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submitted 4 months ago by flamingos@feddit.uk to c/fedimemes@feddit.uk
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[-] rekabis@programming.dev 47 points 4 months ago

There is a legitimate reason for this: it’s the only way to provide content creators with evidence of how many people actually clicked on the link.

The downside is that there is so many ways that a feature like this can be abused by BlueSky in ways that can hurt users.

[-] flamingos@feddit.uk 18 points 4 months ago

Yeah, it's literally the second step of enshittification, where platforms stop allocating value to users and start allocating them to publishers. This is still Bluesky expanding out its surveillance apparatus, something it will have every incentive to abuse later on like other platforms before it.

[-] dev_null@lemmy.ml 14 points 4 months ago

No, it's not the only way. You could track the click with JavaScript.

[-] tauren@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

The user can also block your tracking scripts. Besides, the user can share the link with friends, and you won't be able to track them this way. I'm sure there are many other reasons why having a middleware is de-facto the industry standard.

[-] dev_null@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 months ago

The user can also block the URL target rewriting. Not sure what's your point though, I said it's not the only way, not that there are better ways.

[-] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 4 months ago

The content creators themselves could use a link that goes through a counter if they really need it, no?

[-] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago

There is no way it isn't already being abused, there are zero guard rails on it

Fucking typical, a move that hurts the platform long-term is being cheered for by ignorant idealists while the makers of its demise are already salivating and cartoonishly rubbing their hands in glee

[-] ThomasCrappersGhost@feddit.uk 13 points 4 months ago

Why do content creators need to see how many clicks they get?

[-] IMALlama@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago

It's how a number of them get paid.

[-] tempest@lemmy.ca 15 points 4 months ago

I think I would like to go back to social media before people were getting paid for it

[-] aeternum 7 points 4 months ago

I would like to go back to the 90s and 00s where the internet wasn't being monetised at every fucking opportunity.

[-] tauren@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago

I don't know. I'm happy that some very talented and knowledgeable people create content that makes my life a little better, and that they are able to do that thanks to the various forms of monetization.

[-] Irelephant@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago

Thats the fediverse!

[-] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 4 months ago

it’s the only way

lol. Citations needed. Pretty sure this is JavaScript 101.

[-] hempster@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

Trust me bro, we are not tracking you. Please trust me bro!

[-] moopet@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago

That's incorrect.

BlueSky relies on JavaScript to run (try turning it off and loading their site, it won't even render). Click-through traffic is almost exclusively measured by JavaScript (e.g. Google ad "events"). This is the same as measuring other stats, like whether you lingered on a post before scrolling past it, or whether you opened another tab, or whatever.

Proxy links are absolutely a method of measuring traffic, and they're a method that works even when the site has JavaScript disabled - but since that's not how Bsky works, it's not relevant.

this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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