this post was submitted on 03 Mar 2026
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

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  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
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It's clearly a dark pattern thought up by shitbags because users are more likely to create an account after they've typed something out vs. leaving when they find out an account is required to participate.

Even the shitbags over at Mozilla are doing it.

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[–] turboSnail@piefed.europe.pub 24 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

There's an even worse variant of that.

  1. Install an app.
  2. Start it up.
  3. It asks you some relevant questions to customize the experience to your needs.
  4. You answer them, and that takes a while.
  5. It asks you for your card.
  6. ???
  7. Profit

At least that's how the app devs imagine how that's going to go. IRL though, you just kill the app immediately, leave a bad review about dark patterns, and delete the whole scamware from your phone. If the devs are feeling extra greedy, they'll also ask for you to rate the app long before you've even had an opportunity to do anything with it.

[–] Doc_Crankenstein@slrpnk.net 2 points 4 hours ago

Unfortunately, many people are naive and susceptible to the sunk-cost fallacy; that's what they are banking on. They know a good portion will just kill the app but the few that bite will be milked for all they are worth.

[–] elvith@feddit.org 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

There's an app that I find useful. Many many years ago (on Android 2.3 or maybe Android 4?) I got a lifetime license for it.

Then a few years ago they updated the app and introduced a subscription. I don't care, because the features that I use are still accessible in the grandfathered lifetime license. BUT after every update without a subscription you now need to complete the whole "let's personalize this app for you" thing. Afterwards it just dumps you onto a screen to select the subscription you want to pay for. You need to dismiss that screen in order to use the free features OR login and restore your old license to unlock most of the features.

They intentionally put a white X to dismiss that screen in the top left, but also put a very bright image there directly under it, so that it's barely recognizable.

[–] turboSnail@piefed.europe.pub 4 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Oof… that’s just diabolical. If I say that I hate that, it’s still going to feel like an understatement.