Eggplant.place

1y

This week's comic, inspired by a study showing that AI summaries on top of search results are dramatically cutting traffic to websites.

#internet #technology #tech #journalism #disinformation #socialmedia #oligarchy

WEB'S END

IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WERE WEBSITES. YOU VISITED THEM AND IT WAS FUN.

Computer screen: Jill's Homepage

LINKS AND STUMBLEUPON HELPED YOU FIND NEW ONES.

Computer screen: Cheese Art

GOOGLE ACTUALLY WORKED AND SENT YOU TO SITES BUILT WITH CARE BY REAL PEOPLE.

Computer screen: Lovable Expert

THEN CAME SOCIAL MEDIA, AND ITS ALGORITHMS DETERMINED WHAT YOU CLICKED.

Computer screen: Facebook

THEN AGGREGATOR SITES TOOK OFF.

Computer screen: CRAP FROM AROUND THE WEB

THEN SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES TRIED TO KEEP US FROM EVER LEAVING…

AND WE DIDN'T.

Woman on phone: SCROLL SCROLL SCROLL

THEN AI BEGAN GENERATING SUMMARIES SO YOU DIDN'T NEED TO CLICK THROUGH TO A SITE ANYMORE.

Computer screen: MONOPOSEARCH
Summary

SOON... THE AI CHATBOT BECOMES THE ONLY SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND REAL PUBLICATIONS DISAPPEAR.

Woman speaking to phone: CHATBOT, WHAT IS A WEBSITE?

UNTIL ONE DAY, PEOPLE WALK AWAY AND BUILD SOMETHING NEW.

Woman has left devices on the ground and is walking into sunset

© 2025 Jen Sorensen

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274d

> The key legal question here is: Does modifying how a website displays through browser-side tools like ad blockers count as breaking the [copyright] law?

https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/germanys-possible-ad-blocker-ban-could-threaten-user-freedom-and-privacy-says-mozilla

This is ridiculous. There are so many ways to display a #webpage. So, would using custom #CSS also violate the #law? Or using a browser like Lynx that just shows the text? Or viewing raw HTML? If anything, it's the raw #code that should be copyrighted. #ad #adblock #legal #internet #netzpolitik #browser #copyright

Edited 274d ago

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306d

#Fediverse & #Internet video accounts:

(If an account looks blank/old, read this: https://fedi.tips/why-does-someones-account-page-look-completely-blank-is-it-really-blank/)

➡️ @firesidefedi - Interviewing familiar faces around the Fediverse

➡️ @fedihost - Tutorials & tips for running your own Fediverse server

➡️ @wedistributemedia - News & features about the Fedi

➡️ @ethicalrevolution - Highlighting good music on the Fedi

➡️ @ele - Documentary-maker, Fedi & self-hosting

➡️ @andypiper - Tech & Fedi enthusiast, head of comms at Mastodon gGmbH

🧵 1/2

#PeerTube

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303d

Deprecating XSLT is evil!!

https://xslt.rip/

#lang_en #www #internet #webdev #rss #atom #xslt
@mozilla

#firefox #mozilla
#google #chrome #apple #safari

Edited 303d ago

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2y

Good comeback. Checks many boxes of how to respond to comments of this kind:

- call out their bullshit
- respond with kindness
- craft your message not with the edgelord in mind, but write it for the rest of the community (the edgelord will hate it anyway, so no need to pander to them)

#community #socialmedia #internet #culture

Some commenter on Arnold Schwarzenegger's Facebook page: The Special Olympics make no sense. The Olympics are for the best athletes in the world to compete against each other to determine who is the best. Having retards competing is doing the opposite!

Arnold Schwarzenegger: As stupid and evil as this comment is, I'm not going to delete it or ban you (yet) because it's a teachable moment. You have two possible paths ahead. Right now, | guarantee you that these athletes have more courage, compassion, brains, skill — actually more of every positive human quality than you. So take their path — you could learn from them, and try to challenge yourself, to give back, to add something from the world. Or you can stay on your path, and keep being a sad, pitiful, jealous internet troll who adds nothing to the world but mocks anyone who does out of small-minded jealousy. | know what you really want is attention, so let me be clear. If you choose to keep going this way, no one will ever remember you.

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147d

RE: https://flipboard.com/@gizmodo/tech-fknh6odjz/-/a-oFoCYDtRRCygK8XEJeFOeA%3Aa%3A1876139665-%2F0

What a twisted world we live in, but we all have a choice and you all are here, which means you have made a good one.

#Twitter #X #Mastodon #Vivaldi #Internet #Fediverse

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298d

📚 Careless People by: Sarah Wynn-Williams

An explosive memoir charting one woman’s career at the heart of one of the most influential companies on the planet, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to Facebook, the decisions that have shaped world events in recent decades, and the people who made them.

From trips...

https://bookblabla.com/book/careless-people

@bookstodon

#books #reading #libraries #biographyautobiography #industries #internet #technologystudies

An explosive memoir charting one woman’s career at the heart of one of the most influential companies on the planet, Careless People gives you a front-row seat to Facebook, the decisions that have shaped world events in recent decades, and the people who made them.

From trips on private jets and encounters with world leaders to shocking accounts of misogyny and double standards behind the scenes, this searing memoir exposes both the personal and the political fallout when unfettered power and a rotten company culture take hold. In a gripping and often absurd narrative where a few people carelessly hold the world in their hands, this eye-opening memoir reveals what really goes on among the global elite.

Sarah Wynn-Williams tells the wrenching but fun story of Facebook, mapping its rise from stumbling encounters with juntas to Mark Zuckerberg’s reaction when he learned of Facebook’s role in Trump’s election. She experiences the challenges and humiliations of working motherhood within a pressure cooker of a workplace, all while Sheryl Sandberg urges her and others to lean in.

Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade—told in a sharp, candid, and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the conse

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322d

Thank you again to @mike for joining me on this episode of Fireside Fedi!

#CEO #Flipboard #surf #openSocialWeb

#Peertube #VOD - https://video.firesidefedi.live/w/gg6vMsHxWSX8e1FJW6y6az
#Castopod #Fedicast - https://audio.firesidefedi.live/@firesidefedi/episodes/mike-mccue-flipboard-and-surf-livestream-2025-10-22

#Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@btfree_org

All #Links - https://firesidefedi.live

#stream #interview #firesideFedi #FsF #people #peopleOverPlatforms #protocolsOverPlatforms #fedi #fediverse #open #internet #openInternet #podcast #show #episode #peertube #vod #castopod #writefreely #lemmy #boostplease #fedizen #btfree #bigTechFree #nonprofit #signup #tubeFree

If you're enjoying the show, please consider supporting our new nonprofit btfree.org at https://givebutter.com/btfree. We're currently running https://tubefree.org which is a moderated peertube open for signups right now!

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294d

Good day all! Fireside Fedi Episode 51 starts NOW!

Special Guest: @anca #Connector, #Instigator, #Maker. #Slime #mold #farmer. #fediforum2025 #fediforum25

Watch the show live:
#Owncast #Livestream - https://stream.firesidefedi.live

After the show:
#Peertube #VOD - https://video.firesidefedi.live
#Castopod #Fedicast - https://audio.firesidefedi.live

#Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@btfree_org

All #Links - https://firesidefedi.live

#stream #interview #firesideFedi #FsF #people #peopleOverPlatforms #protocolsOverPlatforms #fedi #fediverse #open #internet #openInternet #podcast #show #episode #peertube #vod #castopod #writefreely #lemmy #boostplease #fedizen #btfree #bigTechFree #nonprofit #signup #tubeFree

If you're enjoying the show, please consider supporting our new nonprofit btfree.org at https://givebutter.com/btfree. We're currently running https://tubefree.org which is a moderated peertube open for signups right now!

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124d

#Business #Mindsets
The boring internet · “The internet you grew up on is not gone.” https://ilo.im/16cqvt

_____
#Internet #Web #History #WebTechnology #AI #Dezentralization #Communities #IndieWeb #SmallWeb #BigWeb

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293d

#internet #infrastructure #cloudflare #microsoft #AI #aws #crowdstrike #DNS #rust #Linux

Edited 293d ago

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1y

Sono passati 20 anni e questa vignetta è ancora incredibilmente attuale: Internet continua a essere sotto tentativo di controllo.

📰 Pubblicata sul gruppo internet: @internet

#internet #sicurezza

L'immagine è una caricatura in bianco e nero che rappresenta una scena satirica. A sinistra, un personaggio vestito come Uncle Sam, con un cappello a stelle e strisce, simboleggia il governo degli Stati Uniti. È seduto dietro un bancone con un cartello che dice "CONTROL OF INTERNET SPEECH" (Controllo della parola d'ordine sul web). Uncle Sam chiede al personaggio di fronte, etichettato come "CORPORATE MEDIA" (Media corporativi), "How would you like this wrapped?" (Come vorresti che fosse avvolto?).

Il personaggio di fronte, che rappresenta i media corporativi, sembra preoccupato. Sullo sfondo, ci sono due rotoli di carta da regalo con etichette: "ANTI-TERRORISM" (Anti-terrorismo) e "PROTECT KIDS" (Proteggi i bambini), suggerendo che queste sono le opzioni disponibili per avvolgere il controllo della parola d'ordine sul web.

Sul bancone, ci sono strumenti come forbici e nastro, che simboleggiano l'atto di avvolgere o controllare. La caricatura critica la posizione dei media corporativi riguardo al controllo della parola d'ordine sul web, suggerendo che essi stanno scegliendo tra diverse opzioni, come l'anti-terrorismo e la protezione dei bambini, per avvolgere il controllo della parola d'ordine sul web.

ALT

Edited 1y ago

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290d

> WaPo Defends Data Centers—With Few Disclosures That Amazon Depends on Them https://fair.org/home/wapo-defends-data-centers-with-few-disclosures-that-amazon-depends-on-them/

Of course they do, #CocolisoBezos owns WaPo. They're basically using your tax money to build their centers and then bill you for them.

#corruption #BadEconomy #tech #FollowTheMoney #AISlop #internet #energy

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128d

No.

#Internet

Simple line art cartoon. Large hand holds a small green frog, while another large hand points finger at the frog.

Text: "DISABLE YOUR AD BLOCKER TO VIEW THIS SITE".

Small frog says: "No."

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289d

I think large social networks should verify users. It's like getting a driver's licence. If you don't want to verify your identity, you can, but you won't see content from unverified individuals and your content won't be visible to others.

The only problem is implementation. We need a system that chooses what data to transfer (name and age) and how.

Everything we write on open social networks should be something we can say on the street.

#socialmedia #EU #europe #policy #internet

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264d

Finally. Goodbye everybody.
https://hmpg.net/

#internet

Edited 263d ago

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151d

By way of an overdue #introduction; I'm rather a simple soul, I mainly enjoy tinkering with #computers, strumming #guitars and a wee bit of #spaniel sitting. I'm now taking some tentative first steps into #gardening too, just to fall in with the #retired stereotype I suppose. I'm also reading the #internet and I'm currently about halfway through it. I detest #BigTech, the #algorithm, #AI and #SurveillanceCapitalism. I love the #Fediverse because it reminds me of the olde worlde internet. I try to post/boost a little bit of everything and anything, including #art, #science, #botany, #transport, #animals, #architecture and #humour, without getting too mired in #politics, although it's not easy to avoid politics when you care about #nature and the #environment. I'm happy to interact with everyone/anyone irrespective of creed, colour, nationality or gender/sexual preferences. In the nicest sense of the word, I really don't give a fuck what you are. I consider myself to be a floating voter of centre/left leaning persuasion. I support the notion of managed #degrowth and #social responsibility. I would rather discuss the common ground we share and aim to respect our differences. I try to avoid fuckwits wherever I encounter them. That'll do for now although I dare say I'll edit this over time. Thanks for reading and peace out☮️

Edited 151d ago

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1y

The world’s largest #InternetArchive is under siege — & fighting back

There are few organizations dedicated to the gargantuan task of preserving the vast, ever-shifting record of human activity that is the #internet. The largest such record belongs to a #nonprofit based in an old church in San Francisco that operates on a smaller annual budget than the DC Public Library.
 It is currently under siege.

#tech
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/18/internet-archive-hack-wayback/

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86d

Liar. #grickledoodle #robot #liar #internet #cartoon #art #drawing #funny #humor

A cartoon illustration of a sad robot sitting at his desk and computer. Caption reads "It filled him with shame each and every time he clicked "I am not a robot" to access his own bank account online."

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243d

“I feel like we're rebooting to the last version of the Internet that I felt uncomplicated joy about.”

@Casey, @kevin and @pj on why they set up their Forkiverse fediverse server.

https://www.searchengine.show/the-fediverse-experiment/

#Fediverse #Federation #ActivityPub #Forkiverse #OpenSocial #OpenSocialWeb #Internet #Technology #Tech

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130d

Signal is developing a standalone desktop app without requiring a smartphone for setup or use, based on recent open-source code changes. 🖥️
The update adds more desktop controls while keeping end-to-end encryption, improving device independence with a privacy-first design. 🔐

@signalapp

🔗 https://aboutsignal.com/news/signal-desktop-without-a-mobile-phone-standalone-version-in-development/

#TechNews #Signal #Messaging #Privacy #E2EE #Encryption #EndToEndEncryption #OpenSource #FOSS #Cybersecurity #Security #Data #Internet #Freedom #Software #Tech #Communication

Edited 129d ago

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1y

Foi só acionar esse "Tema padrão do SeaMonkey", conjunto de programas que não tinha certeza se ainda existia, para transportar-me de volta a ~1998, quando utilizávamos o original Mozilla então recém nascido da Netscape.

#SeaMonkey #Mozilla #Internet #nostalgia