4 ms·

Got a cookie banner with the only option being "Accept", that covered most of the screen on mobile. Figured I'd actually follow the link to the "Privacy Stateme

Got a cookie banner with the only option being "Accept", that covered most of the screen on mobile. Figured I'd actually follow the link to the "Privacy Statement", to learn what sort of dark pattern is used and how I could actually consume the content without opting in to the tracking. Once I got there, however, I got an even bigger banner that also had accepting whatever they want me to as the only option, to the point where I can't even read their statement. Commenting this because I've never actually had that happen before - accepting something being the only way to actually figure out what it is that I'm accepting. If it wasn't deliberate, it'd be quite the ridiculous UX failure. I actually recall some sites just telling me that users in EU aren't allowed to access their content, which somehow felt better because they were honest about it. Might need to look for a plugin for mobile Firefox to automatically set the correct preferences. Seems like the Web Archive copy has the same issue: https://web.archive.org/web/20230422100711/https://news.northeastern.edu/2023/04/21/parrots-talking-video-calls/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230422100711/https://news.nort...

doodlesdev 4y ago
Life pro tip: Disable JavaScript.
- ravenstine 4y ago
  Yeah, NoScript can be kind of a pain but it's less annoying than all of the banners and popups that don't appear because it's effectively blocking them. Also, Reader mode helps a lot.
tempodox 4y ago
There's a reason stuff like that is called webshit.
belter 4y ago
The UI was optimized for Parrots.
MrGilbert 4y ago
They want you to install the "Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on" provided by Google itself. Which is kinda pointless on iOS. Regarding the "you cannot view this content as EU citizen": I find it sad. I miss the old days of the web where it was a web.
- javajosh 4y ago
  >I miss the old days of the web where it was a web. Everything is a trade-off. A partitioned culture is worse for exchange, but this is good when there is a risk of memetic infection. I suspect the best case is a softly partitioned culture, with barriers surmountable by intellectuals with the time and energy to learn a new language, and also a rational immune system and the good sense not to bring contagions home, but which remains partitioned for most people.
  - MrGilbert 4y ago
    I cannot recall any occasion were I brought home a flu from visiting a page on the interwebs. Maybe you have a point with what you are saying, but I would not translate that to the internet.
    - hiatus 4y ago
      They are trying to say we are too stupid to be allowed to freely consume the internet and need someone to protect us from misinformation.
      - javajosh 4y ago
        And yet the arrogant position is to believe you know how human society works so well that you can say with confidence that obliterating a hundred thousand years of cultural isolation has no downside. The burden of proof is on the one who wants to change things, and the burden is higher the more you want to change things. In 2023 US democracy is falling apart, we are on the brink of civil war, in part because of these effects, so I think they are worth questioning.
FireInsight 4y ago
I'm using uBlock origin on mobile Firefox and was able to just hide the banner with the element picker.
- fdgjgbdfhgb 4y ago
  It doesn't really solve the problem though, since continuing to use the site is the same as accepting the cookies
  - kevviiinn 4y ago
    Are you saying that the cookies are set before the user clicks accept?
JKCalhoun 4y ago
"Reader" view on Safari (Desktop) made all the bad go away. I set Safari to enable it by default on many, many sites now.
- eatonphil 4y ago
  Does it automatically accept or decline consent or what?
  - throwaway290 4y ago
    It just extracts text content covered by all the pop-ups and shows it with some readable styling applied.
- bookofjoe 4y ago
  Reader Mode on Chrome does the same thing
rapnie 4y ago
https://archive.is/5EQSa https://archive.is/5EQSa
- ben_w 4y ago
  Thanks :)
lathiat 4y ago
Formula 1 website (*on iOS/iPhone) has the same issue right now once you hit customise the literally 100s of options appear but the accept/reject/save appears for a microsecond and disappears as it loads. Hitting the X doesn’t save.
andai 4y ago
I find the other archive produces more readable pages. This one still has the banner but it's glued to the end of the page. https://archive.ph/5EQSa https://archive.ph/5EQSa
jerpint 4y ago
I was able to read privacy statement without cookie banner on iOS using brave browser
kibwen 4y ago
Click the Reader Mode icon in the URL bar to bypass this.
echelon 4y ago
I just had an idea. I should call up my local privacy-contrarian legislators (I'm in a purple state) and ideate cookie banners as being a populist tool of the opposing party. And if that doesn't get them, as a tool for foreign powers to slow American tech startups and innovation. Bombastic take, but something you could plausibly sell. The hope would be to get our lawmakers to put forth legislation banning the use of cookie banners and popups on US websites entirely. That's a cross-cutting solution that would force websites to immediately remedy their frontends. If it ever came to pass, web operators would be doing a version of the "two buttons" meme wondering which jurisdiction to comply with. Hiring lawyers to determine if IP geolocation is a viable out, but how to respect EU residents abroad, etc.
_a_a_a_ 4y ago
Disable JS. Refresh. Start reading.
- turtleyacht 4y ago
  Thank-you. Disabling JS may help with reading many other pay- or other-walled submissions.
  - _a_a_a_ 4y ago
    It really can! The flipside is you tend to lose images but I'm okay with that. Good luck with your new-found kryptonite
hkt 4y ago
I recommend consent-o-matic on desktop. It'll be good to see it appear on mobile, though I have my doubts that it'll appear soon since the entire ecosystem of plugins seems to have been hobbled on mobile. Regarding EU users not being allowed on certain websites.. well, frankly, I'd rather they do that than have to deal with people who refuse to comply with a very simple legal requirement for user autonomy. It is a basic moral failure not to offer that autonomy, really.
yencabulator 4y ago
Here's a "remove sticky" bookmarklet that worked flawlessly: javascript:(function()%7B let i%2C elements %3D document.querySelectorAll('body *')%3B for (i %3D 0%3B i < elements.length%3B i%2B%2B) %7B if(getComputedStyle(elements%5Bi%5D).position %3D%3D%3D 'fixed' %7C%7C getComputedStyle(elements%5Bi%5D).position %3D%3D%3D 'sticky')%7B elements%5Bi%5D.parentNode.removeChild(elements%5Bi%5D)%3B %7D %7D %7D)()
muyuu 4y ago
the entire website is unbearable shame on you Schuyler Velasco and northeastern.edu

doodlesdev 4y ago

Life pro tip: Disable JavaScript.

ravenstine 4y ago
Yeah, NoScript can be kind of a pain but it's less annoying than all of the banners and popups that don't appear because it's effectively blocking them. Also, Reader mode helps a lot.

tempodox 4y ago

There's a reason stuff like that is called webshit.

belter 4y ago

The UI was optimized for Parrots.

MrGilbert 4y ago

They want you to install the "Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on" provided by Google itself. Which is kinda pointless on iOS. Regarding the "you cannot view this content as EU citizen": I find it sad. I miss the old days of the web where it was a web.

javajosh 4y ago
>I miss the old days of the web where it was a web. Everything is a trade-off. A partitioned culture is worse for exchange, but this is good when there is a risk of memetic infection. I suspect the best case is a softly partitioned culture, with barriers surmountable by intellectuals with the time and energy to learn a new language, and also a rational immune system and the good sense not to bring contagions home, but which remains partitioned for most people.
- MrGilbert 4y ago
  I cannot recall any occasion were I brought home a flu from visiting a page on the interwebs. Maybe you have a point with what you are saying, but I would not translate that to the internet.
  - hiatus 4y ago
    They are trying to say we are too stupid to be allowed to freely consume the internet and need someone to protect us from misinformation.
    - javajosh 4y ago
      And yet the arrogant position is to believe you know how human society works so well that you can say with confidence that obliterating a hundred thousand years of cultural isolation has no downside. The burden of proof is on the one who wants to change things, and the burden is higher the more you want to change things. In 2023 US democracy is falling apart, we are on the brink of civil war, in part because of these effects, so I think they are worth questioning.

FireInsight 4y ago

I'm using uBlock origin on mobile Firefox and was able to just hide the banner with the element picker.

fdgjgbdfhgb 4y ago
It doesn't really solve the problem though, since continuing to use the site is the same as accepting the cookies
- kevviiinn 4y ago
  Are you saying that the cookies are set before the user clicks accept?

JKCalhoun 4y ago

"Reader" view on Safari (Desktop) made all the bad go away. I set Safari to enable it by default on many, many sites now.

eatonphil 4y ago
Does it automatically accept or decline consent or what?
- throwaway290 4y ago
  It just extracts text content covered by all the pop-ups and shows it with some readable styling applied.
bookofjoe 4y ago
Reader Mode on Chrome does the same thing

rapnie 4y ago

https://archive.is/5EQSa https://archive.is/5EQSa

ben_w 4y ago
Thanks :)

lathiat 4y ago

Formula 1 website (*on iOS/iPhone) has the same issue right now once you hit customise the literally 100s of options appear but the accept/reject/save appears for a microsecond and disappears as it loads. Hitting the X doesn’t save.

andai 4y ago

I find the other archive produces more readable pages. This one still has the banner but it's glued to the end of the page. https://archive.ph/5EQSa https://archive.ph/5EQSa

jerpint 4y ago

I was able to read privacy statement without cookie banner on iOS using brave browser

kibwen 4y ago

Click the Reader Mode icon in the URL bar to bypass this.

echelon 4y ago

I just had an idea. I should call up my local privacy-contrarian legislators (I'm in a purple state) and ideate cookie banners as being a populist tool of the opposing party. And if that doesn't get them, as a tool for foreign powers to slow American tech startups and innovation. Bombastic take, but something you could plausibly sell. The hope would be to get our lawmakers to put forth legislation banning the use of cookie banners and popups on US websites entirely. That's a cross-cutting solution that would force websites to immediately remedy their frontends. If it ever came to pass, web operators would be doing a version of the "two buttons" meme wondering which jurisdiction to comply with. Hiring lawyers to determine if IP geolocation is a viable out, but how to respect EU residents abroad, etc.

_a_a_a_ 4y ago

Disable JS. Refresh. Start reading.

turtleyacht 4y ago
Thank-you. Disabling JS may help with reading many other pay- or other-walled submissions.
- _a_a_a_ 4y ago
  It really can! The flipside is you tend to lose images but I'm okay with that. Good luck with your new-found kryptonite

hkt 4y ago

I recommend consent-o-matic on desktop. It'll be good to see it appear on mobile, though I have my doubts that it'll appear soon since the entire ecosystem of plugins seems to have been hobbled on mobile. Regarding EU users not being allowed on certain websites.. well, frankly, I'd rather they do that than have to deal with people who refuse to comply with a very simple legal requirement for user autonomy. It is a basic moral failure not to offer that autonomy, really.

yencabulator 4y ago

Here's a "remove sticky" bookmarklet that worked flawlessly: javascript:(function()%7B let i%2C elements %3D document.querySelectorAll('body *')%3B for (i %3D 0%3B i < elements.length%3B i%2B%2B) %7B if(getComputedStyle(elements%5Bi%5D).position %3D%3D%3D 'fixed' %7C%7C getComputedStyle(elements%5Bi%5D).position %3D%3D%3D 'sticky')%7B elements%5Bi%5D.parentNode.removeChild(elements%5Bi%5D)%3B %7D %7D %7D)()

muyuu 4y ago

the entire website is unbearable shame on you Schuyler Velasco and northeastern.edu