XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-10, alt.windows7.general   
   From: mayayana@invalid.nospam   
      
   "T"  wrote   
   | On 2020-03-07 13:06, Mayayana wrote:   
   | > Throughout they've been   
   | > trying to come up with a system where people will agree to   
   | > see ads and they now have their own ad network. So   
   | > they're basically taking the view that the Internet is   
   | > destined to be a commercial venue and it's their job to   
   | > make that work.   
   |   
   | It will be "Opt In".  I would not worry about it.   
      
     Given their approach, I wouldn't trust them on privacy.   
      
      But that's not my point. The bigger problem is the   
   fundamental idea that they should support the conversion   
   of the Internet into a shopping mall. They're making   
   assumptions that 1) the Internet is and should be a   
   business venue, 2) the businesses won't survive without   
   money from visitors, and 3) it's therefore their civic duty   
   to set up ads and micropayments so the businesses can   
   get paid.   
      
     That's a morally bankrupt attitude, like allowing   
   a mall or Walmart to replace the town center. It's   
   the jaded view of people who think of themselves   
   as "consumers". And it's the height of irony that   
   they should see their approach as a kind of civic duty.   
   They're helping to demolish the public sphere because   
   they don't actually see it in the first place.   
      
     With your approach you're acting like the teenagers   
   in malls, trying to ignore or circumvent the sleaze for   
   your own personal profit. Those teenagers would be better   
   off if they just left and found a park or a home to hang   
   out in. But they've already been indoctrinated into the   
   mutual exploitation system of consumer society. They   
   assume the world they live in is a business. The   
   Internet is a more extreme example: They spy on you   
   and try to vacuum out your wallet while you try to get   
   freebies without opening your wallet. The commercial   
   Internet has been founded on an assumption of mutual   
   dishonesty.   
      
     Now the Bravists have come in to say, "Hey, we have   
   a great idea. Instead of supporting public property and   
   parks for the kids hanging around in malls, let's give them   
   a way to contribute part of their allowance to the mall in   
   exchange for sitting around on the benches."   
      
      That doesn't even rise to the   
   level of an anemic inspiration. It's just completely missing   
   the point. If they *really* wanted to help they could   
   help people online to find resources and perhaps help   
   them contribute, but only to non-profits. But they're   
   not doing that. They're trying to help turn the Internet   
   into a commercial venue. I don't want to support that.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)