Don Marti

Desktop Linux user, live in California, on US-Eastern time mostly. I'm usually either the privacy person in the advertising meeting or the advertising person in the privacy meeting.  All posts are personal opinions, not speaking for any organization here.

(I follow back if you have already posted something that I can see. I unfollow for "AI" slop)

blog: https://blog.zgp.org/
bio + disclaimer: https://blog.zgp.org/misc/bio-disclaimer/
pronouns: he/him
contact info: https://blog.zgp.org/contact/

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Last Notes

2026-10-27 03:15:35 UTC

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Firefox doesn't currently have attribution tracking. They had an earlier version for a while, then removed it, now at W3C they're discussing putting it back

2026-10-26 19:03:57 UTC

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Probably easier to stuff the attribution tracking system with bogus data than to remove it entirely. Still trying to figure out if it's possible to do this in a way that makes embarrassing sites show up on some advertiser's report

2026-10-26 18:08:50 UTC

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Do they have a bug tracker that takes random feature requests? I'll post it there if so (and link to why the system is a bad idea https://blog.zgp.org/think-before-you-click/ )

2026-10-26 18:03:26 UTC

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Optimal strategy for them IMHO is to pre-announce that any script calling the Attribution API will get back a maximally confusing crap dump—if bad data is expected then Mozilla will find it harder to get beta testers and be deterred from future ad features

2026-10-26 18:00:51 UTC

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to be fair, the problem really started with the Google search contract. Mozilla got used to money raining down from one big company instead of having to balance competing web interests (the way that Linux Foundation has to deal with competing hardware and software companies who all want something from the kernel) A browser from a lightweight org integrating the work of browser dev teams at publishers, SaaS, and other web companies would have been less vulnerable to this risk

2026-10-26 04:44:00 UTC

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And yes, Meta is the company that Mozilla has decided to work with on an in-browser ad tracking feature.
The appeal to Meta is obvious—cut off pro-democracy sites from ad revenue—but I'm still not understanding the decision-making process that got Mozilla into it
https://blog.zgp.org/data-lake-america/

2026-10-26 04:21:42 UTC

"The dispute began with complaints from Lula’s campaign about how Meta’s digital platforms work…Meta has denied deliberately favoring any candidate. It blamed the earlier problems on technical failures."
https://www.panamericandispatch.org/p/meta-ignores-brazilian-court-order
Could be deliberate, or just taking advantage of how all large platforms have bugs and moderation failures all the time. Difference in treatment can be whose issues get attention and faster fixes
(No Kings in the USA didn't get a quick fix from Meta either fwiw)

2026-09-24 22:15:17 UTC

https://cdn.masto.host/federatesocial/media_attachments/files/117/328/316/654/522/882/original/629305582153696e.png

2026-09-23 15:58:43 UTC

Do non-Linux desktop OS developers just not care about printing any more?
It seems like as a desktop Linux user I keep hearing, "I can't print because [weird error], can I just share something with you and you print it for me?"
(It kind of makes sense, printing is the kind of thing that is uncool at big companies, so people who make it work are more likely to get laid off, but it's weird to see it just collapse like this)

2026-08-15 15:35:37 UTC

No connection, just sharing the listing
"...the Information Technology Specialist I serves as the Product Engineer for the Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP). DROP is California's first-of-its-kind privacy platform helping Californians exercise deletion and opt-out rights at scale."
https://calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Jobs/JobPosting.aspx?JobControlId=527873
#privacy #job #california #stateJob #CalPrivacy #privacyJob #sql #webDev #backend

2026-08-09 00:06:51 UTC

Any sufficiently high-stakes prediction market is indistinguishable from an assassination market

2026-07-30 17:11:57 UTC

Is there a name for the paradox where a space is _more welcoming_ by having and enforcing _stricter policies_ for specific problematic behavior?
For example, if a user group or makerspace has rules on surveillance glasses (must be put away in an opaque container if brought on the premises) and enforces them, then the space is safer and feels more available to the majority of visitors?
Sort of like paradox of tolerance but not quite

2026-07-13 17:34:09 UTC

Sometimes I read an interview and my only possible reaction is "is you taking NOTES on a criminal fuckin' conspiracy?" https://blog.zgp.org/oops-all-oligopoly/

2026-06-20 16:39:37 UTC

Linus Torvalds came up with two big inventions—Linux and Git—and of course a variety of smaller but still very useful stuff. But an underrated decision he made was to treat kernel developers working as part of "kernel teams" at random companies as first-class contributors, and not to allow the old OSDL (remember that) to become some kind of gatekeeper organization. So we ended up with the much smaller and more responsive Linux Foundation.
Too bad that didn't happen with open-source web browsers

2026-06-12 21:00:21 UTC

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Google unfortunately has the resources to do more than one of these at a time—they're also part of the attribution cartel, a project with Meta and Apple to drive ad revenue to lower-cost misinfo and slop that they, not independent publishers, can control
When "old Google" applied commodification to replace Digital and Sun servers with cheap generic PCs, it was a good approach. But applying it to news and creative works on the web is a big risk https://blog.zgp.org/facebook-slop-the-future-of-ad-supported-media/

2026-05-07 15:37:46 UTC

In the 1980s, most people didn't predict that the video game industry would grow to be bigger than music or movies.
If they had, would the advice to 1980s teens have been "play video games all the time so you won't be left behind"?
There's a difference between
* this technology will be important in the future and you should build skills accordingly
* this industry will be powerful in the future so you should _consume_ mass quantities of their product/service now (because why?)

2026-04-15 15:09:25 UTC

this Strait of Hormuz story makes IT decision-makers who get locked in to one SaaS vendor look remarkably responsible and forward-thinking

2026-03-13 16:25:11 UTC

What if the real impact of balcony solar will be all the political strength training that results from solar user vs. HOA drama?
A fraction of the people who end up having to "get political" to resolve some issue close to home tend to stay political

2026-03-12 17:38:13 UTC

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Is the problem that donations don't cover the cost of maintaining Firefox, or is it that potential donors see Mozilla living high on the hog with plenty of Google funding, and direct their donations where they're needed more?
(fwiw, Mozilla's advertising plans are less well thought out than most proposals in this area. The fraud-promoting qualities of what they're working on now tend to create more, not fewer, privacy risks https://blog.zgp.org/why-turn-off-firefox-ad-tracking/ )

2026-03-12 16:27:05 UTC

Wow, "open to brand messages" that's why I'm running #firefox, they sure got me figured out!
#mozilla #enshittification
https://cdn.masto.host/federatesocial/media_attachments/files/116/217/128/456/916/620/original/175cc15c8846ebb2.png

2026-02-05 19:52:45 UTC

Do you make commercial digital art and take commissions for paid work?
I'm working on a project for a new, local, independent appliance repair service, and they need a logo and header image for the web site. Looking for links to artist portfolios. (please boost for reach)

2026-01-15 18:04:03 UTC

Happy #WikipediaDay to all who celebrate!
If you're putting off getting started because of the maze of complicated official docs and rules, there is a good one-page intro (video and text) at https://blog.mollywhite.net/become-a-wikipedian-transcript/

2026-01-12 19:31:44 UTC

Existing World's Smallest Violin Still Too Large By Orders of Magnitude, Say Boffins
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-prompt-plagiarism-art

2025-12-31 21:53:04 UTC

myth: #advertising supports democracy, without it news sites would need paywalls to support quality journalism
reality: 10% of the people in the USA buy a majority of the stuff, so over time an ad-supported site will skew to the interests of that wealthy 10% In the real world, quality journalism can only be sustained by daring heists

2025-12-18 18:58:45 UTC

personal stylebook note: choose NPOV verbs for LLM output, such as "emit" or "generate" and avoid anthropomorphizing language like "write" or "say" except in a direct quotation

2025-12-16 17:34:01 UTC

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Paying for de-enshittified IT products is like ordering tanks of oxygen to your house because you think there's too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Even if I bought myself out of scams and slop, I would still be living among people harmed by them.
I don't want to be a cyberpunk protagonist in a personal luxury space looking down on a corporate dystopia

2025-12-09 02:49:02 UTC

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Right to Repair is a win for any honest brand that wants to credibly signal their intent not to do #enshittification
Without R2R the honest manufacturer has no advantage over the rugpull because they can't promise that service, parts, software updates will stay good after a pivot or change in ownership
R2R imposes no extra costs on the honest brand—it cuts off the rugpull option they intend not to use anyway, and brings the fair price of the product up

2025-12-09 02:36:29 UTC

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ask the Samsung Family Hub refrigerator owners and the Subaru drivers... any device that has the hardware to deliver surveillance ads will at some point deliver surveillance ads https://www.techdirt.com/2025/11/04/samsung-officially-rolls-out-update-to-annoy-you-with-ads-on-smart-fridges/ https://www.thedrive.com/news/subaru-owners-are-ticked-about-in-car-pop-up-ads-for-siriusxm

2025-12-08 20:03:38 UTC

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We're also in a rugpull economy—the brand that sold you a quality product last year could have been bought out by private equity and switched to contract manufacturing. Reputation is easier to cash out than when Akerlof wrote his famous paper

2025-11-16 17:32:16 UTC

All of these "Europe must" articles are a lot more optimistic if for "Europe" you read "European IT decision makers" and not just "European politicians & bureaucrats"
Everyone who is in a position to select IT products and services is going to have choices
* vendor who bought Trump a gilded ballroom so expects to be able to do crimes and #enshittification
* vendor in a more honest jurisdiction, offering a higher % of #openSource in their solution, or both
https://www.promarket.org/2025/11/05/the-new-geoeconomics-of-hard-power-requires-new-tools-will-europe-update/ #Eurostack

2025-11-14 16:40:51 UTC

Really interesting teen subculture: straightedge #noAI art kids. (They're developing IT skills just to turn off or avoid "AI" slop—this gives me hope for the future)
For a lot of these kids (I've also heard them called the "AI vegans") a big college decision is coming up. And colleges, unfortunately, have middle managers who mandate fad-chasing just as much as other organizations do.
How to make a college short list that will be compatible with not being required to play with slop for 4 years?

2025-10-28 16:30:25 UTC

Is there a good secure hosted email provider that lets you bring your own client(s) and your own domain? I have heard good things about tuta.com but I don't think I want to switch all my MUAs
(I can tolerate a situation where the administrator of the system could have access to the content of the mail, I don't think I need total e2e)

2025-10-21 20:31:30 UTC

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And attending the Advertising Week conference in New York City, to promote in-browser programmatic advertising
https://cdn.masto.host/federatesocial/media_attachments/files/115/414/039/488/835/302/original/e2cab0a4602d98d3.png

2025-09-27 15:47:52 UTC

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Here's the 230 reform we need: Safe harbor is preserved for the actual site or platform, but liability is passed through to the _advertiser_ if any.
This makes the ad-based "social media" business model less value extractive because they must moderate to an acceptable risk level for the advertiser, and has zero effect on sites that don't run ads.

2025-09-15 19:44:16 UTC

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Yes, and this is a big deal for anyone who has signed a contract saying that the writing or art they turn in is their own original work. There will probably be a bigger market for demonstrably generative-AI-free content creation environments as more authors and artists figure this out. See https://wandering.shop/@cstross/114541747269406389

2025-07-19 19:59:50 UTC

HP is putting #ads on their (Microsoft Windows) laptops. Isn't that special?
(why, yes, we are having a Linux installfest next month, see my pinned toot for details)
https://www.adweek.com/commerce/hp-is-launching-an-ad-business-with-laptop-targeted-ads-and-a-streaming-service/

2025-07-17 19:14:35 UTC

Flyers are going up for the #Alameda Linux installfest next month at the library.
(Not just for Microsoft Windows users affected by #endof10 -- you can bring your existing Linux system and questions, too.)
More volunteers welcome, Signal channel available
https://cdn.masto.host/federatesocial/media_attachments/files/114/870/142/300/696/721/original/803fa36dca3f0389.png

2025-05-11 16:59:54 UTC

fan theory: usury, surveillance, and gatekeeping have higher and more predictable ROI than either product or service improvements. So for anybody who wants to get money to work on product or service improvements it helps to make usury, surveillance, and gatekeeping harder

2025-04-21 23:43:32 UTC

to me, it seems like it would have been news that Google stopped 30 million #ads for "misinformation" in 2023 but zero in 2024 https://blog.zgp.org/google-ads-shitshow-report-2024/ (I guess misinformation has friends in high places now, and there was enough other Google news last week)

2025-04-15 15:34:50 UTC

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They're also burning goodwill with the kinds of independent web site creators they need to get signed up as profitable steady monthly bill payers. (Offering a high-profile "AI" spew service in this environment is a failure to read the room https://www.techradar.com/pro/wordpress-com-unveils-free-ai-website-builder-for-smbs-and-entrepreneurs )

2025-03-24 23:54:43 UTC

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and they trust Signal's competence and discretion more than they trust their own guys at "X", Meta, Apple...

2025-03-10 18:29:26 UTC

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yes, that's a huge issue (and one that on its own should rule out having events here—conference organizers need to pay attention and not just assume that no attendee is affected)

2025-03-10 17:53:58 UTC

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I am in the USA and I agree. I'm not inviting anyone from outside the country for the foreseeable future unfortunately.
(I have a rough idea what to do if a visitor has trouble with local law enforcement here, but you could be sent to a Federal or private location out of state where it would be hard for any host or their lawyer to communicate with you)

2025-03-07 04:37:51 UTC

not affiliated but looks like a great #job #opportunity -- #privacy research technologist for the #CPPA #California
needs "Experience conducting research, auditing, testing, or forensics on systems that impact consumer privacy."
https://calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Jobs/JobPosting.aspx?JobControlId=467115

2025-02-28 19:35:44 UTC

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good point. (and how much money would the USA's Big Tech companies owe in EU fines if the EU wasn't going easy on them because they rely on the USA's help for regional defense?)

2025-02-13 17:46:14 UTC

One #Vermont state Representative, _three_ privacy bills this session #riseAndGrind
https://priestleyvt.com/bills/

2025-02-13 01:38:13 UTC

not affiliated with this #job just sharing what looks like an awesome #privacy #sysadmin opportunity in #california
(implementation for the #DeleteAct so you get to go home every day knowing you helped make the surveillance industry big mad)
https://calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/Jobs/JobPosting.aspx?JobControlId=466076

2025-02-07 17:38:19 UTC

So I have used Codeberg, which is as I understand it a non-profit hosted Forgejo, a little bit, and it seems...fine?
Like it does everything I use on GitHub. So it seems like a solid plan in the event of further enshittification on the GitHub side, makes project hosting something to not have to worry about (or am I missing something?)

2024-11-26 18:14:52 UTC

Hooray, more Google bullshit to opt out of. It's a feature that inserts Google Search links onto your page, and the opt-out is unusually janky—a Google Forms form instead of something normal like a meta tag. Anyway, I did it and maybe you can too: https://blog.zgp.org/opt-out-of-google-page-annotations/

2024-11-23 20:53:40 UTC

site: please turn off your ad blocker
user: not today, Satan
"[T]he sports betting industry is currently identifying who the most problematic gamblers are and then targeting them with tailored ads to further spend on their platforms."
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2024/10/29/the-app-always-wins/

2024-11-23 04:33:05 UTC

I just defeated the Cyberdemon in #Doom (yes, by shooting at it until it dies, that does work)

2024-11-15 04:45:37 UTC

good article, also applies to
* protect some other medical or family info
* protect yourself in advance of need so you don't have a suspicious change in communications habits
* (most important for people like me) help vulnerable people hide in a crowd of others with similar privacy habits. Privacy is a collective problem, and having "nothing to hide" comes with an obligation to choose #privacy to help protect those who need it)
https://themarkup.org/the-breakdown/2024/11/14/privacy-guide-go-incognito

2024-11-13 17:37:56 UTC

1/2 very good point from [@_elena](https://mastodon.social/@_elena ) here: "I will be thinking: what do the Big Tech billionaires and kleptocrats wish I would do? And then I will do the OPPOSITE."
https://blog.elenarossini.com/the-fediverse-has-empowered-me-to-take-back-control-from-big-tech-now-i-want-to-help-others-do-the-same/
The habits and settings that are revenue-positive for Big Tech are the ones that reflect more surveillance and addiction on the user's side (ever notice how Big Tech big shots tend to have strict screen time rules for their own families?)

2024-10-27 15:43:46 UTC

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Good point. Some ad blockers are security tools, some (like ABP) offer a false sense of security with paid allow-listing, and some are adware, malware, or subscription scams.
The 2 tools I recommend are:
Privacy Badger is simpler but since it's purely focused on tracking it will let more annoyances through.
uBlock Origin does a lot more
I never recommend "an ad blocker" to users—the extensions that come up highest in Google are the ones that let the Google ads through

2024-08-23 12:42:28 UTC

#readTheWholeThing "[W]e and our colleagues at other journalist-owned publications like Defector, Hell Gate, Racket, Remap, Aftermath, and others have shown that small businesses owned by the people doing the work can be successful not just editorially, but can also be financially sustainable."
https://www.404media.co/what-we-learned-in-our-first-year-of-404-media/

2024-08-22 17:55:17 UTC

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I want to get #rugpullEconomy trending

2024-08-01 07:36:54 UTC

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Plays for me (not in either Europe or USA right now).
You're probably right about Europe—the weird part here is that Google is sponsoring+encouraging ad blockers on non-Google sites while taking action against them on its own sites, and as a "gatekeeper" company in the EU that's probably going to mean a big fine at some point
https://www.404media.co/as-youtube-declares-war-on-ad-blockers-google-sponsors-ad-blocking-conference/
https://ec.europa.eu/competition/digital_markets_act/cases/202344/DMA_100002_145.pdf (PDF)