So is Al-Madinah (literally ‘The City’) in KSA.

Makes me wish I could register “the pen” as a trademark or something and start selling pens under that name. I wonder if that also makes it impossible for anyone ever find this brand online.

Really? That is unexpected. How can there be such vast differences even though we’re talking about the same app?

Invidious certainly is a fine solution for casual watching. This might actually end up being sufficient in the long run as YT dives deeper into enshittification.

I’m using the free adguard, so I don’t have access to all of the features. However, for a while it was able to block YT ads on Safari, but those days are now gone.

Sideloading stuff is something I should look into though. Got any good sources to get me started?

I use Firefox Focus all the time for clicking various unfamiliar links on Lemmy and elsewhere, and it’s really good at blocking all sorts of online annoyances. However, YT ads are beyond the scope of what it can actually accomplish. Also, it won’t do full screen video.

While I don’t mind banning the outhouse fire that is Xitter, I don’t think that’s actually addressing the underlying problem. Crazy people are always going to find a place where they can spread their nonsense. If you ban Xitter, those people are just going to migrate to Trump Social, Threads, Blue Sky, or some Mastodon instance dedicated to extremist delusions.

This platform has become a breeding ground for disinformation, hate speech, and abuse that threaten the values of inclusivity and truth in our society. X is increasingly exploited as a tool for spreading disinformation on critical issues, including political debates, climate change, and social equality. Misinformation not only misguides public opinion but also undermines trust in democratic institutions.

How about educating people to treat BS as something you just flush down and never touch again? If that doesn’t work, you could write laws and regulations that require social platforms to act responsibly. Various polluting industries are already treated this way through environmental regulations, so why not apply the same concept to social media.

If preserving it is a high priority, keep it in an inert atmosphere and protected from light. Basically, like in a museum.

Where’s that area on this phase diagram?

Oh, they certainly are practical. Especially when you’re setting up a meeting with people living in different cities.

However, when you look at the time zones of China, you begin to notice things. Turns out, 12 o’clock has nothing to do with midday, but at least meeting times are nice and easy.

Sounds to me that even though your massless clock would be always right, time doesn’t really mean anything in that situation. It’s like having a ruler for measuring how purple yesterday is.

AKA solar time. It’s really quite natural. Man made time zones are truly bizarre.

This sounds pretty cool. Are there other types of restrictions you can have?

The Internet isn’t entirely global any more. China has had their private net for years, Russia has taken many steps towards the same goal, and now American sites are blocking European visitors.

If the cheap options suck, people might end up buying the more expensive one. At least that’s what Google hopes you will do.

Yeah, I skipped that site entirely and found the relevant information elsewhere.

Hmm… I should probably look into this a bit better next time I click “accept only necessary”. Who knows how many times that has happened to me as well. Do you use a specific plugin for keeping an eye on these things?

Oh it’s JavaScript again. Seems like that’s the root cause and solution to most web related problems these days.

White listing cookies is the way to go. Everything else just gets deleted after a few seconds.

Could also be a location thing. If you’re in the US, the companies can legally stab you in the back and suck your blood, whereas in the EU they have to let me know what they’re up to.

I’m using firefox focus when clicking unfamiliar links online, so it has no fancy plugins or anything like that. It asks for my consent, which I don’t give. Then, the site just tells me to sod off, if I don’t like their tracking cookies. Basically, none of the site is available to me.