OK, I get that outside of very niche specialized member sites, NOBODY is going to pay for access to a website. I also get that advertising and impressions and all that stuff are they only way they can stay in operation. But they're practically unusable.
I mostly get my content through RSS into Feedly, and when I do visit a site, it's usually a blog or alt-right site. But every now and again, I have a need to access a somewhat "mainstream" site. And it's usually a painful experience.
First, there are those stupid toolbars or whatever you call them. Some stay on the screen at all times, taking up screen space. Some will hide while you're scrolling down. But, have you ever scrolled and realized the last paragraph didn't register in your mind, so you have to scroll back up? Then the stupid toolbar comes back into play, blocking your view of the article. This is even worse on mobile. Breitbart not only has a top bar, but a bottom bar that pops up when you try to scroll back up a couple of lines. Then they have shit pop out of the left and right with "Here's some more shit you can read while you're here!"
Another annoyance is breaking an article up into multiple pages. You get five paragraphs per page, then you have to click a link to go to the next one. If it's even worth saving to something like Evernote, that's too much damn work. Forget it. I can scroll infinitely; why do you break a short article into 5 pages?
Now they're blocking you if you use an ad-blocker, the staple of the Internet user. Even if you disable the ad-blocker, you still can't access the site. I can't get to Forbes or Wired in Chrome, even though I shut off Ad-Block Plus for their sites. If I want to read one of their articles, I have to use another browser. I haven't reached the point where I HAVE to get to either site bad enough to troubleshoot any deeper.
Considering how prophetic South Park has been over its 19 years, I'm starting to wonder if their last season finale will come true in a few years. I'm glad I'm married. The last thing I would want to do is meet a girl, then realize I'm banging an ad.
That's why, for this blog, I've stuck to the same old template I've had since about 2007 or so. I've tried blogger's new templates, and they suck.
I mostly get my content through RSS into Feedly, and when I do visit a site, it's usually a blog or alt-right site. But every now and again, I have a need to access a somewhat "mainstream" site. And it's usually a painful experience.
First, there are those stupid toolbars or whatever you call them. Some stay on the screen at all times, taking up screen space. Some will hide while you're scrolling down. But, have you ever scrolled and realized the last paragraph didn't register in your mind, so you have to scroll back up? Then the stupid toolbar comes back into play, blocking your view of the article. This is even worse on mobile. Breitbart not only has a top bar, but a bottom bar that pops up when you try to scroll back up a couple of lines. Then they have shit pop out of the left and right with "Here's some more shit you can read while you're here!"
Another annoyance is breaking an article up into multiple pages. You get five paragraphs per page, then you have to click a link to go to the next one. If it's even worth saving to something like Evernote, that's too much damn work. Forget it. I can scroll infinitely; why do you break a short article into 5 pages?
Now they're blocking you if you use an ad-blocker, the staple of the Internet user. Even if you disable the ad-blocker, you still can't access the site. I can't get to Forbes or Wired in Chrome, even though I shut off Ad-Block Plus for their sites. If I want to read one of their articles, I have to use another browser. I haven't reached the point where I HAVE to get to either site bad enough to troubleshoot any deeper.
Considering how prophetic South Park has been over its 19 years, I'm starting to wonder if their last season finale will come true in a few years. I'm glad I'm married. The last thing I would want to do is meet a girl, then realize I'm banging an ad.
That's why, for this blog, I've stuck to the same old template I've had since about 2007 or so. I've tried blogger's new templates, and they suck.
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