At first I didn't really care about Pizzacakes content but ever since they started bashing Nazis and AI I like their content more and more.
post
Bots ignoring robots.txt, a tale as old as time
Doesn't Microsoft even explicitly say their Bing bot outright ignores your robots.txt? Basically only Google honors it at this point.
I have a whole table full of noncompliant bots and their IPs by now, all of which get shunted straight into the bin.
The most amusing part is that it would be absolutely trivial for these guys to make their bot traffic blend in with regular users but they're always too stupid (greedy, impatient, pick any three) to do so. Spoof the user agent string of a legitimate desktop browser. Run some manner of Javascript environment to pass agent checks. Don't bombard my server with dozens/hundreds/thousands of requests per minute in behavior paths that would be impossible for human users to click through. The last one is usually where they stumble. If these dweebs had any chill it would be trivial for them not to be caught. But they don't. No, instead they want to try to fork bomb my site by clicking on every link simultaneously in parallel.
So, 403. No page for you!
Jesus christ, this comment section
I always appreciate her comics for their ability to provide a blocklist. A hit dog will holler, so just sit back and see who gets upset about spins wheel consent.
Its a dumpster fire alright
I love how some think her comics are shallow and unfunny, while others think they’re multi-layered and have some deep philosophical meaning.
I don't think I've ever come across someone who thinks they're deep or meaningful.
Mostly people know they're not very good, but they agree with the point being made.
I can't imagine seeking out stuff I merely agree with for entertainment
Sometimes, one imagines, it might be gratifying to see that at least some people share your world view in some manner. Perhaps you might even get something out of seeing who objects strongly to the content, who feels the need to 'do it down'. Not everything you ever read has to be done for entertainment per se. There's more to life than that.
This comic is absolutely true: The AI companies don't give two shits about getting consent before feeding content into their AI training databases.
But it's also true that they don't need it. They're not redistributing the works, so it doesn't matter (from a copyright perspective).
Courts have already reaffirmed our right to save stuff that gets delivered to our computers over the Internet. If we changed that rule, it would mean the end of the Internet, Lemmy, memes, etc.
AI companies suck—yes—but don't let anger at their behavior convince you that removing everyone's basic rights is a good idea.

top 50 comments