Ads like this one make me think that StackSocial uses Mechanical Turk for all of its ad copy⌠Or maybe someone who writes bail bond TV commercialsâŚ
Thereâs got to be a better way!!
Couldnât that be done by Markov chains? Doesnât sound like too complex task.
HmmâŚI think you are on to something there, and @codinghorror just âhappensâ to have a post on them:
Coincidence? Or secret programmer for StackSocial 
Is this post a paid advert?
I am not criticizing or attacking you for that, but I do want to remind you that the FTC requires that you disclose this detail:
It says âBOING BOINGâS STOREâ when I look at it, which I think covers disclosure pretty well. Not that this justifies the bizarre collection of words inside the page that seem like the output of like a markov chain of the scripts of bad 90s hacker movies and infomercials.
Depends how you get to the post. I came across from the BBS and clicked âShow Full Postâ. âBoing Boingâs Storeâ never shows up on the page. Granted, I could tell by previous experience with BBâs comically villainous Stack Social store that it was a BB store post, but it was never stated.
True, if you click the âShow Full Postâ thing instead of going to the full link then all of the sudden - boom! - youâre hacked (unless you use a VPN).
Getting hacked while drinking coffee and livi g the dream? Buy this banana bottle to keep you safe!
(I think my product pitch made more sense)
Call it user failure if you like, but I did not notice that detail.
It might need to be more obvious.
Oh, I donât think itâs user failure at all. The BB powers that be should add a disclosure inside that text.
Shouldnât that be âthe powers that BBâ?
I donât think Iâve âbrowsed the world wide webâ since around 1998.
Was that when you joined us radical netizens âsurfing the webâ?
I Saunter the Graph, thank you very much.
