Something fishy on LiveJournal

[unixronin]

wcg linked to this Apollo 13 re-entry simulation in his journal.  The hash portion of that URL is KUAo_T__J2A.

If I read his post directly in his journal, I see that video.  But if I read his journal on my Friends page, the video is replaced by this one, a political TV ad with the hash part fgK2AlN3Hiw.

It's not the only one.  This is happening to MANY YouTube videos people post in their journals.  Not all, but suspiciously many of them are being substituted out with this political ad.  Others are being substitued with different random videos ... but they're still being replaced, and still only on my Friends page, not on the original journal posts.  This includes my own LiveJournal posts.  If I go directly to my journal, either on LiveJournal or on the Dreamwidth account, where they were originally posted, the embedded videos are correct there.

If I look at my page source for posts on which video URLS have been changed or rewritten from what I posted, it appears there's something in common with all of these.  The direct URL to youtube.com is being replaced by one to http://lj-toys.com.  (I don't know whether this is true of ALL embedded videos in posts.)

LiveJournal ... you wouldn't by chance be doing something ELSE underhanded, would you...?  You just got caught once recently fucking with people's URLs and stealing associate referrals.  What are you doing now?

Comments

[randwolf.livejournal.com]

lj-toys is not part of LJ, and has been on my script blocking list for a long time.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't use lj-toys (as a matter of fact, I have lj-toys scripts blocked too) ... so why are embedded videos in my own posts as well being rewritten as lj-toys.com URLs? And ONLY on my Friends page, where it is probably expected I would not see my own posts?

Something is very stinky here. The fact that it is happening only on my Friends page, where I myself would be expected not to see it (since most users don't friend themselves), makes me particularly suspicious.

[tomatoe333.livejournal.com]

I've seen issues with embedded flash videos on my Livejournal friends page, where it doesn't refresh the page properly, and a video that formerly was the the "first" one on the page and is no longer, gets displayed in place of another video.

A shift-reload in the browser _usually_ solves the problem.

[wyrdling.livejournal.com]

stealing associate referrals? weird...

...interesting.
well, it is a russian site, now...

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there was a huge fuss about it just recently. LJ code (that got pulled in a hurry) was taking all associate-able URLs in people's blogs and rewriting them to change the associate code. LJ maintains it was an error and the code wasn't supposed to do that. It's unclear from their explanation exactly what it was supposed to do.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

I just clicked on the video on my "friends page" and it ran properly.

[johnkzin.livejournal.com]

a) embedded videos are a blight upon the 'net, just post the URL :-)

b) use some form of tiny-url-ification, or other semi-obfuscation, and then LJ can't substitute things into the yourtube URL.

[aisling.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Not good.

The "posting from" says Gilford... is that right? Umm... do I know you in real life? (The pen names confuse me sometimes... like I have any right to say anything, with my many names!)

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. But it could be fixed. :) cymrullewes and I are in Gilford, yes; I know you and HT are somewhere in NH, but not where. I'm sure we'd all laugh ourselves silly if it turned out you and cymrullewes already know each other from the knitting group at Gilford Public Library.

I have a "locality" filter that we use when announcing social events, if you'd like me to add you to it.

[aisling.livejournal.com]

Very cool! We're between Laconia & Concord, in a town so small, we don't even have a post office.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

OK, I just added you to the Local filter. :)

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

Gilmanton? http://a.placebetween.us/ suggests Pearl's Corner (which Google says is actually Loudon) and Jones Mill (which is Belknap County and could be Gilmanton or Loudon or Belmont)

BTW, I am Southern but from Eastern NC. Barbeque is pulled pork with spiced vinegar sauce. I haven't had any in years because no one outside of Eastern NC makes it and the Powellsville VFD won't ship me any during their fundraiser.