Why do people fall for this?
-
@KaraDanvers @revk
No need for a short URL (They are terrible things).
Also loads of free QR code generation SW.
Inkscape is one.@raymaccarthy @KaraDanvers I did not know added to inkscape... I have https://4.gg
Yes it does short URLs but bottom of page codes any QR you want.
-
@revk
Missing (so far) in the replies is how to generate a QR code with the text or URL you want. I didn't know.I accidentally found out that using duckduckgo to search for "qr code https://www.example.com" generates the qr code.
(Initially I searched for "qr code format" and was surprised, but delighted, to be presented with a QR code that represents the word "format")
The Wikipedia page on QR codes suggests LibreOffice can generate them too
@happysteve Yeh inkscape, and many other. I wrote a QR generator, see HTTPS://QR.REVK.UK
You can also generate at HTTPS://4.GG
-
@raymaccarthy @KaraDanvers I did not know added to inkscape... I have https://4.gg
Yes it does short URLs but bottom of page codes any QR you want.
@revk @KaraDanvers
Short URLS are *potentially* evil as you can't know what they are for.
My phone app to read barcodes & QR codes displays the text and offers a selection of options, which may include the default web browser.I (and others) never click/tap a short URL. They seem to have been invented for Twitter. Here uses 23 chars no matter what length URL is and real URLs are no problem for QR codes.
-
@revk @KaraDanvers Ah, but then they won’t have access to
analytics that nobody ever looks at. (Let alone has any idea what to do with the information.)
Unfortunately, it all comes down to the assumption that *all* of tech is too complex to understand, so “normal people just running a small business” just have to blindly trust a bunch of random service providers.@pmdj @revk @KaraDanvers I really wish society was set up such that there was always a local guy, gal or nonbinary pal or a few who just Know Tech and who the local people who need tech set up turn to. But instead no, all you get is capitalism and free trials and a few companies gatekeeping email.
-
Why do people fall for this?
Second time I have seen a nicely printed sign in a shop window with a #QR which when scanned says your free trial is over.
Just make the QR go to your own website FFS.
[helpful info: my free code tools https://qr.revk.uk and web QR encoder https://4.gg at bottom of page - includes a lot of QR abuse as well]
@revk I make QR codes for links in our printed parish magazine, alongside actually typing out the url. There are any number of generators available; I use yours Rev!
Can recommend Binary Eye reader; FOSS and lets you choose what to do with the text it reads.
-
@KaraDanvers well so do I, but done carefully (eg all caps) these shops would have a QR that is almost as small when direct to their site.
@revk Whats that about all caps? Do they generate less complex QR codes?
-
@revk Whats that about all caps? Do they generate less complex QR codes?
@manualcookie yes
-
Why do people fall for this?
Second time I have seen a nicely printed sign in a shop window with a #QR which when scanned says your free trial is over.
Just make the QR go to your own website FFS.
[helpful info: my free code tools https://qr.revk.uk and web QR encoder https://4.gg at bottom of page - includes a lot of QR abuse as well]
@revk It's all the web generators. They all go through their servers and require subscriptions.
-
@happysteve Yeh inkscape, and many other. I wrote a QR generator, see HTTPS://QR.REVK.UK
You can also generate at HTTPS://4.GG
@revk @happysteve You should add a link to 4.gg from your codeberg page. I only ever remember qr.revk.uk.
-
But I am, I suppose, coming at this from the perspective of a QR code for a URL *where the actual URL of the target* is in the QR code. Not some "QR-code-as-a-service" proxy.
But then I feel the same about link shorteners etc., for plain text URLs: just show me the actual destination.
-
Why do people fall for this?
Second time I have seen a nicely printed sign in a shop window with a #QR which when scanned says your free trial is over.
Just make the QR go to your own website FFS.
[helpful info: my free code tools https://qr.revk.uk and web QR encoder https://4.gg at bottom of page - includes a lot of QR abuse as well]
@revk This is what happens when everything is a service. It never occurs to folks to just generate these things ourselves (or at least vet the services we use) so we take the most convenient path. We usually don’t notice that the QR code redirects through the service we used until it’s too late.
A key concern with offloading everything to services (outside of silly things like privacy and security) is that it becomes a habit where we can produce semi-acceptable results without having to do much thinking or work. It’s easy to get out of the habit of putting in thought and effort in the first place.
Okay, that’s a lot, but it’s Saturday and I just became caffeinated.
-
Why do people fall for this?
Second time I have seen a nicely printed sign in a shop window with a #QR which when scanned says your free trial is over.
Just make the QR go to your own website FFS.
[helpful info: my free code tools https://qr.revk.uk and web QR encoder https://4.gg at bottom of page - includes a lot of QR abuse as well]
@revk@toot.me.uk Presumably a cursory web/app search will return plenty of shiny-looking QR generators that are in fact URL redirection services, and that that isn't inherent to the nature of QR codes is a subtlety that's going to be lost on most people.
-
@revk@toot.me.uk Presumably a cursory web/app search will return plenty of shiny-looking QR generators that are in fact URL redirection services, and that that isn't inherent to the nature of QR codes is a subtlety that's going to be lost on most people.
@revk@toot.me.uk The rot set in when browsers started hiding URLs from the user.
