In the old days, you only had to ask for stamps and a return envelope.
This site became completely impossible to load on Chrome from all of the fucking advertisers and pop-up ads, browser hijack windows so I ended up trying brave because others here had mentioned it and suggested it and now I don’t get any of that.
It’s really fucking tiresome when a site this big and this loved is not only being destroyed by ads they post willingly that are against their values from every article I have ever read here but then they let advertisers make their site a shitpile to load unless you get a special browser.
I’m starting to sense some real desperation on the part of the people who run this site. I’m guessing either values have switched and they say one thing and post another, or whoever is in charge of advertising on boing boing is doing a completely shit job.
Which is really sad because I love this site and don’t want to feel that way at all, but I do.
5 Likes
I am one of the many people who have asked for the option to just pay for BingBong. Of course I don’t know if that’s financially plausible, but then neither do they, since they haven’t tried it.
Given the time-sharey vibe of the “boingboing store” business, I guess it’s possible someone signed a contract saying they’re not allowed to devictimize their audience. That’d be kind of bonkers though.
My guess is they’re just stuck in the discredited turn-of-the-century dogma that “free” content is the only viable model, and the only question for a serious online business is whether you’re avertising hard enough. There’s a lot of that about. Like those sites that jam you with ads saying “we need to talk about your ad blocker”, in the tone of a man at a bus stop scolding you for wearing pants that make it hard for him to stick his finger up your butt
5 Likes
Considering the coverage BoingBoing has given in the past to gig economy snafus I’m surprised to see this advert.
Come to think of it, BoingBoing isn’t really doing much for my emotional health nowadays. Articles are mostly ragebait with the odd maker piece peppered in. I think it’s time I took a break.
Sorry BB, it’s not me, it’s you.
3 Likes
Yep. I finally installed an ad-blocked entirely because of BB not so long ago. I had resisted up until now, so as not to deprive sites of income, but it was literally impossible to read BB on Firefox because of the ads.
The faux-article ads are better because at least one can ignore them, but it’s impossible to not at least take the piss when they’re this awful. (Obviously they don’t have any control over what gets stuck in the “Boingboing shop” - it’s clearly a package deal that has become increasingly terrible in what they’re flogging.)
5 Likes
Sometimes I feel that boing boing is like a musical group that used to headline at big venues but now no longer has the draw they used to and has to make what money it can by performing at county fairs, occasional corporate gigs and seedy bars.
1 Like
Starting to think much of the same lately.
Every 3rd post is one like this- a marketeer’s package of something for only 19.95!
And lots of ragequit stuff.
It used to have a lot more actual random wonderful things, random interesting bits of the world, now it’s pretty much a ragequit political blog with these bullshit ads mixed in so frequently its sad.
BB store used to have stuff like tiki fez hats, now it’s all marketing courses. I can’t believe one of them was even for the complete bullshit “Instagram influencers”. Which bb has railed against.
The stupid trump stuff, a lot of it I ignore, but theres still some of it important enough though not commonly covered in mainstream news, so I read.
But the place is a far cry from what it was 10 years ago.
1 Like
4 Likes
Let me tell you, if you complain about it enough, you’ll be told that you can fuck off and that nobody is making you read the site.
So… that tells you what your value is as the consumer…
Not “Hey thanks for your suggestions/concerns, unfortunately this is the best way for us to make enough $ to remain viable in this shitstain market”. Nope. More of a “well if you don’t like it, you’re always welcome to fuck right off”.
Well, is that what you’re doing?
It seems pretty clear to me that every single comment here is echoing what I kinda said. I’m far from the only one, matter of fact, seems like the few times I click through on one of these goofy store items, the comments all look pretty much as they do now.
My eyeballs are a commodity same as the rest of us. People can say “fuck off”, but all it’ll get them is less visitors, less loyalty, less interaction, and thus less ad traffic (assuming not everyone uses Brave).
If they want to act like Harley Davidson and ignore reality too, they’re welcome to, but I have no need to follow them on that ride down.
I expect that the ride will be similar. Started off as a fine ride, but at some point the rats will leave the ship if it sinks. Who knows… Given the contents of the BB store, this may not be a downward spiral in any sense other than totally selling out. BB may be the next “Goop” or probably more like “Brookstone”. BB may laugh it’s way to the bank while the old timers complain about “how it used to be in the good old days”, and eventually do fuck off when their personal tolerances are reached.
But for every old dedicated soul that fucks off, I can absolutely that there’ll be two vacuous sets of eyes to replace the one that left. Maybe that’s why there seems to be no rats asses given to the opinions of long time eyes.
Isn’t the “gig economy” damaging enough, without a uber-kind of addition on top of it?
I think the Wobblies are willing to organize “gig economy” workers.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
