If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.

We’re in a very strange moment for the internet. We all know it’s broken. That’s not news. But there’s something in the air—a vibe shift, a sense that things are about to change.

  • @deletedEnglish
    47•1 year ago

    I’d prefer to go back to html only websites with as little JavaScript and CSS as possible.

    I think the best website designs are from the late 90s early 2000s.

      • @[email protected]English
        8•1 year ago

        Those derivatives are so nice. They’re good to browse, look modern, and load fast on any device.

    • @[email protected]English
      14•1 year ago

      Oh, but that would mean the website is just providing you information. That’s not the goal–we need to fingerprint your browser, track you, and serve you ads. Quid pro quo – if you want to know this recipe for cookies, we need to know your purchasing behavior for the past six months. Btw, can I use your location? How about notifications, can I send you those? And for the best experience, you really should be using the app. It’s actually just the website wrapped in an iOS/android package, but it lets us track you more effectively. Thanks!

    • ripcord
      12•1 year ago

      I find it’s rarely JavaScript or css themselves itself but sites that load 400 different things from 100 other domains. Sites that quit loading all this other shit work and perform great even if they’re fairly large and complex.

      • @deletedEnglish
        2•1 year ago

        It’s the interconnected world tax.

        Also fonts, google analytics, stylesheets, telemetry etc…

        • @BuddahrifficEnglish
          1•1 year ago

          Hmm I wish there was a setting to disable ever downloading or using any custom font. I don’t give a fuck what any website author wants their font to look like enough to want to use any that I don’t already have.

          • @RageAgainstTheRichEnglish
            2•1 year ago

            I think ublock origin can block cosmetic styling. I’m not on my pc right now to check though. Also not sure if that includes fonts.

            • @BuddahrifficEnglish
              1•1 year ago

              Oh nice, I thought an add-on might help with that but haven’t gotten to digging in to that. Even better if it’s one I already use. Thanks for the lead!

              Edit: Yeah, it took all of 5 seconds to find the setting to block remote fonts in ublock origin mobile.

    • DyskolosEnglish
      11•1 year ago

      True. How i miss these days. When google began and was just some mere kB in weight.

      Imagine the speed of the Web with modern hardware but plain html with minimalistic JS if need be. Right now, surfing is as slow as it was back then. Machines are multiple times fastet, but content is multiple times larger too. And the addons, the scriptblockers, the adblocker etc.