intrusive capitalism is making the internet suck

[RainDog]

back in the olden days, when we had to walk FIFTEEN MILES to get to a pine email account,

back when we didn't have any of this high-falutin' graphical interface,

I never had to deal with the annoying data-mined and targeted ads that assume so many wrong things about me.

When I see those intrusive ads, I make a note to self: self, never buy that product. never shop at that store. never click on that link.

this is something capitalists will never get, it seems. like when they love a bohemian area and the yupsters move in and drive out all the artists. the area becomes a hollow shell of what it once was... a community with various levels of income, with people who are not always going to make you feel good about consumption, with people who have other ways to define themselves beyond American-idol or Oprah or Martha Stewart demographic.

then they wonder why the place they once thought was so cool is so sterile and fake.

[Lilith Velkor]

1. I find the targeted ads hilarious

"Find Christian singles!" "Find Muslim singles!" "Find Jewish singles!"

If I ever get one for atheists, I might have to click it on general principle.

[RainDog]

2. really.

if anyone knew one thing about me they'd know that no christian single would ever want to meet me and vice versa.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

3. Back when a 300-baud acoustic coupler was da bom.

And "vi" was the slickest text editor around (and still has some advantages).

The clatter of an IBM Selectic terminal was music.

The only evidence of consumerism was the clutter of Pepsi cans and Snickers wrappers.