Idk if this is the right instance for this, but how fucking tired of these forced ads at gas pumps is everyone else?

I’m paying 4 bucks a gallon to have you shove advertising down my throat like an erect cock?

What the actual fuck

Anyone have any good ad blocking practices for this?

I’ve seen duct or painters tape covering the speakers…

You can press a button next to the screen to mute it, but this doesn’t work at all gas stations. (Usually its the 2nd from the top on the right side)

I guess its just time to gettoblast music every time I pump gas like back when I was 19…

  • DdCno1@kbin.social
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    2 years ago

    This is one of those American absurdities that thankfully hasn’t made its way over to Europe yet, at least to my knowledge. I hope I have an electric car by the point they start introducing these here.

    • Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      In Finland our equivalence to Wal-Mart also sells cheap gas and they have ads on their pumps advertising their own products but it’s just on the display and there’s no sound with it.

        • NegativeInf@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          And now when I get gas I gotta listen to them hawk some shitty podcast from a washed up morning host. No! I don’t want to know about Hoda Kotb, I just want gas!

      • Pwnmode@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Would be nice if the gas was less expensive at the stores with ads. At least that’s not the case in my area. 5 min down the road the same company has pumps without ads for the same price.

    • SlopppyEngineer@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Oh yes they tried. The damn thing scared me when that ad started playing. I haven’t been back at that station again. Some other stations do have ads playing but those are silent, so I guess they do learn customers don’t like the loud ads.

    • letsgo@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      We’ve got some in the UK, like this one at the Shell petrol station at S60 5ND (pic from Oogle Gearth)

    • NιƙƙιDιɱҽʂ@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      I’ve been driving an EV for a few years, but I flew out of state and had to rent a car recently. I’d never experienced this before then. It was one of the most dystopian experiences ever, leaving me feeling dirty and used.

      I don’t think I could keep myself from vandalizing those things if I had to do that constantly.

    • shadycomposer@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      Why do you think charging stations will be immune? Plus with all the ‘smart’ ‘connected’ cars it’s not impossible for them to push ads directly to your car.

      • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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        2 years ago

        What sucks about charging stations is they don’t have:

        • trash cans
        • squeegees to clean my windshield
        • a portico to keep the rain off my head
        • a little convenience store with coffee and snacks
      • Yaztromo@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        EV charging doesn’t require you to stand around for 5 minutes holding a handle to fuel up. The charging times are longer, but once plugged in your need to stay anywhere near the vehicle is zero. And plugging in usually takes less than 5s.

        So even if someone came up with a system whereby they expected you to watch an ad before the power would flow, you could always just plug in and walk away. How are they going to know you’re physically there?

        As an EV driver I haven’t been to a gas station since I started driving it, but AFAIK this advertising hasn’t come to Canada — and hopefully it never does.

        • siipale@sopuli.xyz
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          2 years ago

          So even if someone came up with a system whereby they expected you to watch an ad before the power would flow, you could always just plug in and walk away. How are they going to know you’re physically there?

          How about a button located near the ad screen and speaker that you have to hold like at least 80% of ad duration. If you failed to reach 80% it would reset to 0 and show you another ad so you can try again.

          • Yaztromo@lemmy.world
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            2 years ago

            First — stop giving them ideas! 🤣

            Second, a small rock and some tape would likely defeat that.

            • siipale@sopuli.xyz
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              2 years ago

              The idea I had was just so ridiculously evil I just had to teil about it 😄

              If you think about it the rock and tape hack can be easily prevented, but I’m not going to elaborate any further as to not give them more ideas.

  • zaph@sh.itjust.works
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    2 years ago

    Anyone have any good ad blocking practices for this?

    Don’t buy gas from places that do this. Hasn’t failed me yet and if more people did it maybe they’ll stop.

    • Blum0108@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      They’d just blame millennials for ruining buying gas and double down on the ads.

        • fsxylo@sh.itjust.works
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          2 years ago

          Yup. The “free” market says that if everyone does the same shit, you have no choice, and they still make more money.

            • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.world
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              2 years ago

              They will get the market share of us few weirdos who haven’t just accepted this shit. They will lose out on advertising revenue, have to charge more for gas, and will go out of business.

              • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
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                2 years ago

                And that ad revenue is probably significant. While consumers of commodities don’t really have much selection.

    • Dramaking37@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      As you are able I’d highly recommend going electric. Then you don’t even have to go to gas stations. If you’re able to charge at home (which I’m aware many are not) it’s even better because anytime you leave the house you can have a full tank.

  • Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    "People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply you’re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

    You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

    Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

    You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially don’t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, don’t even start asking for theirs."

    – Banksy

  • Lexam@lemmy.ca
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    2 years ago

    The ones here, you can’t mute. Pisses me off so bad I will refuse to back to a gas station. I have even pulled up seen the ads on another pump and drove off. I’m not a fucking captive! Congrats on losing money greedy fucks!

      • frunch@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Does this work universally or is there a particular station you frequent that it works at?

        • 4am@lemm.ee
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          2 years ago

          Depends on the model of pump. Some of them you push one of the unlabeled buttons a few times (my local Shell it’s the 2nd one down on the right)

    • airportline@lemmy.ml
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      2 years ago

      Are there any potential repercussions for sticking a utility knife into the speaker grill?

      • Promethiel@lemmy.worlddeleted by creator
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        2 years ago

        Mild electric shock and a vandalism charge if caught. Worth it? I don’t know but I’m getting sick of the fucking ads

        Edit: So stab then pump, instead of the other way around to avoid boom boom?

      • AtariDump@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        In another thread someone said they carry a sharpie marker with them and label the button(s) you need to press to mute the audio for future people.

    • BillDaCatt@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      I do this too. Speedway and Shell play video ads on their pumps with no obvious mute options. I don’t buy gas there.

  • Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    I wish advertisers would realize that forcing me to watch their ad against my will makes me actively hostile against their brand and/or product. If I remember their brand name from an intrusive ad I will not only not buy their products, I will go out of my way to give my money to their competitors.

    • Thorny_Insight@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      Advertising is among the most studied psychological phenomenoms in the world. It’s not so much about getting you to buy their product but more about you remembering the brand. Ads work. That why they’re everywhere.

      Sure I can name several brands that I’m not buying from either because of their ads… …but I remember the brands.

      • micka190@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        Whenever someone brings this up, someone also brings up the fact that ads are proven to work in general not on everyone. So I guess it’s my turn today.

        • jkrtn@lemmy.ml
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          2 years ago

          Yes, but in the context of whether or not to be scumbags about the gas pump they only care about the aggregate behavior. “I wish they would realize I make a mental note to never buy,” they do, tho. They don’t care because it convinces two or more other people to buy. Ads will continue getting worse because none of us will do collective action about it.

      • Mycatiskai@lemmy.ca
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        2 years ago

        I likely wouldn’t buy a diamond ring but I most certainly not buy one from a certain diamond store that has fucking annoying ads. They know who they are and if you are in Lower Mainland of BC, you know who I’m talking about. They can blow and choke on a red hot cock shaped metal rod. I’m glad I moved so far north that I won’t get any ads for them ever again.

      • ProfessorProteus@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        I’ve also cone to realize that this is the real purpose of ads.

        Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world, you have the right idea, but the other key thing you should remember is to never talk about the corps to anyone, even if you’re dragging their name through the mud. “No such thing as bad press,” as they say.

        It’s good to denounce the practice, but it seems naming and shaming specific companies just doesn’t work anymore at this stage.

  • 4am@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    Second button down on the right side of the screen, press it (up to) 4 times and it mutes that shit

    • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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      2 years ago

      Since we are sharing…

      Holding down 1-5-9 or 3-5-7 can drop a POS card reader into debug mode, but it’s brand dependent. (I have had it also crash the host terminals in some cases as well.)

      • BaumGeist@lemmy.ml
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        2 years ago

        also want to say that this is illegal in most places. The store may or may not press charges, but they have the right to and they will win that case if they do. So only do it if you know you can get away with it or have permission or don’t mind having the stain on your legal record and whatever fine they hit you with

        • remotelove@lemmy.ca
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          It’s not destructive, nor can it really be considered illegal access. I suppose there is something illegal about it if it’s classified as a DoS, I guess. There isn’t much on a payment PED aside from an encryption key and maybe some network information.

          Entering your PIN and accidentally hitting 3 buttons hardly seems like something to get charged with. How you leverage that for other things could easily be a problem.

          All I am saying is that the likelihood of serious repercussion is very low. Still, I have to agree: Only do it with permission and with purpose.

  • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Most of them the second button down on the right is mute, though I’ve been running into some recently that disabled the mute.

    Anyway, I sharpie a “mute” next to the button on stations where it isn’t labeled for other people. It’s one bit of graffiti that I’m not at all conflicted about.

      • Billegh@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        I’ve had the exact opposite experience. Only once has the second button down from the right not worked. But in that instance it was the bottom right button.

        • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          Neither of those work at the gas station nearest my house. In my frustration I began running my fingers up and down the buttons and found that if you press the second from the top on both sides you get into an administrative screen. Pump still works fine and the ad is muted, and it resets when I leave.

  • bigFab@lemmy.worldBanned from community
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    2 years ago

    Wow, in Europe we haven’t reached that gas station modernization stage yet.

  • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    One of my most upvoted comments on here is saying I should be legally allowed to smash those screens if they play ads.

    I don’t need advertisements shoved in my face every second of every day.

  • Scolding0513@sh.itjust.works
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    2 years ago

    We need to start a movement to show people different ways to vandalize them without being caught, and print stickers to stick on them to show the reasoning behind the vandalosm

      • Naboo_calls_for_aid@sopuli.xyz
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        2 years ago

        A few more people would probably use bikes, but I don’t see how this solves the issue, no matter how good the cycling infrastructure we won’t see cars and gas stations just disappear. I suspect I don’t see the goals as you intend them, but I don’t see people dropping there kids off at school on bikes or biking to and from a restaurant to eat a steak dinner, not to mention city services and transportation. If your target is really emissions I’d suspect that electric cars and limiting private jets would make more progress.

    • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      There is some artist who uses this kind of “road sticker” that is damn near impossible to remove. All that artist does is put a little sticker down of a stylized humanoid form, but that sticker on a fuel pump would probably withstand weather and attempts to remove it.

  • GrappleHat@lemmy.ml
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    2 years ago

    This drives me nuts too. Who the hell decided to do this? I avoid the stations with ads.