Mildly Infuriating

Grab a screwdriver and stab the shit out of the speaker, that shuts them up fairly reliably.

But in all seriousness I refuse to go to a gas station with ads on the pumps because fuck that shit. Old gas stations are the way to go (for now).

One of the unlabeled buttons on the side of the screen should mute it. Whenever I find it, I'll take a pen or sharpie and mark which one is the mute button for future people who don't want to be subjected to that shit.

Almost two decades ago, I worked at a network service provider who had as a customer a company that provided the technology for serving those gas pump ads.

At each gas station they had a VSAT, a router and of course the digital signage boxes on each pump.

They fed the ads to thousands of pumps via a single T1 to HughesNet in Atlanta. They'd multicast the ads, and have a local cache at each pump that would receive the stream, cache it and serve it.

It was one of the most elegant setups I've ever seen, and should serve as a case study in multicast for efficient bandwidth utilization across an expensive data transmission medium.

I'm from Washington and occasionally drive in Oregon, which is one of those states.

1. welcome to like ten years ago?

2. yes it's awful. Everything is awful.

3. you can mute them or turn down their volumes. The buttons are there so you can press them.

4. if it's not on the pump: yeah that's truly evil.

5. late stage capitalism, in some cases, is still capitalism. You could tell the station worker or owner you don't like that and it's bad. But good luck with them not spitting in your face in return.

6. do you live under a rock? Are you so isolated somehow that the GAS STATION is your only exposure to this bullshit? Tell me your secrets, I need that level of peace in my life.

Lol, imagine thinking you're allowed a momentary reprieve from advertising in this hellscape of a world we've built.

Second button from the top on the right will mute the ad.

I never see ads when pumping gas because all the gas stations that have ads that play on their pumps have been ~~vandalized~~ improved so the screens don't work lol

Get an EV. Charge at home. Watch YouTube ads while you wait.

I could almost stomach the ads if they weren't blasted at max volume; it's like being assaulted at the pump. I feel sorry for anyone who lives in proximity of those stations and have to hear this crap at all hours.

Typically the button on the right, second from the top mutes. It depends on the model, but it works on some.

The entire US is a lesson on the consequences of barely-regulated rampant capitalism.

The US never stop to amaze me

I’m from a US state where we don’t pump our own gas.

You can just say New Jersey. After Oregon lifted its ban in 2023, it's the only one left!

So, most pump POS used to have a labeled or unlabeled mute button. That has become rare.

So far, I've been able to kick all of them into a diagnostic/trouble menu by pressing pairs of keys on each side of the monitor in sequence from the top.

Some of them have a timeout on this screen, but the counter resets when you hit a key.

Passwords can be entered from the keypad, with ok/enter also working. I bet the passwords are the manufacturer default, probably a 5-7 digit number. I was able to find partial training manuals and setup docs from one of the POS vendors but I didn't find a default password or deeper technical docs for the one brand I looked into.

Fucking ads in my face fucking piss me off.

May I introduce you to the wonderful japanese ads on the toilet?

I HATE this if I am PAYING for a product then I shouldn't get a god damn ad.

I never go to those gas stations

Am I the odd one out, because I find it incredibly easy to ignore ads.

You sound tired. You should try Lipton 'pick me up' teabags. A refreshing way to soothe the soul. Available now at most retailers. /s