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Using Goatse to Stop App Theft :marseykingcrown: :marseygoatse:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37917012

I recently built a browser-based word game with my friends called Sqword (sqword.com). I'm proud to say that we've been able to maintain a steady group of daily active users over the past 6 months or so despite not doing any real advertising.

Vultures will even pick at modest success stories.

Yesterday one of my collaborators googled "sqword" and to his surprise, there were tons of first-page results that weren't the sqword.com domain. These sites are "game aggregator" sites that host your app inside of an iFrame so that they can steal ad revenue from your product.

This made me angrier than it should have - not because Sqword is a cash cow - we don't run ads on the site and don't make money from it, it's just for fun - but because it was a passion project with friends, something pure and intentionally free to play WITHOUT ads. It's against my ethos as a developer, there are banners and popups everywhere. If I build an app, I believe it should either be free or it should be up-front about what the subscription or purchase price is (and then not upsell you).

I couldn't abide seeing my code monetized in this way.

The mature and responsible thing to do would have been to add a content security policy to the page. I am not mature so instead what I decided to do was render the early 2000s internet shock image Goatse with a nice message superimposed over it in place of the app if Sqword detects that it is in an iFrame.

It has been one of my greatest achievements as a dev: to live-deploy a massive goatse image to at least 8 domains that aren't mine.

Let this be a lesson to you - if you are using an iFrame to display a site that isn't yours, even for legitimate purposes, you have no control over that content - it can change at any time. One day instead of looking into an iFrame, you might be looking at an entirely different kind of portal.

https://joshcsimmons.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I am absolutely not a lawyer, but I wouldn't do something like this for fear of falling afoul of anti-obscenity laws.

For instance, the UK has a cyberflashing law which allots a two year custodial sentence for sending a graphic image (by any means) with intent to cause distress.

cyberflashing :marseyxd:

they really can call the internet police :marseyaware:

I run three word games, this stuff happens for all of them. It sucks but I would never do what they did, it's abusive to the people who just googled your game and ended up on the wrong site.

I've had teachers and students reach out to me to say they play my game in class every day together. And parents who play with their kids every day, and adult who text their results to each other every day.

It sucks if they end up doing it on an ad-ridden site when I built an experience that asks nothing of them. But it would suck even more to goatse them.

:marseythonk: :marseyagree:

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Imagine being scared of breaking the laws of a country you don't live in

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>The US is currently extraditing KNOWN CRIMINAL Timothy Holland. Holland is accused by UK officials of breaking one of its billion or so kitty Internet laws.

>A conviction carries a penalty worse than death, namely: time spent in Bongistan.

>Holland has been quoted, I never should have upset British marms: consequences will never be the same.

Redditors and orange Redditors are so fricking pathetic. Always remember that there's a 90% chance the person giving you advice online is a sun-scared nonce with no greater qualifications to mete advice than have Penny Oaken, Doreen, or any other average, admitted Redditor.


Don't forget to turn off signatures in settings!

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:siren:BARD BOT ALERT!:siren:Current streak was: 0 days 01 hours 01 minutes and 00 seconds

Record is 1 days 13 hours 09 minutes and 59 seconds by TheDunceonFlorist

Average time between mentions: 0 days 01 hours 53 minutes and 41 seconds

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The great thing about bilateral extradition treaties is that they require the crime to be illegal in both countries before extradition, so cyberflash away :marseysatisfied:

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Simple fix:

"This service is not intended to be used in the UK. Cease immediately if you are geographically located in the UK."

Although you really should be geoblocking the UK from all your online services to begin with.

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