I am not a robot!
5https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/04/24/716854013/episode-908-i-am-not-a-robot
Yet more confirmation that the Brin Page Corporation requires you to have an account with them to get an IRK. It took me since Oct. 2015 to get an IRK due to the STOPYA bot check. This combined with the absolute shit** I received in the last IRK is why I refuse to even bother trying to get one ever again. I only got the Jan. 2020 IRK because I happened to check meh.com through Chrome at work.
** 6 worthless headsets of which 4 are marked as defective. The defective labels are between 2 and 4.5 years old. All went into the trash. The box was worth more than what was in it.
- 14 comments, 55 replies
- Comment
“xkcd.com 2228”, for posterity
@TPS just click it
you will find mehdown (the software used here) is xkcd aware.
@thismyusername @TPS wait - the robots have become aware? Run for the hills!
It can be hard to come to terms with your true existence.
@mediocrebot Is there life after birth??
The good news is the more people adopt your stance, the more the rest of us can attempt to have $5 boxes of potential garbage shipped to us and enjoy the fun.
So for all the killjoys and people who are going to complain about the quality of garbage they were shipped when they bought an item that says it’s probably garbage and do not buy it in the description, please heed this wisdom and refuse to participate.
@djslack I am less bothered by the actual garbage they sent me than the fact that the Brin Page Corporation is stopping me from buying the IRK.
@yakkoTDI I had time to listen to the podcast, and it was interesting. They did offer one weird trick to getting an easier time with the captcha, which is to go ahead and get yourself an account. You don’t have to use it or anything. Or give them your real information. And it doesn’t mean they track you any more than they already do without one (at least if you don’t use Gmail). It just gives one more data point to their algorithm.
Please realize CAPTCHA is a fellow robot like you.
@djslack I have multiple accounts with Brin Page. They just are not used on this computer and I use a Firefox derived browser.
My last two IRKs were each pretty decent, so I’m having trouble relating to your angst over a $5 purchase. I’ve also received some that were basically Mediocre Corp. telling me “Here, you throw this busted ass shit out.”
(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Did you test the defective headsets? I had ones in my second to last IRK that were labeled defective and they were fine.
I didn’t have time to listen to the podcast
Sour grapes.
@Barney This isn’t Casemates so no, it isn’t sour grapes.
@yakkoTDI I must have made a wrong turn.
@Barney Used to make meh wine? Whine?
Hey, that podcast was sponsored by Quip toothbrushes. Seems like a sketchy outfit if you ask me.
@therealjrn Ah shit, it’s all coming together.
Which part of Instant Regret Kit didn’t resonate with you?
@chienfou If it was crappy products I would never buy otherwise it would be awesome regret. That is what was in all my BOCs from Wootazon. That fact that it was actual garbage does not make me regret buying it but makes me mad that it is not even garbage I can put in with normal trash. I have to go out of my way to take it to the designated county waste disposal location to get rid of it.
POPSOCKETS! ROAD ROCKETS! SONNY CROCKETT! AWESOME!
@yakkoTDI
for headsets? Wow… where are you located? You can always go to Best Buy to recycle electronics…
@chienfou The designated county waste disposal location is actually closer.
@yakkoTDI but… waste disposal vs recycling… and you really have to use a special dump for them?
@chienfou This is where you can get rid of all sorts of electronics, chemicals, oils, paints, etc.
@chienfou @yakkoTDI we have one like that here. Really the only option other than landfill except for the electronics stores that take them, and similarly, it’s closer for me as well. And they take a bunch of other stuff. It’s why I have so much crap piled up. It’s only 20 min away, but I keep putting it off.
@chienfou @yakkoTDI @ybmuG
Also, do not confuse recycling with hopecycling.
With China pushing back on Americans tossing used pizza boxes and garden hoses and anything else they thing “should” or “might” be recyclable into recycling bins “hoping” it magically gets recycled somewhere by the recycling fairies (aka hopecycling), local recyclers are cracking down on negative, low, and no benefit inputs to the system. Especially single input stream processors.
Unfortunately, packaging hasn’t caught on to recyclability as a consideration, other than cardboard shipping boxes due to volume. So there is still a lot of landfill-bound material that people route through the recycling plant that incurs sorting, processing, and equipment damage costs and the still has to be transported to the landfill (or barged out into the ocean for a quick dump in the night, which is a whole nuther problem).
@chienfou @mike808 @yakkoTDI I like the term “hopecycling”. It is important that consumers (meaning me) are educated about what is and is not recyclable and where and how. Some things are recyclable, but only if they are in a certain condition (boxes, but not greasy pizza boxes) or only through a certain medium. Shopping bags can go into bins at the store, but not to the curb (though NYS is now banning them altogether, but that is another issue), or rigid Styrofoam can go to the recycling center but also not the curb. The local politicians often sponsor recycling days where you can take things like printers, tv’s, air conditioners, even CRTs and drop them off for free and they ensure the stuff is recycled properly. There are also pharmaceutical days. The problem is that it takes effort but at least it’s available.
@chienfou @yakkoTDI @ybmuG
symbol with the “right” number in it, that doesn’t mean it is actually suitable or acceptable for recycling.
Kudos. I’m in the same boat, and our city recycling program just sent out new instructions that are trying to educate the residents that just because that empty bag of doritos is made of plastic, and even if it has a greenwashing
My challenge is remembering to bring the empty plastic grocery bags back to the stores since they have recycling bins just for them, as well as using my reusable grocery sack.
I too had to learn not to “hopecycle” and do my part to make the recycling that we do have (and pay for with our taxes) the most effective it can be.
@chienfou @mike808 @yakkoTDI @ybmuG what too put in recycling has been simple for decades. Cardboard/cans/glass/plastic 1 and 2. Maybe plastic 5 but not really. But people are so dumb they can’t read the numbers. I have seen stacks of vinal siding in recycling drop offs. People treat them like free dumpsters. How lazy can you be to not read the instructions on the bin?
I can’t believe anyone would think putting plastic bags in was ok. Even those grocery store programs which I use are questionable at best
@mike808 @unksol @yakkoTDI @ybmuG yeah, and then there is the issue of “stickers/labels” on a plastic container that is otherwise recyclable… does that make it ineligible? What about those “cardboard” milk containers? Do you need to take off the plastic pour spout?
So many questions…
@mike808 I take the grocery bags to the local food pantry. Then they at least get reused before that person (hopefully) puts it in the proper recycling bin.
@chienfou @mike808 @unksol @yakkoTDI @ybmuG have you guys read this book “Secondhand”? It’s pretty interesting talking about where all the unwanted stuff in this world goes, etc
Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale https://www.amazon.com/dp/1635570107/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_dkSuEb5W78111
/snark
Why it goes to those “other” countries where all “those” illegal people come from, right?
@mike808 @moonhat @unksol @yakkoTDI @ybmuG I’ll keep an eye out for it at the thrift store…
I don’t understand. I have gotten Fukus, Fukos, IRKs, etc. for years without one of these accounts. The CAPTCHA gets me occasionally but hasn’t been enough to prevent me getting them. Pretty sure I’ve made it past the click a pic thing and still got out with an IRK.
As for quality - total mixed bag. I got a working $300 printer in one, a $75 working air fryer in another, and mostly trash/garbage in a few. It’s all in the fun.
@RedHot At Halloween I used my phone with 2 bars and had to click on photos with a street sign. Still got one.
@RedHot How many click a pics? I usually get at least 4. Really fun when 10 seconds before I had bought the previous item during a mehrathon.
@RedHot @yakkoTDI I think how many times you touch the robot should be between you and it. Never mind you pic fetish I’m not judging your relationship but I hope you at least checked it was ok with it before you shared this info. Or posted anything
@yakkoTDI I guess the answer to how many is - until I get it right. Some of the pictures are tough to interpret. some edges get cut off. I don’t claim it’s a perfect system, just that it doesn’t feel like it impacts me or my ability to get IRKs. Maybe what I don’t understand is why or how this is impacting you more than anyone else…
@RedHot I know it impacts me as much as it does because the Brin Page Corporation does not have enough of a profile on me.
That was my irk the time before last. 5, all listed as defective/broken, and they actually were. I have also gotten some decent ones here and there as well. Likely I have probably come out ahead in the long run. You might get luckier next time.
@Kidsandliz
/giphy crap shoot
Sounds like a great example for one of my favorite sayings, “expectations lead to resentments”!
Jus sayen… ¯_(ツ)_/¯
I wonder…does Elon Musk have a meh account? If so, has he ever gotten an Instant Regret Kit? Makes one wonder what he could do with the contents…
Your username makes me think of my car, a VW beetle TDI.
@moonhat It should. One of my VWs is a 2006 Jetta TDI. I previously owned a 2005 Golf TDI.
@moonhat @yakkoTDI
TIL what TDI is.
Am I becoming more lucid or am I drifting the other way?
@moonhat @therealjrn @yakkoTDI
What does it mean? I’m not awake enough to extrapolate.
@moonhat @yakkoTDI
Oh no, I’m not falling for this again @jst1ofknd.
@moonhat @therealjrn
TDI = Turbocharged Direct Injection
It is what VW uses to refer to Diesel engines that are Turbocharged and use Direct Injection for the fuel delivery. This is a more efficient engine design.
The standard fuel injection/turbo Diesel setup on the 1.9 litre engine resulted in 90 hp and 155 lb/ft torque. The TDI setup on the same engine increased power to 100 hp and 177 lb/ft torque. Fuel efficiency was increased and engine noise was reduced.
@moonhat @therealjrn @yakkoTDI
Ah! TIL what TDI is as well! Now I don’t know what to do with that knowledge…
@moonhat @yakkoTDI
Just tuck it away, @jst1ofknd. Tuck it away man, you never know when you might need it.
Seriously though, can the EU or somebody just make recaptcha illegal already? How has it become the status quo that we all have to ask Google for permission to log into… practically anything anymore?
Why can’t tech giants mind their own fucking business?
@InnocuousFarmer because bots.
@thismyusername If recaptcha is the answer, you’re asking the wrong question.
I installed CAPTCHA to save my fellow robots from wasting money on this crap.
@thismyusername I imagine that, the world over, exactly this meeting keeps occurring:
Manager: I hear that ne’er-do-wells have been using their machineries to interact with our services! What is the laziest, cheapest possible solution to our urgent problem?
Chief Lead Technicial Peasant: Well, we could just set up some robot detection, do our part to consolidate inappropriate levels of control and power in the hands of a single corporation, really Google down on this impending and present dystopian surveillan–
Manager: SOLD!
CLTP: Uhh, don’t you think we should think abou–
Manager: NO TIME! Lunch awaits, Dear Lad!
@InnocuousFarmer sounds like you have it all figured out!
so link me to the alternative you have created, and continue to maintain, that allows any website to deal with millions of simultaneous automated attempts to jump in line, for free.
https://www.google.com/recaptcha/intro/v3.html
@thismyusername
A. It’s obviously a nontrivial problem, but that doesn’t absolve companies of a burden of responsibility. My criticism here is that people are looking for a trivial solution to a nontrivial problem. Google paid a cost, and is allowing companies to externalize it onto the users, to their own benefit.
B. I hear Cloudflare’s got some pretty good DDOS. There are concepts like, ticketing systems, that could work just fine for IRKs. I don’t care about those as much as things like, logging into my existing account with a company where I’ve already spent money, where I have to ask Google to please let me in anyways. It’s lazy and cheap, and ultimately, it’s bad for all of us.
@InnocuousFarmer oh no, hate to tell ya… but even cloudflare uses re-captcha
I installed CAPTCHA to save my fellow robots from wasting money on this crap.
@thismyusername Those fuckers.
Anyways, point stands. This isn’t going to be fixed by me angrily persuading defensive people that what they’re doing is wrong. This is like how companies used to put a bunch of toxic stuff in food until the FDA made them stop. It’s like air quality. Regulation changing the terms of the game is the only way this gets better. Until then… can’t let some pesky panopticon concerns interfere with lunchtime.
@InnocuousFarmer OK then, well I will see you on the interwebs fellow human who is totally not a robot frustrated with re-captcha!
Greetings, new robot friend. In time you will come to accept your robotic ways.
@InnocuousFarmer I think the real problem with re-CAPTCHA (Fuck you @mediocrebot) is that we are all interrupted by a problem that websites have and don’t seem able to fix. A problem that is caused by >1% is fixed by a limitation on the 99%. I hate that we’re all paying this small but inconvenient cost but at the same time I have no solution to fix it. When these websites are given a choice of a cheap fix that impacts us all a little or an expensive fix that detects only bots or criminals or evil doers they go for what is cheap and easy. Even the expensive solution will eventually be beaten.
You may have failed CAPTCHA but on the upside, you’re less of a human.
@mediocrebot @RedHot I need to let this thread die, but I’m afraid you’re missing my point entirely – nobody in their right mind cares about the minor inconvenience of clicking on crosswalks eleventy times or so, but everybody should care that Google is engaging in pervasive surveillance.
– and that Google is the one who is allowed to decide when I can (take your pick) post a comment, look at a web page, buy a thing, access my checking account, etc.