn’t so strong where I live so theres more choice (ironically I may actually have less choice). Its annoying when they have the monopoly on a given product, but it’s also possible just to go without the shiny thing.

Thanks for this. I’ve only used Amazon a few times and was always baffled at the train wreck of its chaotic layout / ux. I had to buy something there once and it was such a process it was like being asked to leave the store before paying. Thought at the time it must be down to legacy and new features being showhorned around ancient web1.0 history, its success being its burden with customers having to learn how to use the thing. Price fixing scam is what I will think of it now, while continuing to avoid it.

Why would we believe the promises of the ones who ruined the primary utility of their core product in the first place, and convinced or blackmailed the rest of the internet to take part in the ruination ? An advertising corporation will tell us to put cyanide on our pizza if it makes them an extra buck this quarter, and google is worse than that. Profit despite the social costs is doing no evil /s