6 ms·

It’s strange. Part of me thinks this is a great idea, but some of the websites are also the worst offenders of what the site is trying to combat. Looking at Giz

It’s strange. Part of me thinks this is a great idea, but some of the websites are also the worst offenders of what the site is trying to combat. Looking at Gizmodo and the verge, the crazy amount of 3rd party cookies, unable to really opt out at all. While writing pieces about how horrible google and Facebook are for all the privacy evasive stuff they are doing. I’d rather support content that aim for quality and differ it kind of business model then rewarding some of these sites for being so horrible that this service is even needed. Like https://decorrespondent.nl/ https://decorrespondent.nl/ or specific patreons

twitch-chat 7y ago
You're being lenient. All of these websites either have crazy amount of trackers, actively engage in accusing others of what they're doing, or just write clickbait articles with little substance. You may not get ads but everything you do in the sites is sold. Why would I pay for this?
- onyva 7y ago
  Totally agree. Specifically the verge and other sites that actually promote products without disclosure. Why would anyone want to pay for infomercials? Tech coverage and reviews of this type, if they’re of interest, would be from real users with real world experience and no vested interest.
  - Wowfunhappy 7y ago
    > Specifically the verge [which] actually promote[s] products without disclosure. Huh? What are you referring to?
- donohoe 7y ago
  Change has to start somewhere
arctictony 7y ago
CEO of Scroll here. Glad you're a fan of The Correspondent, we love them too. Also hear you on the privacy concerns. The publisher contracts with Scroll require that they remove third-party trackers 'that share information with parties other than Publisher or have a commercial purpose other than improving user experience.' It's always going to be a negotiation when you're trying to work with sites rather than unilaterally act against them, but we're genuinely trying to get them to a place where they're living up to the privacy promise that a consumer would want.
- fbelzile 7y ago
  I actually had this concept in my Trello list of good business ideas. I wasn't going to pursue it since I like running one person businesses, but I'm glad you're working on it! Good job, keep it up and good luck!
  - arctictony 7y ago
    Thank you! I really appreciate that
- gcb0 7y ago
  isn't scroll a tracker on itself? Not saying what is done or not, but what is technically possible. The proposed product is very much 100% identical to facebook/google login buttons on 3rd party sites. The provider (in this case scroll) have access to the full browsing history, what is accessed at what time. Isn't this tracking (even if only in possibility) diametrically opposed to promoting an internet without ads/trackers? I mean, Scroll will have to track users to divide the contributions per-access back to the sites.
- akkartik 7y ago
  Does Scroll work if I block third-party cookies? Update 10 minutes later: It isn't working for me on theatlantic.com; I got the "free articles" drawers and then got blocked after they counted down to 0. So perhaps the answer to my question is "no". I can whitelist third-party cookies on specific sites, but I don't think I can whitelist a single cookie across all sites. This seems unfortunate. Update 30 minutes later: I tried disabling both cookie- and tracker-blocking in Firefox and still saw no sign of it working on theatlantic.com
LeoPanthera 7y ago
Business Insider too is one of the worst offenders of interstitial ads, and their content is basically a clickbait farm at this point. So I'm unsure about the incentives going on here. Make your site even worse for normal visitors to incentivize paying up to "fix" it? Seems pretty gross.
animalnewbie 7y ago
I've said it before but verge is long form and sophisticated tabloid with sensational articles and a deliberate attempt to go against the consensus or prevailing view, only to come across as edgy.

twitch-chat 7y ago

You're being lenient. All of these websites either have crazy amount of trackers, actively engage in accusing others of what they're doing, or just write clickbait articles with little substance. You may not get ads but everything you do in the sites is sold. Why would I pay for this?

onyva 7y ago
Totally agree. Specifically the verge and other sites that actually promote products without disclosure. Why would anyone want to pay for infomercials? Tech coverage and reviews of this type, if they’re of interest, would be from real users with real world experience and no vested interest.
- Wowfunhappy 7y ago
  > Specifically the verge [which] actually promote[s] products without disclosure. Huh? What are you referring to?
donohoe 7y ago
Change has to start somewhere

arctictony 7y ago

CEO of Scroll here. Glad you're a fan of The Correspondent, we love them too. Also hear you on the privacy concerns. The publisher contracts with Scroll require that they remove third-party trackers 'that share information with parties other than Publisher or have a commercial purpose other than improving user experience.' It's always going to be a negotiation when you're trying to work with sites rather than unilaterally act against them, but we're genuinely trying to get them to a place where they're living up to the privacy promise that a consumer would want.

fbelzile 7y ago
I actually had this concept in my Trello list of good business ideas. I wasn't going to pursue it since I like running one person businesses, but I'm glad you're working on it! Good job, keep it up and good luck!
- arctictony 7y ago
  Thank you! I really appreciate that
gcb0 7y ago
isn't scroll a tracker on itself? Not saying what is done or not, but what is technically possible. The proposed product is very much 100% identical to facebook/google login buttons on 3rd party sites. The provider (in this case scroll) have access to the full browsing history, what is accessed at what time. Isn't this tracking (even if only in possibility) diametrically opposed to promoting an internet without ads/trackers? I mean, Scroll will have to track users to divide the contributions per-access back to the sites.
akkartik 7y ago
Does Scroll work if I block third-party cookies? Update 10 minutes later: It isn't working for me on theatlantic.com; I got the "free articles" drawers and then got blocked after they counted down to 0. So perhaps the answer to my question is "no". I can whitelist third-party cookies on specific sites, but I don't think I can whitelist a single cookie across all sites. This seems unfortunate. Update 30 minutes later: I tried disabling both cookie- and tracker-blocking in Firefox and still saw no sign of it working on theatlantic.com

LeoPanthera 7y ago

Business Insider too is one of the worst offenders of interstitial ads, and their content is basically a clickbait farm at this point. So I'm unsure about the incentives going on here. Make your site even worse for normal visitors to incentivize paying up to "fix" it? Seems pretty gross.

animalnewbie 7y ago

I've said it before but verge is long form and sophisticated tabloid with sensational articles and a deliberate attempt to go against the consensus or prevailing view, only to come across as edgy.