Including the URL isn’t to act as a check on the contents of the QR code, but to act as an alternative for those who don’t want to scan it at all.
Comment on Continuwuity
JadedBlueEyes@programming.dev 5 weeks ago It is!
Yeah, I see your point, and I included the link in the alt text. On the actual design itself though, any URL I wrote in could be completely different from the QR so it seems slightly pointless - especially as it would just be writing Continuwuity a third time haha
notabot@piefed.social 5 weeks ago
- JadedBlueEyes@programming.dev 5 weeks ago
The alternative is to search the name right next to the code in this design
litchralee@sh.itjust.works 5 weeks ago
This is not a good idea: having to search means an implicit reliance on a search engine. Even with a trustworthy web search – and those are becoming fewer and fewer – why add this complication? The URL doesn’t even have to be large; it just has to be readable.
Even worse is when there’s an adversary: what would stop someone from buying getcontinuwuity.org but have it be pro-Big Tech propaganda, with tracking cookies galore, and then pay Google or Bing to put it at the top of the web search results?
Whereas in 2026, a URL is not confusing at all to include. People know what http:// or https:// mean. Even big brands might not own their own product name’s domain. This exact problem came up just six days ago: neowin.net/…/paintnet-can-finally-be-downloaded-f…
The whole point of marketing is to reduce the barriers for people to find something useful or valuable. Adding an accessibility barrier is antithetical to that objective.
kilgore_trout@feddit.it 5 weeks ago
I know you are in good faith (and I already run my continuwuity server!), but in ppractical terms you are suggesting to use Google, and I don’t want to. Expecially for something you could have included in text in the post.
edit: I am reminded of Richard Stallman spelling out full URLs during conferences, complete with subdirectories. It is silly, but it works.
KingKong33@lemmy.ml 5 weeks ago
Or just post the link.
Cyber@feddit.uk 5 weeks ago
I can see a lot of opinions & comments on the QR part and, with respect, I’d like to add that I’m reading this post on a device where I’d like to view the site on the same device, so a QR isn’t best for this platform.
I’d go a little further and say that QRs and really only useful for a mediim where you want the user to use a 2nd device (printed media, BSODs, etc)
Also putting the URL in the (for my reader) non-clickable alt-text doesn’t help either
Again, with respect, you’re making it harder for your audience to reach you, not easier.