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Comment by salad-tycoon | Hacker News Reader

It used to be like this in the US too. Now we have “upgraded customer interactive digital displays” that stream ads, TikTok, “cheddar news” , and propaganda into your brain while you pump and I haven’t seen a pump then pay in some years.

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Side note: If you're at a pump with those stupid TV things, try and hit...right side, second button from the top. This usually activates mute. Some people go to the effort of putting little stickers indicating where the mute button is. Other times you can tell which one it is if the button is heavily scuffed. If that button doesn't work, just try pressing each of the other ones on there. In my own experience, it doesn't hurt to try. I think one time the left side, bottom button worked too.

Whatever the case, I find those infernal things to not only be obnoxious, but a potential safety risk. I mean, you have a customer literally in the process of handling large quantities of dangerous, liquid flammable material which emits fumes that can be ignited by a spark, with potentially inadequate controls in place to stop it killing people. So, let's distract them with shrill, unwanted blather-boxes showing distracting imagery. I make a point of trying to avoid gas stations that have those stupid things installed precisely for that reason - I don't trust that location to put my safety above them making $.0002 from some shady ad network.

I just can't stand that there is such a concerted effort for this war on silence. Just give me a few minutes of simple contemplation.

It would be better to put some tape over the speaker grille to cut the volume by a good amount, since it would help the next person and generally improve the place. Hostile defaults and having to repeatedly do some action to "opt out" means the shitheads essentially still win modulo an illusion of choice, like so many modern dynamics.

While I fully support this if user hostile then hostile user idea, I remembering hearing stories about people putting Biden stickers on pumps getting charged with crimes. Apparently any sticker or even magnet could be argued to be an attempt at changing its pumping mechanism. So maybe just be discrete.

There's always the possibility of malicious arrest/charging/prosecuting when bucking the authoritarian order of just accepting that it's proper and just for shit to be rolled downhill. Funny how there's never any charges against hostile pump owners for assault, disturbing the peace, possible stalking [0], etc. The answer is to be aware of the vanishingly small possible downside, do it regardless, and then be personable to mitigate the damage if you do end up drawing aggro.

(Not that anti or pro Biden stickers terribly upset that status quo. The problem is having upset the wrong person with a modicum of power)

[0] If the nuisance pump is tied into the commercial surveillance databases for choosing what content to blast. I've no idea if we're there yet.

Just a personal anecdote, but miss-timing your button-press sometimes results in a car-wash being added to your pump charge.

I was trying to hit skip or cancel or something (this was in the Before Times, barely remember what it was asking) and what was the skip button became the "Yes, I'd like a car wash" button as the next ad started. I always suspected this was a bit of Dark UI level trickery, but could also have just been unfortunate button selection between two separate ads.

Since then, I just avoid those buttons when ads are playing lest they get me again!

I recently learned that you can mute some of these! I've had success with the top right or second from the top on the right button near the screen. No reason not to try them all if you're a captive audience anyway...

I spam all the buttons on any pump to attempt to mute it, and like you have had success with top right, or second from top on the right having the highest success. In my area, I'm only about 1/4 in being able to mute it, but when it works, usually top right.

I wonder if I could just get a powerful electromagnet and use it to rip the coil out of the speaker. Would be a benefit to society.

You can't buy a toothbrush without calling a attendant where I live, no way they let you pump $100 of gas without paying first. Pay after was the norm when I was a kid though.

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