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I hate these walled apps. Having to log in is maddening. Especially Facebook, especially right now... As a photographer, I have to have some sort of IG presenc

by 12xo 6y ago

I hate these walled apps. Having to log in is maddening. Especially Facebook, especially right now... As a photographer, I have to have some sort of IG presence but I absolutely hate the app, the UX and the whole enchilada. Its the worst viewing experience possible for good photos and yet is the medium of choice for so many... I miss the old web.

sjroot 6y ago
Would love to hear more about what you desire in a photo sharing experience. My email should be in my profile if you want to chat.
- 12xo 6y ago
  As a photographer, I want security and assurances that my work remains my work and is not easily stolen nor transferable without consent. As a user, I want simplicity and way to view work based on a number of options that I choose. Not based on an algorithm or AI. My choices, my mood, my desires. Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app. Its a platform for self promotion. Not much different than Twitter, LinkedIn or FB in that regard. I guess all social media dissolves into a self promotion circle jerk... Avoid their fate if at all possible.
  - livueta 6y ago
    > As a photographer, I want security and assurances that my work remains my work and is not easily stolen nor transferable without consent. I'm curious how you reconcile this with your previous desire for the "old web": paywall? js to interfere with the ability to copy/hotlink images?
    - 12xo 6y ago
      User agreements of these entities are onerous and impossible to challenge. They shield the companies in ways you cannot even fathom and allow many to steal your work and use as they please.
      - livueta 6y ago
        Ah, so you're referring to contractual issues (I posted an image and now Instagram's sub-licensing it to everyone a la https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/04/judge-smacks-down-copyright-suit-over-instagram-embedding/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/04/judge-smacks-dow...) rather than technical ones (user can't right-click save-as)? Makes sense, thanks.
  - sjroot 6y ago
    > my work remains my work and is not easily stolen nor transferable without consent I think in general, this is a "hard" problem for an Internet-based service. You would have to include a watermark of some kind, which arguably hinders viewer experience. And regardless, it is still very easy for viewers to capture an image by downloading or taking a screenshot. I do agree with your sentiment about IG though.
    - 12xo 6y ago
      Honestly, I dont know the answer. Maybe its blockchain like tracking in the image file? Maybe its something else... There are many technologies available that can fingerprint a file, and others that can ID an image. A service that includes this type of feature would be good. And of course, anyone can screenshot an image, but they cannot resell a screenshot for commercial use. But in the end the EULA of these apps are designed to shield the entities from liabilities while offering them many options for re-distribution of others work. That's the biggest problem.
      - novok 6y ago
        Thus a watermark and maybe a service that does image searches for your images on a schedule and then alerts you if someone uses it?
        Kye 6y ago
        This exists: https://www.pixsy.com/ https://www.pixsy.com/
meestaahjoshee 6y ago
my main complaint is watching videos on desktop web or the mobile app - there's no way to control play/pause/scrubbing. you just have to sit through it and if you miss any of it, watch it again from the start. same goes for tiktok i believe. this isn't an issue with the mobile version of the website. anyway, rant over - i hate mobile apps.
- pjc50 6y ago
  I think this is a deliberate decision, although I'm not sure why. You can download the videos if you're savvy enough to open the dev tools, delete the transparent div, and find the element with the video (which may not be a URL but one of those weird blob: ones). Simples.
  - ObsoleteNerd 6y ago
    Each time you re-start it counts as another "play" for their metrics. It's been common on various sites for a while now.
ddevault 6y ago
Have you given PixelFed a shot?
- 12xo 6y ago
  Was unaware of ActivityPub, will definitely check out PixelFed. Thanks!
  - snisarenko 6y ago
    You can also explore posts using my aggregator https://pixelfed.club https://pixelfed.club
riffic 6y ago
an alternative exists. If you have a significant web presence you should definitely explore the ActivityPub ecosystem. Pay attention to established web standards.
- 12xo 6y ago
  Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I was unaware of ActivityPub. Will explore
bmelton 6y ago
Honestly, I think I prefer not having access to something like Pinterest[1] which lets you have some access for a bit and then as soon as you try to interact with the site in any meaningful way (usually to leave it) they insist you sign in. At least with this I know the expectation up front, rather than having it sprung on me by surprise. [1] I've avoided Pinterest for awhile that this may not be the way they attempt to capture accounts any more.
- 12xo 6y ago
  Pinterest is awful in this regard but what makes it even worse is that so many other sites followed in their footsteps. I know why, I just dont like the process or the idea of having to offer up my info and "join a club" before I've even set foot in the door or peeked around a little.
- turtlebits 6y ago
  Instagram does exactly this. You can interact with it's site via browser and open a few links until shows a popup saying you have to login (which you can't close).
  - rpgbr 6y ago
    Or used to be? What I reported is a change in this behavior. It doesn't allow someone browse those few photos and videos before shows a popup asking for a login.
  - plorkyeran 6y ago
    The linked article is about how they stopped doing that and now require you to log in immediately.
- appleshore 6y ago
  My disdain for Pinterest is at unrecoverable levels because of this and the fact they display interesting photos without any details or source listed even if logged in. I often wonder the difference between people that become antagonistic for being forced to signup vs people that are persuaded.
starpilot 6y ago
"I hate the current norm for successful social media apps that make billions of dollars" Just a reminder, HN viewpoints do not matter at all.
hesk 6y ago
What do you think of Flickr?

by 12xo 6y ago

sjroot 6y ago

Would love to hear more about what you desire in a photo sharing experience. My email should be in my profile if you want to chat.

12xo 6y ago
As a photographer, I want security and assurances that my work remains my work and is not easily stolen nor transferable without consent. As a user, I want simplicity and way to view work based on a number of options that I choose. Not based on an algorithm or AI. My choices, my mood, my desires. Instagram is no longer a photo-sharing app. Its a platform for self promotion. Not much different than Twitter, LinkedIn or FB in that regard. I guess all social media dissolves into a self promotion circle jerk... Avoid their fate if at all possible.
- livueta 6y ago
  > As a photographer, I want security and assurances that my work remains my work and is not easily stolen nor transferable without consent. I'm curious how you reconcile this with your previous desire for the "old web": paywall? js to interfere with the ability to copy/hotlink images?
  - 12xo 6y ago
    User agreements of these entities are onerous and impossible to challenge. They shield the companies in ways you cannot even fathom and allow many to steal your work and use as they please.
    - livueta 6y ago
      Ah, so you're referring to contractual issues (I posted an image and now Instagram's sub-licensing it to everyone a la https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/04/judge-smacks-down-copyright-suit-over-instagram-embedding/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/04/judge-smacks-dow...) rather than technical ones (user can't right-click save-as)? Makes sense, thanks.
- sjroot 6y ago
  > my work remains my work and is not easily stolen nor transferable without consent I think in general, this is a "hard" problem for an Internet-based service. You would have to include a watermark of some kind, which arguably hinders viewer experience. And regardless, it is still very easy for viewers to capture an image by downloading or taking a screenshot. I do agree with your sentiment about IG though.
  - 12xo 6y ago
    Honestly, I dont know the answer. Maybe its blockchain like tracking in the image file? Maybe its something else... There are many technologies available that can fingerprint a file, and others that can ID an image. A service that includes this type of feature would be good. And of course, anyone can screenshot an image, but they cannot resell a screenshot for commercial use. But in the end the EULA of these apps are designed to shield the entities from liabilities while offering them many options for re-distribution of others work. That's the biggest problem.
    - novok 6y ago
      Thus a watermark and maybe a service that does image searches for your images on a schedule and then alerts you if someone uses it?
      - Kye 6y ago
        This exists: https://www.pixsy.com/ https://www.pixsy.com/

meestaahjoshee 6y ago

my main complaint is watching videos on desktop web or the mobile app - there's no way to control play/pause/scrubbing. you just have to sit through it and if you miss any of it, watch it again from the start. same goes for tiktok i believe. this isn't an issue with the mobile version of the website. anyway, rant over - i hate mobile apps.

pjc50 6y ago
I think this is a deliberate decision, although I'm not sure why. You can download the videos if you're savvy enough to open the dev tools, delete the transparent div, and find the element with the video (which may not be a URL but one of those weird blob: ones). Simples.
- ObsoleteNerd 6y ago
  Each time you re-start it counts as another "play" for their metrics. It's been common on various sites for a while now.

ddevault 6y ago

Have you given PixelFed a shot?

12xo 6y ago
Was unaware of ActivityPub, will definitely check out PixelFed. Thanks!
- snisarenko 6y ago
  You can also explore posts using my aggregator https://pixelfed.club https://pixelfed.club

riffic 6y ago

an alternative exists. If you have a significant web presence you should definitely explore the ActivityPub ecosystem. Pay attention to established web standards.

12xo 6y ago
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. I was unaware of ActivityPub. Will explore

bmelton 6y ago

Honestly, I think I prefer not having access to something like Pinterest[1] which lets you have some access for a bit and then as soon as you try to interact with the site in any meaningful way (usually to leave it) they insist you sign in. At least with this I know the expectation up front, rather than having it sprung on me by surprise. [1] I've avoided Pinterest for awhile that this may not be the way they attempt to capture accounts any more.

12xo 6y ago
Pinterest is awful in this regard but what makes it even worse is that so many other sites followed in their footsteps. I know why, I just dont like the process or the idea of having to offer up my info and "join a club" before I've even set foot in the door or peeked around a little.
turtlebits 6y ago
Instagram does exactly this. You can interact with it's site via browser and open a few links until shows a popup saying you have to login (which you can't close).
- rpgbr 6y ago
  Or used to be? What I reported is a change in this behavior. It doesn't allow someone browse those few photos and videos before shows a popup asking for a login.
- plorkyeran 6y ago
  The linked article is about how they stopped doing that and now require you to log in immediately.
appleshore 6y ago
My disdain for Pinterest is at unrecoverable levels because of this and the fact they display interesting photos without any details or source listed even if logged in. I often wonder the difference between people that become antagonistic for being forced to signup vs people that are persuaded.

starpilot 6y ago

"I hate the current norm for successful social media apps that make billions of dollars" Just a reminder, HN viewpoints do not matter at all.

hesk 6y ago

What do you think of Flickr?