Captive Wi-Fi

Do HN readers not know what a Captive Portal is? Confused why this is front page news..

This is one of the biggest hacks in software engineering IMHO

That and Bluetooth

It's a shame that within +20yrs of widespread IEEE 802.11, no extension to standardize terms acknowledgement, login flows, etc could make it.

Thus we are left with this captive errnous detection. It feels similarly stupid as NAT in a post-IPv4 world.

I know it’s a minor point, but it bugs me every time this form pops up…

Captive (noun): a person or animal whose ability to move or act freely is limited by being kept in a space; a prisoner, especially a person held by the enemy during a war.

Not an ideal term to use from a user perspective.

I see this every time I connect to my local library Wifi or Costco. I thought Captive was the name of the company providing this service. TIL.

I hate them.

If they ask for data, I just fill junk. If they don't then it's just a hassle.

I'd ban them. Just give me internet, my man.

Captive Wi-Fi has changed at cafes and businesses. My experience is, Starbucks blocks local hot-spots. You're forced to use their Captive Wi-Fi and only their Wi-Fi. This formerly wasn't an allowed thing.

Are they mining data? Does this promote some ambiance? There's probably 3 different answers, and you'll normally hear 1 is the reason.