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Off topic: why do websites have a button to “keep reading” for showing the whole post? It’s already loaded, why not display the whole thing?
by samename 5y ago
Off topic: why do websites have a button to “keep reading” for showing the whole post? It’s already loaded, why not display the whole thing?
- shakna 5y agoTwo interrelated things. First, metrics. When you click the button, they get a signal that someone has been reading the page. Secondly, there are a lot of JS APIs that require human interaction before you're allowed to use them, for privacy reasons. By clicking a button, those are "unlocked" and they can send all your privacy-obliterating data back along with their metrics.
- doublepg23 5y agohow did we get to this place where dark patterns are this common.
- nine_k 5y agoHave you paid to read the article? That's how :( The publishers want money, just to pay their bills.
- KirillPanov 5y agoIs there a list of these JS APIs somewhere? Or a specific search term for this interaction requirement phenomenon? I tried the obvious searches, but got lots of false positives in the results. I am asking as a non-web developer who cannot resist rubbernecking at the incredible dumpster-fire-on-a-trainwreck that is web privacy.
- shakna 5y agoI don't believe there's an easy list anywhere - mostly because which APIs require interaction, and which don't, is not standardised. It changes radically between browsers, and browser versions, even before you get to user settings in those browsers that can change it further.
- samename 5y agoThe second point is very interesting, thanks! TIL Pro-tip: you can probably block these tracking JS APIs by disabling JS, using NextDNS, setting up a Pi-Hole, or usinf uBlock Origin.
- vtange 5y ago3rd possibility is that they are using a lazy implementation of a paywall/way to force you to register to read.