Today, I received the following comment on a prior post (Why does Hercules etc.) and it got me thinking. I will show you its unclickable version which I, myself have sanitized. Lookie:
"Unknown Unsubscribe," to me: " Push me up against the wall and do dirty things to me. Click here and Check me out i am getting naked here:)."
It's an offer I've never gotten before, especially the "clicking" part. I mean, I click light switches on and off like everybody, and power tools. I even click my fingers when I like a musical rhythm, but I can't get myself that excited just by snapping my fingers. So I present it here as an enigma.
Then! Then, couple hours ago I got an email, purportedly from Google Plus, inviting me to request forms and other legal confustications regarding a class action lawsuit against Google for bugs. Bugs. I had bugs once and there are OTC products available to rid oneself and pets of them. Here's an excerpt:
Summary of Litigation
Google operated the Google+ social media platform for consumers from June 2011 to April 2019. In 2018, Google announced that the Google+ platform had experienced software bugs between 2015 and 2018, which allowed app developers to access certain Google+ profile field information in an unintended manner. Plaintiffs Matthew Matic, Zak Harris, Charles Olson, and Eileen M. Pinkowski thereafter filed this lawsuit asserting various legal claims on behalf of a putative class of Google+ users who were allegedly harmed by the software bugs (“Class”). Google denies Plaintiffs’ allegations, denies any wrongdoing and any liability whatsoever, and believes that no Class Members, including the Plaintiffs, have sustained any damages or injuries due to the software bugs...The suit demands recompense for Google users in the amount of Godawful gazillions of dollars, which divides out among users to between $5 and $12 each . Even when I was young and raising 4 kids, I knew there were easier ways to earn 12 bucks. What's the point? Where there is no point, can there be an enigma?
Please comment. Ranting leaves me a bit unsettled.
Was anyone even on Google+? I had forgotten all about it since it was a ghost town any time I would go over there. It was supposed to take over from Facebook. Spam on posts can be funny sometimes, but is also annoying. My blogging platform gets rid of it for me, but also can make it difficult for non-spammers to comment. It's a mixed blessing.
ReplyDeleteDear Margaret, Yes, seems like Google+ began withdrawing some time ago --definitely overwhelmed by Facebook-- but my need for expression was accommodated by Blogger --essays, poems-- so I didn't give it much attention. It seems people like shorter messages now, Twitterish. Can you imagine Reagan's address at the Brandenburg Gate or Lincoln at Gettysburg possible under Twitter's word limit? Or how about Teddy Roosevelt, who gave a whole speech in 1912 with a bullet in his chest? He'd been shot at close range minutes before, but insisted on addressing the crowd. You can't qualify eloquence or sincerity in 280 characters --which is probably why our current president uses Twitter so much. I'd have to concur, Blogger is a true conductor of whole thoughts.
DeleteIf "click" is a euphemism for something else, it's disappointingly lacking in imagination. And Godawful gazillions of dollars is, as you point out, not really much per user. Not even enough for a good bug shampoo :)
ReplyDeleteI hope you and Norma and all your family are well, Geo. This pandemic is getting rather tiresome, is it not? I'm ready for it to be history. Unfortunately, nature doesn't care what I'm ready for :)
O_Jenny, I too hope for a quick resolution of covfefe-19. So far, so good so far as well goes here. When I heard of Google+ getting sued I thought it was a hoax, then thought it was a real waste of court time. Aren't there less contentious ways of settling these things?
DeleteI got the Google thing too and when I saw the $12 payout I deleted it.
ReplyDeleteAs did I, Bruce. My 12 bucks can go toward their continued defense.
DeleteI have seen that particular unknown across rather a lot of sites. I can only assume that they are not getting the expected clickathon.
ReplyDelete$12? Riches indeed,
Likewise, dear EC. They can keep my 12 bucks toward further clickathons --love that word!
DeleteThe main reason I have comment moderation on my blog is because of the annoying (and often perplexing) spam.
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough, I have recently been getting sexual comments on old posts. No "clicks" are involved - only infantile trash.
Lately, my readership has dwindled so drastically that it's almost a luxury to get spam and smut.
My frequent rants are undoubtedly frightening many people, but they mainly serve to remind me that I'm still alive....
Please, dear Jon, do whatever it takes to remind us of your existence. We all need that. I posted a rant because I needed to for the same reasons. We are a global population secure in our faiths, our spam and smut --but if any of those make clicking noises, I seek professional help.
DeleteFortunately, I have so far managed to not receive similar comments, Geo, but in the past have been spammed as well with other “offers.” It’s the reason comments are checked each morning as Comment Moderation is something I don’t use because it’s time consuming. Rants are something we all need to do and more so in these troubling times.
ReplyDeleteDear Beatrice, I seldom rant because I've never been very good at it. I have always lived in older houses built before local codes required designated domestic ranting areas. Public Rantatoriums were subsequently decommissioned. Is anybody working on this?
DeleteWe all need to rant every now and then, dear Geo, I have been doing a lot of it lately but. in the end all I get is a headache.
ReplyDeleteOne of my bosses signed up for every class action lawsuit request he got. Mostly he would receive $10 or less but for some, he got a little more. Meanwhile large legal firms got millions. My Retired Man did sign up for the Volkswagen diesel suit and we were glad that we did. We were able to replace our car that they falsely advertised as being better for the environment than other cars. .The mileage was great, though.
Dear Arleen, I still own a functional '71 VW Van but it's gas fueled --predates the diesel suit, which sounds uncomfortable. Sounds noisy and stinky and I wouldn't wear one. Yikes! That's how my rants start out! Glad you got a replacement though.
DeleteYes, Geo., spam is a nasty thing (I seldom have it on my blog, but sometimes when I open my emails I get very strange "advertises", which are a nuisance to delete - and I always wonder if someone in his right mind (if they are advertising something "normal" as paper clips) will hope to get one customer this way?
ReplyDeleteEinverstanden, but we are over 7 billion people on the planet, which makes us the biggest potential market (and collection of customers) in history. Where peddlers once went door to door, they can now address the masses.
DeleteYour 'rant'(one of the mildest rants I've read) reminded me how little I know about these things. I probably delete without reading 60% of my emails. If I don't know the sender, I delete it. Any political group or person, even if I happen to agree with them, delete without reading. As to spam, haven't gotten one in months, and then it was just those weird one's that said something like "your blog provided valuable insight.." etc.
ReplyDeleteLately my 'rants' are confined to FB, which have gotten me banned from several groups.
Perhaps I (and you) need to Should Fish More.
Cheers, pal.
Dear Mike, thanks. The other day I added the latest spammer to my g-mail filtered list and was a bit surprised when it took so long to get to the bottom of the page. Over the years I've created filters for hundreds of unwanted addresses--many of whom wanted me to do worse than "dirty things...against the wall". However, so long as there are good, interesting people --like you-- on the web, I shall doubtless fish more.
DeleteWelcome to the world of spamments (spam comments). Clicking on the link would doubtless take you to some mundane by-the-numbers porn site awash in pop-up ads and malware. I used to get spam porn ads like that in my comments all the time -- in Japanese, for some reason. Soon you'll probably get a few of the ever-popular "Mumbai escorts" spam comments. Almost every blog seems to get them sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteThe "class members" in class-action lawsuits often get only a small payment, but the lawyers make out big. That's why they do it. Over the last few months I got a couple of checks for $90 from some law firm about some class-action suit I knew nothing about. You can bet the law firm made a pile of cash on whatever it was.
Beloved Infidel, I too got inundated with "Mumbai escorts" and was saddened when they changed the tympanic name, BOMBAY, to mumbley Mumbai and all the "escorts" moved there. I'm glad you got some bit of settlement for whatever it was --more substantial than most class-action disbursements. Encouraging!
DeletePS Your "Hercules" link in the post doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteYes, my link to Hercules leaves something more than our physiques to be desired. Will try to correct the problem shortly --without visiting a gym.
DeleteYay! I think it's fixed!
DeleteI too received the notification from Google. As Winnie the Pooh would say, "Oh bother."
ReplyDeleteYou received quite an evocative comment there. To click or not to click is not even an option. It is obviously immoral, illegal, or at the very least inconvenient.
My dear, wonderful, Emma, "To click or not to click" is decidedly what Shakespeare was reaching for in Hamlet's soliloquy (act 3: scene 1). "Inconvenient" was enough to steer me away.
DeleteI think an older post on my blog was "invaded" by the same source, probably not even human.
ReplyDeleteAs for the class action law suit, it will be a nice payday for lawyers, not so much for everyone else.
Let me add a line to your rant...we live in an age of soulless "bots" and lawyers who seem to take their cue from truffle hunting pigs. Sorry to offend the pigs.
Do, my slow cooked ribs in homemade bbq sauce object....
DeleteDear Tom, Yikes! "Not...human"? "Soulless 'bots'"? You realize, of course, this means there are cybernetic, artificially intelligent, entities inviting us --humans-- to "Push me up against the wall and do dirty things to me". I don't think pigs are at all responsible for this.
DeleteMike, I admit it! I am a carnivore.
DeleteHave been lucky so far regarding spam, friend Geo. But also have not spent much time in Blogger nor Wordpress lately. Too busy enjoying ... Summertime and the living is easy :) Much love, cat.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, summertime, "when fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high". Let's never forget songs written by those who knew what summer is about. Thanks for the reminder, dear Cat.
DeleteAnd.... “put that in your pipe, and smoke it!”
ReplyDelete:)
PipeTobacco
Durn-tootin', Prof. It's a safer metaphor than education by exploding cigar.
DeleteI got one too..pppffff..
ReplyDeleteCommiserations, Jackiesue. I got 3 "Unknown" one-liners this week on past posts. They're all pretty much the same (with slight variations). I consign them to Spam. Maybe if enough users do that Google might take notice.
DeleteHahahahaha!
ReplyDeleteI like the top photo very much, both the profound thought and the bird drawing. And, indeed, who among us has not sinned?
Thanks dear Squid! As to your question, I grew up in a small, religious, ranching town and had to go clear into Sacramento to do any sinning.
DeleteWell, darn. So everybody else has been getting those porn-y comments, too? I'm not the only one...? And here I thought I was unique...
ReplyDeleteI think you'll appreciate this. One of the government entities I had to deal with was the VA. I wanted to notify them of Mike's death so they'd stop depositing his monthly disability check in our account. In the course of the conversation, this very nice lady with the VA told me about some of the benefits I was entitled to receive. She told me I could get a Presidential certificate acknowledging Mike's military service... and it'd be hand-signed by the President of the United States. When she asked if I'd like one of them, I paused for a moment before saying, "Can I wait until after the election?" Poor lady. I was forewarned at the onset of the call that it was being monitored, and it was obvious that this poor lady was desperately trying not to laugh. She finally got it together, and said, "I understand what you're saying, ma'am, but I really can't comment. And no, I'm afraid that isn't an option." Then I said, "Well, okay. Sure. I'd like one. We still have a dartboard." Then the poor lady lost it. (I hope I didn't get her in trouble...)
Take care, dear man, and have a super weekend.
Delightful comment, dear Susan. Thanks. I read it to Norma (who is over there assembling 2 electric fans I brought home earlier) and your "dartboard" line percolated a laugh out of her grumbles. We seem to be in political accord. All our admiration and best wishes to you.
DeleteSusan you are a gem.
DeleteOMG ~ Susan's comment made my day! That's as far as I'm going to go, for I'm sure I'm destined for hellfire, after the things I've been thinking and yelling at the tv lately. Terry is wondering just whom he married ~ LOL Spam! It seems to me that Blogger could do more about it. I spent well over an hour last weekend deleting over 1500 pieces of spam from my blog posts. And let's not even discuss the awful new Blogger format ~ LOL. What a year! I hope that you and Norma and kiddos are faring well and staying healthy and happy! Please take care!
ReplyDeleteBe assured, dear Louise, we are taking especially good care right now. Like you, we are doing as well as we can. Norma ran tape across all our door cracks and bought an air-purifier for our most-used rooms. We have both pandemic and ash-filled air in our area and that qualifies as an environmental double whammy. Compared to that, the "awful new Blogger format" is a nearly insurmountable but minor annoyance. Google says to lodge problems and grievances but doesn't quite say where --why? because some sociopath's job is likely on the line. 4th irritant is Trump...no, I'll stop here. It's nearly bedtime and what's left of my mind has better things to do. You take care too, dear Blue. We'll get through this.
DeleteYes, we will my friend!
Delete