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Comment by lunias | Hacker News Reader

I understand the frustration, but this is everywhere. I went to McDonald's and saw that they were running their Monopoly game again. I peeled the sticker off of my fries nostalgically, but in order to even see what I may have won I need to download the app and manually enter the code. Why even print a physical Monopoly piece sticker? I'm definitely not installing your app. We used to just walk up to the counter and redeem the reward. This change you've made, it's not for me, is it?

The solution is the same as it has always been, stop spending time and money on things that are frustrating. If enough people do it in aggregate, then things will change; but I'll be damned if people aren't slow to catch on.

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It's back to this modern business problem: shareholders demand multiple revenue streams now. You can't just sell food, now you also have to surveil your customers and sell their data, show them ads, and get them into a subscription.

I don't think shareholders really demand anything, most of the time. So much of the market is just passive 401k buckets.

This feels like a pathology of board/C-suite culture, something that they feel like they "have to" do, rather than actual angry letters from Joe Shareholder in Des Moines demanding more user data farming.

At least in the case of United, we did see shareholders write angry letters when they temporarily became slightly less aggressive denying customers coverage. If that's the level of care for matters of life and death, why wouldn't it generalize to surveillance?

To be fair, I think McDonald's makes more money on real estate (renting franchise locations) than they do selling food, and the income from data mining customers would probably be a pittance in comparison to both.

Not that I'd put it past them, but I assume the entire point of the Monopoly campaign is advertising, playing on the nostalgia for the original, and that the app is just there because that's what you do now, you just have an app.

"show them ads"

Gas station at 6a, nothing like blaring ads across 20 pumps. What a time to be alive!

Can you explain this one for the rest of the world? You guys have ads at petrol stations?

Yes. Most gas stations in the US are self-serve, with screens and buttons next to them. Some are even switching to touch screens. And now some of those screens display ads while you're fueling your car. Hell, some even have sound and it's set at a rather obnoxious volume.

Second button from the top on the right shuts most of those things up in my experience. If not hit every button, usually one of them will work.

Nice! I'll give it a go next time. Thanks for that.

edit: speedway has gone touchscreen, so I wonder if there are ghost buttons then?

Unfortunately, my local stations are deep enough into the Enshittification Cycle™ that the formerly-functional pump mute buttons have all been disabled. That seems to be the trend among several of the newer gas stations I've visited lately.

That's the line which, when crossed, I immediately boycott and use another gas station indefinitely, but I get the feeling that it's only a matter of time before they all follow suit.

But surely, “all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds” that our late-stage capitalism has so benevolently bequeathed us.

And sell them a credit card, but if you have any questions about that credit card, call the issuing bank because it’s not their problem.

Would it work if we created a crowdsourced vision for each category of product/service, so that any given business would be incentivized to meet these requirements to be able to advertise a product or store is Anti-Enshitified Compliant™?

No more "savey-save fcky-fck" cards/clubs as Bill Burr used to joke. No more apps required just to get a fair price. Get the easily transferable PFAS/PFOA contaminants off of my receipts and food wrappers. The sky is the limit for what we could demand.

Companies/shareholders could choose to comply or not.

> We used to just walk up to the counter and redeem the reward.

That still works. Instant prizes will have a tiny QR code on them and you can still take them to the counter and let the person behind scan it. At least here in the UK.

I might try; assuming there is anyone at the counter to actually scan a QR code. I did some very basic research (US) and while you can still get pieces for free, it seemed to me that you need the app in order to do anything with them. Which seemed potentially illegal, but I guess since the app is free they can still say "no purchase necessary." I mean, a phone to run the app on isn't free...

Well, it's been 10 years since they ran the game because last time they did it there was a massive fraud ring. This time you have to register to play the game, and you register your codes with the app. The app reports how many prizes have been claimed, and which ones, so it's good for players too because last time they got mad thinking they were playing for $1M when it was never going to happen. I agree there are instances where an app isn't warranted, but I think for this game it's app or no game at all. We don't live in 2015 anymore.

I remember the fraud, it was insider theft and distribution of game pieces. I'm sure the new system doesn't make them immune to fraud. It now just takes a different skill set. I don't buy the "We don't live in 2015 anymore." take, do you remember the airport before 9/11? Is it okay to say, "Ah, but we don't live in 2011 anymore." There is a very clear trend of companies gaslighting everyone into thinking something is better when it's clearly only better for the company proposing it. I agree that it's cool to be able to see the remaining prize pool; it'd be really cool if I could see that on the menu, on the kiosk, on a dedicated Monopoly display in the store, etc. McDonald's can use their devices for their promotions, not mine.

It doesn’t make them immune from fraud but it probably makes them not liable now that there’s a TOC you have to agree to before you play.

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