Filtering by Tag: internet

Four Clicks to Cancel TradingView

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I actually like TradingView (it’s super slick) and have been a “premium” user for many years, but I think one of my brokers will give it to me for free, so I’m cancelling it. Dozens of the full-time day traders in my Discord room use TradingView as their primary charting platform, which is interesting to me.

Anyway, here are the screens they have you step through to cancel. People call this “dark pattern” web design and an “emotional subscription cancellation” tactic. I just found it mildly annoying.

Blancolirio and Zoom Earth

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I enjoy watching Juan Browne’s channel on YouTube, “blancolirio.” He’s a pilot who has a no-nonsense, “just the facts, ma’am” approach to reporting on subjects that he’s interested in, mostly aviation-related things. I noticed today that he was using a really neat weather website I’d never seen before called “Zoom Earth,” which is both beautifully done and free. Check them both out.

Dead Link City

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Found an old angelfire !! web page with spiral binder background titled “Day Traders.” It has four sections with links under each. Let’s see how many web pages survive:

Useful Day Trading Tools

7 links total, 1 to a dead etrade page (did EGRP buy DLJ Direct? Something weird happened when CSFB bought DLJ … OK, “TD Waterhouse is to buy online broker DLJdirect from Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) for an undisclosed sum.“), the rest re-direct to the marketwatch main page, which is still around.

Message Boards & Chatrooms

9 links total, 9 now dead (100%)

Day Trading Education

8 links total, 6 now dead (75%) daytradersbulletin lives on, sort of, though “Note: The Daytrader's Bulletin Real-time Signals Service is no longer operating.“

Useful Day Trading Sites

4 links total, 3 now dead (75%) tradersworld lives on!

Life Without Global Internet Unimaginable

Added on by C. Maoxian.
“Beijing has ordered state-run telecommunications firms, which include China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, to bar people from using VPNs, services that skirt censorship restrictions by routing web traffic abroad”

I lived in Beijing from May 2005 to July 2015. The main reason we left was the deadly air pollution, but a contributing factor, and not an insignificant one, was the tightening grip the State had on the Internet. I first began using a VPN in China after Twitter got blocked in June of 2009? (if memory serves). More and more sites got blocked over the following years making it essential to have a VPN, with Gmail being "the last straw" for the few remaining VPN holdouts when it got blocked in early 2015? (again if memory serves).

I cannot imagine living in China and not being able to access the global internet. I certainly wouldn't consider living there now, or even doing a semester of study abroad there, without unfettered access to the global internet (via a VPN). Maybe that's what Xi wants? 

How Etsy Makes Money

Added on by C. Maoxian.

From their S-1 [MY COMMENTS IN CAPS]:

"We operate a platform for third-party sellers. Our business model is based on shared success [LOL, FIRST TIME I'VE HEARD THIS ONE]: we make money when Etsy sellers make money, and we offer services to help Etsy sellers be more successful. [MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD, DOESN'T IT?] We do not compete with Etsy sellers, hold inventory or sell goods. [NO, WE ARE SIMPLE MIDDLEMEN] Our revenue is diversified, generated from a mix of marketplace activities and the services we provide Etsy sellers to help them create and grow [BUT NOT OUTGROW ETSY!] their businesses.

Our revenue consists of Marketplace revenue, Seller Services revenue and Other revenue. Our revenue is recorded net of actual and expected refunds [WONDER HOW MANY FRAUDULENT SELLERS ARE ON THERE?].

  • Marketplace revenue includes the fee an Etsy seller pays for each completed transaction [SALES COMMISSION] and the listing fee an Etsy seller pays for each item she [HE] lists.
  • Seller Services revenue includes fees an Etsy seller pays for services such as prominent placement in search results via Promoted Listings, payment processing [THE BIGGIE] via Direct Checkout and purchases of shipping labels [IS THIS A MATERIAL AMOUNT?] through our platform via Shipping Labels. 
  • Other revenue includes the fees we receive from a third-party payment processor [PAYPAL? CAN'T NAME NAMES].

Marketplace revenue.  Marketplace revenue consists of the 3.5% fee that an Etsy seller pays for each completed transaction [BAM!] on our platform, exclusive of shipping fees charged. Marketplace revenue also consists of a listing fee of $0.20 per item that she [HE] lists in our marketplace. Although revenue from completed Wholesale transactions is included in Marketplace revenue, revenue from Wholesale enrollment is included in Seller Services revenue. [ODD?] Transaction fees are recognized when the corresponding transaction is made. Listing fees are recognized ratably over a four-month listing period, unless the item is sold or the seller relists it, at which time any remaining listing fee is recognized.

Seller Services revenue.  Seller Services revenue consists of fees an Etsy seller pays us for the Seller Services she [HE] uses, including Promoted Listings, Direct Checkout, Shipping Labels and Wholesale.

• Revenue from Promoted Listings consists of cost-per-click based fees [WHAT ARE THE RATES?] an Etsy seller pays us for prominent placement of her [his] listings in search results generated by Etsy buyers in our marketplace. Revenue is recognized when the Promoted Listing is clicked.

• Revenue from Direct Checkout consists of fees an Etsy seller pays us to process credit, debit and Etsy Gift Card payments. [USE PAYPAL OR] Direct Checkout fees vary between 3–4% [BAM!] of the item’s total sale price plus a flat fee per order [HOW MUCH?], depending on the country in which her [his] bank account is located. Direct Checkout fees are taken from the item’s total sale price, including shipping. [THEY MAKE MORE FROM PROCESSING THE PAYMENT THAN THEY DO ON SALES COMMISSION? ... INCL. SHIPPING IN THE SKIM HELPS ... LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THAT FLAT FEE BASED ON SELLER'S GEOGRAPHY]

• Revenue from Shipping Labels consists of fees an Etsy seller pays us when she [HE] purchases shipping labels through our platform, net of the cost we incur in purchasing those shipping labels. We are able to provide our sellers shipping labels from the United States Postal Service and Canada Post at a discounted price due to the volume of purchases through our platform. [HOW MUCH DOES ETSY MARK THESE UP?]

• Revenue from Wholesale consists of fees an Etsy seller pays us when she [HE] is approved to enroll in our Wholesale program. The one-time Wholesale enrollment fee is recognized ratably over the estimated customer life. [WHAT'S ADVANTAGE OF BEING IN WHOLESALE PROGRAM? LOWER FEES? HOW MUCH IS THE ONE-TIME FEE?]

Other revenue.  Other revenue includes the fees we receive from a third-party payment processor [PAYPAL? GRUDGING SINGLE MENTION BY NAME IN PROSPECTUS]. Other revenue is recognized as the transactions are processed by the third-party payment processor."

Of interest: How Etsy Alienated Its Crafters and Lost Its Soul, CAN ETSY GO PRO WITHOUT LOSING ITS SOUL?

Business Insider Crashes TweetBot Reader

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Whenever I click on a Business Insider post in TweetBot, the TweetBot reader crashes. Wonder which thing running in the background is responsible for this?  (click image to enlarge)

Blocked in China

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I'll have to make this a running list ... you can see how impossible it is to live here (without a VPN).

Oh, I see there's a wikipedia entry on this.  Anyway these are the ones I use:

  • All Google services (Gmail, Search, Analytics, Maps, etc.)
  • YouTube
  • The New York Times
  • The Wall Street Journal
  • Bloomberg
  • Flickr
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • All Blogspot blogs
  • All WordPress blogs
  • Dropbox
  • OneDrive

If I've missed anything let me know and I'll add it.