Not certain, but I'm guessing it's something to do with how archive.org archives. I'd say it probably captured some JavaScript which uses window.location.host, which would resolve to the original (say lemmy.nz) on the original page but web.archive.org on the snapshot.
kif
There's ~~dozens~~ at least three of us!
Opnsense is great, I run it on a N100 mini pc I got from AliExpress for a couple hundred NZD. Doesn't break a sweat up to 8gbit
+1 for ZigBee - if cost is a factor you can get really cheap ZigBee devices from AliExpress and the like - $10 or less per temperature sensor. Z-wave requires certification for all devices supporting it, so they tend to be more expensive and more limited in variety.
Blakadder's ZigBee Repository is a great resource for verifying device compatibility with your chosen ZigBee integration - ZHA or Zigbee2mqtt. This might depend on your coordinator choice, as some (such as the Home Assistant Gen 1 usb-drive ones) only support ZHA, for example.
For a coordinator, the Home Assistant brand ones are reportedly quite good, especially the second gen one. I personally use a SMLight SLZB-06, reasonably priced and supports power over Ethernet, so I have it wall mounted centrally. I also have my home assistant instance running in a separate building, so something that works over IP was a must.
Direct-to-garment - here's a 15 year old article I picked at random https://hackaday.com/2010/06/06/how-to-diydtg/
I mean, it's not an option if it's required by law. As to your second point, I have seen news articles talking about "sponsored recommendations", but nothing as blatant as tv/radio ads. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/360895851/ev-drivers-be-bombarded-incar-adverts
My current job gives us a laptop with Ubuntu, but allows us to, at our own risk, install whatever OS we like. I recently turned down an offer primarily due to Windows being required (PHP and C# shop).
Hell yeah. Looking forward to more to pass on to future self-hosters!
Injected ads in RSS podcasts are common too - they'll look at the IP address and serve a location-specific episode.