Poll: Should the Escapist get rid of Meebo?

[NeutralDrow]

Also, I'm now realizing that I'm unable to maintain a highlight on what I've typed in this box so I'm unable to copy/paste. Holding down left click highlights, but it doesn't stay after releasing... I don't know if thats a Meebo fault or not, but I've just noticed it.

EDIT: Reloaded browser and still doing that last part so I'm thinking it's a Meebo effect.

EDIT2: looks like it's not doing the video one I mentioned for featured content right now because the site has reverted to the pop out player, so maybe this is a sign that Escapist is getting rid of Meebo? (one can hope)

Huh. Never noticed the highlighted text thing before.

*plays with it*

Interesting. It seems like it has to be a minimum length for the thing to pop up...but it's never gotten in the way of my right-clicks or ctrl+C afterwards.

And I never had the problem with the videos, even though I've been listening to Yahtzee for hours.

 

[halfeclipse]

I kinda doubt I'm any worse off with more cookies, but I guess I can see why they'd annoy others.

...wait, what annoying things with videos and highlighted text?

It's spyware by another name. The second you hit the site it installed a tracking cookie that is now logging your browsing activities on and off site. Unfortunately most privacy regulations for that sort of thing are voluntary so its not actually illegal, but it still violates at least 6 of the 7 guidelines.

As for the highlighted text, try to highlight and delete something out the the reply to thread or edit box. Just don't do it if your posting something you don't want to rewrite.

I haven't even had to deal with it (pub club) and I think it sounds terrible. The Escapist presents itself as an elite gaming magazine, and I think that it is, but when it's using intrusive advertisement like that that really brings down the quality of the site, and it feels like it could be damaging to its reputation. This is beyond something where you can just say "join pub club." I associate intrusive advertising like that with the more bottom of the barrel cynically commercialized type stuff. The Escapist is better than that, and it would be nice if they'd act like it.

You (and the rest of the pub club members) have the most right to complain. You're paying money so you don't need to deal with exactly this, but meebo will still be installing it's spyware on your computer. Check your cookies, if its not there now the next time you log out it will be.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I kinda doubt I'm any worse off with more cookies, but I guess I can see why they'd annoy others.

...wait, what annoying things with videos and highlighted text?

It's spyware by another name. The second you hit the site it installed a tracking cookie that is now logging your browsing activities on and off site. Unfortunately most privacy regulations for that sort of thing are voluntary so its not actually illegal, but it still violates at least 6 of the 7 guidelines.

That's kinda what I figured. Like I said, I kinda doubt I'm any worse off.

As for the highlighted text, try to highlight and delete something out the the reply to thread or edit box. Just don't do it if your posting something you don't want to rewrite.

Okay.

Spoiler: Test case.

God Hand is supposed to be invulnerable to any NP, magecraft, or attack that's below A-rank...but A-ranked Noble Phantasms and A-ranked attacks are apparently considered entirely separate. According to Side Material, a C-rank NP is technically the equivalent in power to an A-ranked regular attack, but because it's not high enough ranked as an NP and the power equivalency doesn't matter, it wouldn't even touch Berserker. Caster could stab at him all day with the C-ranked Rule Breaker and it (theoretically) would do absolutely jack, and even Gae Bolg technically would only work if Lancer powered it up with runes.

However, there are regular attacks that, even though they're not NPs, can still harm Berserker through God Hand. Nine Lives Blade Works is the one that we see do it in the game. While it was one originally, Nine Lives itself isn't really a Noble Phantasm so much as an incredibly advanced skill that Heracles uses with a number of different weapons; thus, he could be harmed by it, even though the weapon Shirou was using was basically just a reinforced sword-shaped slab of rock. As such, it's pretty safe to assume that the anime was right in saying that Archer's Crane Wing: Triple Strike would be able to kill Berserker once, even though it uses the C- ranked Kanshou and Bakuya. And it's not much of a further leap to assume that he could be killed at least once by Assassin's Tsubame Gaeshi.

Spoiler: Result.

God Hand is supposed to be invulnerable to any NP, magecraft, or attack that's below A-rank...but A-ranked Noble Phantasms and A-ranked attacks are apparently considered entirely separate.

...nothing unusual.

Are you sure it pops up in the edit box? Or is it only while editing?

EDIT: No, doesn't show up while editing, either. Only when highlighting other text on the site.

 

[Jaime_Wolf]

I haven't had any problems whatsoever with it. If anything, it's a relatively convenient, small, unobtrusive toolbar.

I suppose it should go if a sizeable number of people are having problems with it, but that earlier poll about problems tells you nothing. First, people who aren't having problems are far less likely to vote in the poll. Second and more importantly, I would be that the overwhelming majority of votes there are people who just don't like it and think that if they say they're having problems it will go away.

And it's not like advertement tracking cookies are a new or rare thing. If you want to avoid websites serving those cookies, you pretty much need to stop using the internet altogether. Calling the cookies "spyware" also seems a bit melodramatic to me.

 

[halfeclipse]

I kinda doubt I'm any worse off with more cookies, but I guess I can see why they'd annoy others.

...wait, what annoying things with videos and highlighted text?

It's spyware by another name. The second you hit the site it installed a tracking cookie that is now logging your browsing activities on and off site. Unfortunately most privacy regulations for that sort of thing are voluntary so its not actually illegal, but it still violates at least 6 of the 7 guidelines.

That's kinda what I figured. Like I said, I kinda doubt I'm any worse off.

As for the highlighted text, try to highlight and delete something out the the reply to thread or edit box. Just don't do it if your posting something you don't want to rewrite.

Okay.


...nothing unusual.

Are you sure it pops up in the edit box? Or is it only while editing?

EDIT: No, doesn't show up while editing, either.

You're either using keyboard shortcuts or an addon/setting on your browser is preventing it from screwing up.

In case it doesn't happen to you, I'm sure you've noticed how meebo interacts with highlighted text. That "feature" and the text box seem to not get along well. The selection wont stay highlighted, and the text editor will no longer be active. This gets even more problematic if your trying to delete that chunk of text, since hitting backspace will trigger the back page shortcut, possibly costing you your post.

 

[Spygon]

The escapist is a heavy file site as it is so putting things like meebo toolbars will make the site unviewable to people with low broadband width.Also it is rather obtrusive as you do not get this kinda of thing of other websites it a shame as it makes the escapist which used to be one of my favourite sites on the web look rather tacky

 

[NeutralDrow]

I kinda doubt I'm any worse off with more cookies, but I guess I can see why they'd annoy others.

...wait, what annoying things with videos and highlighted text?

It's spyware by another name. The second you hit the site it installed a tracking cookie that is now logging your browsing activities on and off site. Unfortunately most privacy regulations for that sort of thing are voluntary so its not actually illegal, but it still violates at least 6 of the 7 guidelines.

That's kinda what I figured. Like I said, I kinda doubt I'm any worse off.

As for the highlighted text, try to highlight and delete something out the the reply to thread or edit box. Just don't do it if your posting something you don't want to rewrite.

Okay.


...nothing unusual.

Are you sure it pops up in the edit box? Or is it only while editing?

EDIT: No, doesn't show up while editing, either.

You're either using keyboard shortcuts or an addon/setting on your browser is preventing it from screwing up.

Must be an addon, or something. The meebo popup doesn't show up at all in the posting box for me, regardless of mouse or keyboard commands.

'Course, the only addons I have are Download Helper and GameFox...

In case it doesn't happen to you, I'm sure you've noticed how meebo interacts with highlighted text.

Yeah. <url=http://i56.tinypic.com/34h9ypz.jpg>It doesn't.

That "feature" and the text box seem to not get along well. The selection wont stay highlighted, and the text editor will no longer be active. This gets even more problematic if your trying to delete that chunk of text, since hitting backspace will trigger the back page shortcut, possibly costing you your post.

I'm serious, <url=http://i55.tinypic.com/29432jc.jpg>nothing happens with mine.

My computer must be blessed, or something. I haven't had any unusual slowdown or video loading problems, either. And to be honest, I never figured out how to set security settings for the last few iterations of Firefox, so I wouldn't even know where to look up cookies.

 

[Thaius]

Earlier today I tried watching a Youtube video embedded in a news story, and I couldn't access the controls because the Meebo frame was crammed into the lower area. So my vote is yeah, it should go.

 

[Fangv2]

Firefox + Noscript = No meebo.

 

[halfeclipse]

I kinda doubt I'm any worse off with more cookies, but I guess I can see why they'd annoy others.

...wait, what annoying things with videos and highlighted text?

It's spyware by another name. The second you hit the site it installed a tracking cookie that is now logging your browsing activities on and off site. Unfortunately most privacy regulations for that sort of thing are voluntary so its not actually illegal, but it still violates at least 6 of the 7 guidelines.

That's kinda what I figured. Like I said, I kinda doubt I'm any worse off.

As for the highlighted text, try to highlight and delete something out the the reply to thread or edit box. Just don't do it if your posting something you don't want to rewrite.

Okay.


...nothing unusual.

Are you sure it pops up in the edit box? Or is it only while editing?

EDIT: No, doesn't show up while editing, either.

You're either using keyboard shortcuts or an addon/setting on your browser is preventing it from screwing up.

Must be an addon, or something. The meebo popup doesn't show up at all in the posting box for me, regardless of mouse or keyboard commands.

'Course, the only addons I have are Download Helper and GameFox...

In case it doesn't happen to you, I'm sure you've noticed how meebo interacts with highlighted text.

Yeah. <url=http://i56.tinypic.com/34h9ypz.jpg>It doesn't.

That "feature" and the text box seem to not get along well. The selection wont stay highlighted, and the text editor will no longer be active. This gets even more problematic if your trying to delete that chunk of text, since hitting backspace will trigger the back page shortcut, possibly costing you your post.

I'm serious, <url=http://i55.tinypic.com/29432jc.jpg>nothing happens with mine.

My computer must be blessed, or something. I haven't had any unusual slowdown or video loading problems, either. And to be honest, I never figured out how to set security settings for the last few iterations of Firefox, so I wouldn't even know where to look up cookies.

"Must be an addon, or something. The meebo popup doesn't show up at all in the posting box for me, regardless of mouse or keyboard commands."

Lucky you. That's exactly what causes the issue, it tries to pop up but can't, and it doesn't handle that gracefully at all.

 

[Neosage]

Yes, it's tacky and vile. Also stops functionality of embedded youtube videos for me.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Yea I've noticed this, at first I wasn't going to renew my Pubclub membership, then I came onto the site not logged onto my account, and went, "Awwwww SHIIIIAAT" and decided to renew.

 

[Erana]

I kinda doubt I'm any worse off with more cookies, but I guess I can see why they'd annoy others.

...wait, what annoying things with videos and highlighted text?

It's spyware by another name. The second you hit the site it installed a tracking cookie that is now logging your browsing activities on and off site. Unfortunately most privacy regulations for that sort of thing are voluntary so its not actually illegal, but it still violates at least 6 of the 7 guidelines.

I fucking loathe tracking cookies. Its one of the reasons I've turned off the geographic tracking, 'n have done what I can to make Facebook go away in my life.
I mean, I don't really have anything to hide, but I equate being watched with unrelenting judgement, and it makes me feel paranoid. Not having the omnipotent sidebars at least gives me the illusion that there aren't cold, uncaring monolithic machines scrounging up and defining my existence based on my browsing history.

 

[Mark van Hasseld]

anyway to disable/block this yourself?

 

[Ogargd]

Now it takes five minutes to post and to load pages, how bloody fun.

 

[blankedboy]

Um...I just hit the "hide" function on the toolbar, and haven't had to deal with it since.

Same, but it still lags to shit.
It's almost as laggy as facebook now ._.

 

[Sonicron]

This has to stop NOW. Forcing a toolbar on me that installs fucking tracking cookies on my computer? That's borderline criminal conduct. Find some other way to generate revenue, Escapist, or I'm gone.

 

[DracoSuave]

I use Google Chrome.

What's this Meebo thing? Is it a Star Wars character?

If you don't like toolbars, stop using Internet Explorer.

 

[synobal]

weird I've not noticed anything. Is it just me? or does everyone on chrome not see it.

 

[Laser Priest]

I have no idea what that is.

I've been having my browser crash when I have the Escapist open a lot more recently, though.