It looks like in double-size mode, every other character is dropped. The manual text hints at the result. "Something strange? Well, just for fun, press CLEAR then type STUERBPORAIYSIES. Now press SHIFT ->. Surprised?"

Oh, I see. The characters get dropped in the transition between normal and double-sized mode.

Thanks! I couldn't read the article because I'm in Europe.

For non-Europeans wondering: https://imgur.com/a/H9cU2EZ

Odesta Helix and Double Helix were graphical programming databases. The early versions for the Macintosh were... interesting to design databases with. QSA Toolworks continues to sell versions of Helix today. https://www.qsatoolworks.com/ Here is a screenshot of the original design interface. Retro-future! https://www.qsatoolworks.com/ee/marketing/museum/images/1984... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_(database)

Thanks!

I was quite wrong in my previous comment; a quick scan of The Macintosh Garden reminds me I was programming in Wingz, a really nice macro host.

https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/wingz

Has anyone investigated how this protection works? That is, deliberately create an eBay account, log into eBay using a remote tool, and trigger the fraud detection? My curiosity is piqued, but I don't have an account to offer up.

I'm wondering if eBay displays a fraud warning, or pretends to allow the transaction to occur (shadow bidding?), or just hellbans the account being used.

For shill-bidding farms, the obvious counter is to move remote screen access to non-standard ports, or move to headless browser operation via other scripting methods.

It probably does nothing directly.

It will just feed the data-point into an anti-fraud/anti-spam system along with everything else.

And the anti-fraud/anti-spam system is probably a machine learning black box. It will learn if this data-point is actually correlated with naughty behaviour, and what other factors are usually correlated.

Took longer to find one than I expected: https://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3060655&cid=41058673 from a discussion of using a sandbox for spambots in 2012. The beginning of it reads as follows: "Your post advocates a (X) technical ( ) legislative ( ) market-based ( ) vigilante approach to fighting spam."

20 D2 FF for JSR $FFD2, which was the C-64 subroutine to output a character to the screen. Or use 4C, to JMP instead for tail-call optimization.

I have a laminated copy, wallet-sized 6520 opcode page from an Apple II programming manual, just in case I need it.

The longbox CD package format meant that retailers could use their existing LP storage bins to sell CDs as well during the transition period. The CD jewel case was visible above the shelves below it.

As retailers installed dedicated CD shelving systems, the longbox format was abandoned.

While tracker-blocking in today's sense would have made no sense, there certainly was ad-blocking and cookie-blocking before the 2000s.

AdSubtract advertised it's ability to block doubleclick.com cookies in March of 2000: https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/91102/adsubtract_bl...

The article also mentions Siemens' WebWasher product which blocked cookies. Other cookie-blocking products were released in the same time period.

So instead of losing 2.9% + 0.35 on donor and 5% on recipient, why not lose 16.5% instead? #winning

From the FAQ at https://flattr.com/faq#23 :

We take 7.5% of received revenues (to keep Flattr running, develop further and handle chargebacks and fraud). Our payment provider (MangoPay) charges 9% of received revenues (please see this blog post for more information). These fees are withdrawn on the 1st of the month for revenue received in the prior month.

Whenever money is withdrawn (currently the minimum amount that can be withdrawn is $10) a $3 fee is charged.

Money laundering. Also works with dry cleaning.