3 ms·

Hellbanning has always been evil. When you interact with a public computer, there is a trust that is established. When you click a vote button, you expect a vot

Hellbanning has always been evil. When you interact with a public computer, there is a trust that is established. When you click a vote button, you expect a vote to be counted. When you press the elevator close-door button, you expect the door to close. When you make a public comment, you expect you are making a public comment. To, well fuck with people in this manner is evil -- I do not care what your reasons are, how many people are on your site, the incidence of mental illness in the general population, and so on. There are other remedies aside from using technology to lie to and manipulate people. If it hasn't become clear by now, it should be: the major internet players are interested in only one thing: to keep being the major internet players. That doesn't make them bad or evil -- sometimes good people do evil things. It makes the rest of us realize we have a rather immediate obligation: fix this or be conquered by it.

philipodonnell 10y ago
I can't tell if this is sarcasm, so at the risk of looking foolish, I'll just say, pressing the door close button on an elevator almost always does nothing. In most elevators it's not even connected to anything behind the panel. It's there to make you feel like you can effect the situation without letting you do so, which I think is the exact opposite of your point.
- ambicapter 10y ago
  I've heard this before, but I don't buy it. Either that or the elevator at my workplace is VERY prescient.
- the_af 10y ago
  Where do you live? In my country, the close button almost always closes the elevator doors faster. Measurably faster, not a subjective milliseconds faster, but full seconds faster (so noticeable, in fact, that it drives me nuts when other people don't push it and also involuntarily block me from doing so). When the button doesn't work, it's acknowledged to be broken.
- MK999 10y ago
  The 'beg buttons' that pedestrians push to get a favorable traffic signal is frequently not hooked up.
  - kaspiCZ 10y ago
    For pedestrians: In my city I have yet to find a bogus one. They are there to control traffic flow. You press it, you get a green light. You don't, you can die waiting. It's there to allow the priority traffic to be interrupted only if necessary. I believe I heard something like "press a button for a faster signal", but that doesn't make any sense at all. Municipalities want to control the traffic in the most efficient way. Not to give any troll a button to break things. However there are several places where there are e.g. sensors to allow for a favourable signal for drivers. But then again that is mostly in places where they would wait for a green light for a long time. The theory and practice in the transportation field is quite interesting.

philipodonnell 10y ago

I can't tell if this is sarcasm, so at the risk of looking foolish, I'll just say, pressing the door close button on an elevator almost always does nothing. In most elevators it's not even connected to anything behind the panel. It's there to make you feel like you can effect the situation without letting you do so, which I think is the exact opposite of your point.

ambicapter 10y ago
I've heard this before, but I don't buy it. Either that or the elevator at my workplace is VERY prescient.
the_af 10y ago
Where do you live? In my country, the close button almost always closes the elevator doors faster. Measurably faster, not a subjective milliseconds faster, but full seconds faster (so noticeable, in fact, that it drives me nuts when other people don't push it and also involuntarily block me from doing so). When the button doesn't work, it's acknowledged to be broken.
MK999 10y ago
The 'beg buttons' that pedestrians push to get a favorable traffic signal is frequently not hooked up.
- kaspiCZ 10y ago
  For pedestrians: In my city I have yet to find a bogus one. They are there to control traffic flow. You press it, you get a green light. You don't, you can die waiting. It's there to allow the priority traffic to be interrupted only if necessary. I believe I heard something like "press a button for a faster signal", but that doesn't make any sense at all. Municipalities want to control the traffic in the most efficient way. Not to give any troll a button to break things. However there are several places where there are e.g. sensors to allow for a favourable signal for drivers. But then again that is mostly in places where they would wait for a green light for a long time. The theory and practice in the transportation field is quite interesting.