I liked the article. The author seems to have the same attitudes and preferences about software that I do. But, does Wired have a policy that forbids linking to anything that’s not another Wired article? The piece contains only two hyperlinks, both pointing to Wired. One of the main points of the Web is that it’s a web of information. Every piece of software he talks about has a web page, and plenty of good articles and tutorials about it; there are certainly other interesting articles talking about the issues the author talks about. Why does Wired hate the web?
Not to mention the auto-playing video stuffed between two paragraphs. I wanted to upvote the article for its message but I can’t in good faith recommend anyone visit this site with its current aggression.
Yeah, that was ridiculous. A random video that has nothing to do with the article. Contempt for the reader and for the author and the material.
Publishers will respond to criticism like this by claiming that economic realities force them to avoid linking outside the site and to use obtrusive advertising and self-promotion. But there are plenty of counterexamples: LWN, for example, links extensively in every article to destinations all over the web and uses none of these user-hostile techniques—and their content is varied and at a consistently high level.
With uBlock Origin blocking (by default) the javascript that wired serves, I read the whole article and was only aware of an auto-play video even being present when I read your comment.
Good for us? (Yes, I too browse without scripting.) Their offense still exists and we should be careful not to shift blame and the burden of defense to users.
