The 'Fuck You' Pattern
"Wow, fuck you. I just wanted to look at cats."<p>"Well, fuck you, too. We're here to sell ads."<p>It's not about dark patterns, that's just a second-order effect. It was never about dark patterns.<p>This is the implied agreement. You understand it, or you don't. And if you don't, I guess you haven't been on the web in the past decade or something.<p>What? You thought it was fair that a company spends millions in technical infrastructure and staffing so you can sit at home and spend your time looking at cats for free? No, they have your attention and they're going to connect you to organizations who will pay for it.