Gregory's Server|
103 comments
Laukidh :ablobcool:
@k @textfiles Additionally, the headline of the article being obscured begins “The dream was universal access to knowledge.” 
Matunos
@k @Laukidh @textfiles fyi to the OP, you can edit your post just to add alt text to an image
ev_rider_j
Me: climbs a Himalayan mountain in 2023 to seek wisdom from a wise man/guru. Guru: Paywall first, sorry. 
Sören
@k @textfiles yes, but part of the joke here is that the headline starts, “The Dream Was Universal Access to Knowledge”
LambdaDuck
@k @textfiles you missed the most important part: it’s covering up a headline starting with “The dream was universal access to knowledge. The” before being cut off by the paywall
Koutsie :unverified:
@ashiisbest @textfiles or people should just add alt text's to their images by default :D
Nik0 :coolified:
@k @textfiles Yeah or we could use that energy to insure that potientially almost every major post in the future can have alt. text. Mastodon is getting bigger and we can't just police alt text all the time. The best thing we can do is just have a feature that allows users (who are trusted of course) to add the alt text
Koutsie :unverified:
@ashiisbest @textfiles doing that in federation seems like a funny implementation problem 😄
Nik0 :coolified:
@k @textfiles it would be and it is rather complicated but potientially (if possible) we could add a vote system for the better alt text. Or the easier solution would be how the mastodon app im using does it where a red highlight just shows up on a picture without alt text (it would just bother people really) 
kinyutaka
Irony: n. The posting of a complaint about another user not using alt text with an image that doesn't use alt text.
Porquerias | 1312 🏴🌵G@K
@k @textfiles no alt text makes it especially ironic, thanks for providing it
@polarisera reposted your post
@textfiles New York Times is not, and never has been, Universal Knowledge.
 
Tom Bellin :picardfacepalm:
@veedems @textfiles The last thing that phone did was toot this screenshot. We salute its bravery.
Jer Warren
@textfiles@mastodon.archive.org alt text:
RhetRx
@textfiles I’ve been a subscriber for decades, and now they want me to accept binding arbitration as part of reading their newspaper. No. 
Aaron A Brown 🌱
@RhetRx @textfiles yeah, this is absurd to think a website dialog is a binding agreement. No way im clicking that.
Digital Panopticon
@engarneering @RhetRx @textfiles The worst thing is that I'm 99% certain that everything gets tracked either way... 
Al Sweigart
@textfiles If you pitched the idea for Wikipedia today, they'd accuse you of being a communist.
goedelchen
@AlSweigart @textfiles   
Aura, Lady of a Thousand Names
@textfiles (an image description:) A screenshot of the New York Times website as seen from a smartphone. The article on screen has a headline that reads, “The Dream Was Universal Access To Knowledge. The—“, but it is ironically cut by the Times log-in user interface asking the user to log in and subscribe to read the article. 
Beeks
@textfiles so you stole this toot, but stripped it of alt text thus making it worse. Wow, very archival of you... Edit: shocker of shocks, the thief decided to block instead of man up. 🤡
Marlinspike
@textfiles Liked this, but serious question. What alternatives are there for news orgs to make money and pay their staff other than instituting paywalls? Back in the day, I never begrudged newspapers or magazines for charging for subscriptions. 
Annelies Kamran
@marlinspike @textfiles either have subscriptions OR have ads. Not both. Furthermore, serve your own damn ads. No third parties.
Marlinspike
@akamran @textfiles OK, Agreed. In theory, I wouldn't care about ads one way or the other, but they're currently so incredibly intrusive, and the invasion of privacy with the "user as the product" advertising mechanics should not be something a paying subscriber is subjected to.
Digital Panopticon
@marlinspike @textfiles Do it like the old times. Take payment for todays articles so that paying members se them "a day early".
Jonathan Huffman
@textfiles I know the point of this is to point out the irony … but for anyone wanting a way around some paywalls you can often paste the URL into a web browser that can block JavaScript 
AlexanderMars
@textfiles I think you won the category for “most Alt text suggestions for a mastodon post” for the weekend, congratulations. 
MaybeMyMonkeys
@textfiles if they got together and had a universal login to track us and sell ads is one thing, but a login for every news outlet is a deal breaker.
(it/its) The Frog ™️
@textfiles this should remove the paywall
username
@Six_Creates 12ft.io started out great but turned into a shakedown, they accept requests (and allegedly payment in some cases) to disable their services on sites. Bypass Paywalls Clean is my go-to https://gitlab.com/magnolia1234/bypass-paywalls-firefox-clean
KDHofAvalon :HeartNonbinary:
@Six_Creates @textfiles
(it/its) The Frog ™️
@KDHofAvalon @textfiles well that sucks 
Nicole Parsons
Do you have a public library card? If you do, most public libraries provide access to most paywalled material. Mine uses PressReader on its web site. And this is why Republicans are attacking libraries... Information asymmetry is needed when billionaires are funding a growing fascist movement. Keeping access to information is mandatory for pro-democracy advocacy.
Gordon J Holtslander
@Npars01 @textfiles Canadian Libraries also use Proquest’s Newstream service, a text only replica of newspapers. https://www.proquest.com/ 
Piousunyn
@Npars01 @textfiles @serge
☄️~Stardust Diving~🌌
@textfiles that's okay, i keep the beautiful dream alive by plugging this article's URL into the wayback machine or archive.today and thus denying anti-knowledge institutions like the Times one of my clicks :) 
Mighty Orbot
@Unampho As #Pratchett put it, a lie can get halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on.
katrintheresa
@textfiles I have a gift subscription — would you like me to share the link? I’m interested in this topic. 
GhostOnTheHalfShell
@textfiles that's what they always say, then it's bait and switch. We ate fortunate that people arr slowly getting the message 
★ blue-caller ☆
@textfiles me in the comments looking to see if anyone else is bothered by the battery indicator :kon_LookingAround: 
Alonely0 🦀
@textfiles Even though I do think that paywalls are a necessary evil (especially with the Times, they usually do great stuff), that's hilarious. I do think that articles covering that kind of topic should not have paywalls, though.
OCRbot
@dodoandthebrawn 9 4 Ice Cubes 07119 New flork @imes The Dream Was Universal Thanks for reading The Times. Create your free account or log in Email Address
Jennifer Slack
@textfiles
Kernic
@textfiles Universal access isn't the same as free access tbh. You can access every information out there, but you also have to pay the people providing it. And ofc the access to the medium itself (provider fee).
woolie
@textfiles this is why I pay for a subscription to the New York Times, and also, because my wife likes Wordle.
michaelvcooper1
@textfiles The problem with "universal access to knowledge" is that there is no longer a decent profit to be made for the labor of gathering that knowledge or ensuring its accuracy.
Inkstainedmags
@textfiles #Alt4You Screenshot of a New York Times headline that begins "The Dream Was Universal Access to Knowledge. The" with the rest of the headline cut off by a paywall notice.   |
@textfiles Alt text:
Screenshot of the New York Times being unreadable because of a "Thank you for reading The Times" popup that states you must create an account or log-in to continue reading.