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OK, thought experiment: What if you hold two browser windows open, one window to a blog article and another window to an HN / Reddit / forum thread discussing

by csense 11y ago

OK, thought experiment: What if you hold two browser windows open, one window to a blog article and another window to an HN / Reddit / forum thread discussing the article. Would the author of this article give you the same level of ire they apply to Genius in this article? What if you have a program that helps you do the two-window trick, positioning and sizing the windows automatically? What if you modify the program to hide the URL bar on one of the windows, making it a minimal frame? What if instead of doing the same UI function at the OS level, you write it at the browser level in a plugin or some custom browser logic? What if instead of doing it in a browser plugin, you make a website that does the same function so the user doesn't have to go through the hassle of installing a plugin? At what point do you cross the line from "that's clearly OK" to "you're mis-appropriating the site publisher's content"? I see this as simply an alternative UI that gives the user more control over how articles, and discussion about those articles, utilize their screen real estate. Site owners can't moderate commentary on their articles? They can't moderate Reddit or HN threads about their articles today, and nobody seems to be up in arms over that. Completely unmoderated commentary becoming a haven for the worst sorts of people trolling in all sorts of ways, illegal activities, etc.? If you run this UI, you're opting into a community that has whatever level of moderation it has -- if it's moderated lightly or not at all, users will likely soon be accosted by something they offensive, and make an appropriate decision about whether this community is right for them. This isn't the sort of thing I would use, but it seems mildly innovative and relatively benign (or at least not any more offensive than any other social networking startup that underestimates the moderation burdens of running a large online community).

xorcist 11y ago
I take it there is a business idea in there for Genius to pursue this. Extensions that stick ads on other people's web sites are one of the most common form of malware. That's a line they can not (but will be tempted to) cross. What makes business sense for them narrows what they can do more than what is legal. This idea sounds conspicuously like something that's been tried over and over again and they will need the support of authors to make their outcome any different from those before.

by csense 11y ago

xorcist 11y ago

I take it there is a business idea in there for Genius to pursue this. Extensions that stick ads on other people's web sites are one of the most common form of malware. That's a line they can not (but will be tempted to) cross. What makes business sense for them narrows what they can do more than what is legal. This idea sounds conspicuously like something that's been tried over and over again and they will need the support of authors to make their outcome any different from those before.