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>This project is making the commercial web more bearable, but I'd rather spend my energy on making the non-commercial web more attractive. They don't spell it

>This project is making the commercial web more bearable, but I'd rather spend my energy on making the non-commercial web more attractive. They don't spell it out explicitly, but I think the author realized that they were effectively acting as an enabler. The letsblock.it tool encouraged customers to use workarounds so that they could still continue engaging with big tech companies that are so customer-hostile. Instead, the author is choosing to let big tech make their experience worse, and customers have more incentive to seek out non-commercial alternatives.

Handprint4469 3y ago
ding ding ding! Exactly. If the commercial enshittified web bothers you to the point of trying to fix it, at some point you'll realize that it's a quixotic crusade, and that you don't even want to engage with the content offered on these platforms anymore. Why would you? The shittier the platform, the shittier the content. The future of good online interactions is in small, closed, well-maintained and asynchronous communities.
- nonrandomstring 3y ago
  > Why would you? The shittier the platform, the shittier the content. Paradoxically that's the way some people find salvation. They have to hit the bottom. Instead of making their experience of digital abuse more palatable what they need is more YouTube, more Facebook, more Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. Until something inside snaps and their soul pukes. I'd totally get it if the author realised they were just prolonging users' misery. As Nietzsche said; "What is shaky, push it!"
- blindstitch 3y ago
  The last line resonates with me as the discord I hang out in is my only source of good recommendations anymore. Almost all of the good stuff I've seen in the past years comes from there. My algorithmic feeds by comparison are all high-viewcount trash for idiots. That onion article from years ago about the lowest common denominator dropping at an alarming rate has only gotten more true over time.
andsoitis 3y ago
> They don't spell it out explicitly, but I think the author realized that they were effectively acting as an enabler. > The letsblock.it tool encouraged customers to use workarounds so that they could still continue engaging with big tech companies that are so customer-hostile. With only 800 active users, letsblock.it obviously didn't have any measurable effect. To think otherwise is hubris. People use products from "big tech companies" because they offer something that is useful that others don't offer. In the author's conflation of "big tech" and "commercial", I think they need more clarity in what they really want to accomplish, what their mission is. Being "against" something is a valid goal in life, but then you really have to be very strategic about it. Being "for something" and pouring your energy into making something that people want or need seems more productive. Even then, you want to be strategic because there's an infinite number of things you could go after. Do you diffuse your attention or do you focus? Supporting the "non-commercial web" seems too vague in my opinion.
- krainboltgreene 3y ago
  Such a weird comment. Are you trying to debate them back into working on the project?
  - andsoitis 3y ago
    > Are you trying to debate them back into working on the project? No, I think the project was based on wrong assumptions (strategy) and poorly executed. I am merely putting constructive ideas out there.
    - zekrioca 3y ago
      I don’t think you are. You have a very utilitarian set of ideas, where optimization towards some unspecified goal of commercial success is the objective, and everything else is deemed ‘lack of strategy’, or ‘poor’.
      - andsoitis 3y ago
        > You have a very utilitarian set of ideas, where optimization towards some unspecified goal of commercial success is the objective, and everything else is deemed ‘lack of strategy’, or ‘poor’. Their strategy was to provide free UX enhancements for commercial companies. When they are against the commercial web! Success does not have to be commercial. It can be about non-monetary impact. They had 800 users and tells themselves "launching letsblock.it and keeping it running for over two years is a big success in my book". Claiming that outcome as a big success is odd and I don't know that the author is learning from failure. When they can say to themselves "I failed in my mission, let me learn from it," I think they will have a larger chance to grow, be more successful, have bigger impact.

Handprint4469 3y ago

ding ding ding! Exactly. If the commercial enshittified web bothers you to the point of trying to fix it, at some point you'll realize that it's a quixotic crusade, and that you don't even want to engage with the content offered on these platforms anymore. Why would you? The shittier the platform, the shittier the content. The future of good online interactions is in small, closed, well-maintained and asynchronous communities.

nonrandomstring 3y ago
> Why would you? The shittier the platform, the shittier the content. Paradoxically that's the way some people find salvation. They have to hit the bottom. Instead of making their experience of digital abuse more palatable what they need is more YouTube, more Facebook, more Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. Until something inside snaps and their soul pukes. I'd totally get it if the author realised they were just prolonging users' misery. As Nietzsche said; "What is shaky, push it!"
blindstitch 3y ago
The last line resonates with me as the discord I hang out in is my only source of good recommendations anymore. Almost all of the good stuff I've seen in the past years comes from there. My algorithmic feeds by comparison are all high-viewcount trash for idiots. That onion article from years ago about the lowest common denominator dropping at an alarming rate has only gotten more true over time.

andsoitis 3y ago

> They don't spell it out explicitly, but I think the author realized that they were effectively acting as an enabler. > The letsblock.it tool encouraged customers to use workarounds so that they could still continue engaging with big tech companies that are so customer-hostile. With only 800 active users, letsblock.it obviously didn't have any measurable effect. To think otherwise is hubris. People use products from "big tech companies" because they offer something that is useful that others don't offer. In the author's conflation of "big tech" and "commercial", I think they need more clarity in what they really want to accomplish, what their mission is. Being "against" something is a valid goal in life, but then you really have to be very strategic about it. Being "for something" and pouring your energy into making something that people want or need seems more productive. Even then, you want to be strategic because there's an infinite number of things you could go after. Do you diffuse your attention or do you focus? Supporting the "non-commercial web" seems too vague in my opinion.

krainboltgreene 3y ago
Such a weird comment. Are you trying to debate them back into working on the project?
- andsoitis 3y ago
  > Are you trying to debate them back into working on the project? No, I think the project was based on wrong assumptions (strategy) and poorly executed. I am merely putting constructive ideas out there.
  - zekrioca 3y ago
    I don’t think you are. You have a very utilitarian set of ideas, where optimization towards some unspecified goal of commercial success is the objective, and everything else is deemed ‘lack of strategy’, or ‘poor’.
    - andsoitis 3y ago
      > You have a very utilitarian set of ideas, where optimization towards some unspecified goal of commercial success is the objective, and everything else is deemed ‘lack of strategy’, or ‘poor’. Their strategy was to provide free UX enhancements for commercial companies. When they are against the commercial web! Success does not have to be commercial. It can be about non-monetary impact. They had 800 users and tells themselves "launching letsblock.it and keeping it running for over two years is a big success in my book". Claiming that outcome as a big success is odd and I don't know that the author is learning from failure. When they can say to themselves "I failed in my mission, let me learn from it," I think they will have a larger chance to grow, be more successful, have bigger impact.