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Comment by AnthonyR | Hacker News Reader

Yeah I find this article hilarious. Especially since maybe less than 1 in 10 visitors will actually want to share the article? So 1 in 476 is actually pretty decent usage.

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For which the other 475 get saddled with a bunch of extraneous downloads and invasive tracking.

The cohort that is concerned about this almost certainly runs some sort of a blocker.

That's beside the point. I block plenty of things personally but am no less concerned about mass tracking.

No, that's beside the point. The vast majority of users do not care about this at all, while those that do care never see it due to their blockers. From the point of someone carelessly offering a convenience feature with tracking capabilities, this is a no-brainer.

"The people who care enough about the quality of the water do tend to test it, and will refrain from drinking it if it's polluted. But the vast majority of people do not care enough to go through the hassle. So polluting that drinking water for our own interest is a no-brainer."

Yes, that’s pretty much literally what’s happening with a lot of industrial plants or pig farms, for example.

Note that I didn’t endorse this stance, but it’s very much the calculation made in many cases.

What about the cohort that would care about it if they were aware of it? Or the cohort that cares about it but doesn't know such things can be blocked?

I think it's best to leave these educational matters to tech journalists or Internet commentariat. UX is the priority.

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