Clarissa's Blog

2 responses to “Bad Algorithm”

1. 

   methylethyl

   February 5, 2023

   You need an adblocker.

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2. 

   Post Alley Crackpot

   February 5, 2023

   Having an ad blocker doesn’t prevent the collected information from being used to steer you toward some content and away from other content.

   The extreme form of this is called “siloing”, in which your entire Internet experience comes out of what a bunch of algorithms pattern match you into producing more clicks.

   Most of the aspirational bullshit that appeared in my Web browsing consisted of steering me toward it through an alternate presentation of search results and news rather than through image advert placement.

   Just because I’m now browsing with a data centre IP doesn’t mean that goes away entirely.

   Now it’s obvious when I see it because it consists mainly of IT hardware vendor adverts and IT consultancy pimping done within the main page content.

   There are a few sites that try to guilt me into turning the ad blocker off, such as Instapundit.

   I think I go there only to observe the never-ending Republican cringe fest that results from the true believers getting triggered by a new wave of Progressivist infowarfare agents.

   Now the trick is to pretend your browser is out-of-date so that the latest stuff they can sneak in through yet another undiscovered zero-day manages to work.

   Cloudflare is having fun with this, which is amusing because they’re essentially an extortion racket that shows up once your site’s been taken offline by the Happy Hasbara Fun Ball crowd.

   But you’d get some form of this whether you use an ad blocker or not.

   Just search for “cheap stinger missiles in azerbaijan” and it’ll get more interesting, I promise. 🙂

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