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If only users were consistent and fair about what they wanted. I wouldn't personally run something like this, but I've definitely experienced the frustration o
by Zarel 11y ago
If only users were consistent and fair about what they wanted.
I wouldn't personally run something like this, but I've definitely experienced the frustration of having a user install an extension that changed my website, and then reported a bug in the extension to me.
Even when the extension is bug-free, it still adds a support burden. For instance, there's an extension that adds icons to usernames on my site. Users have asked me how to change their icon, and then gotten mad at me when I say I don't know.
It also adds a maintenance burden: Whenever I deploy various updates, I get complaints that the updates break one extension or another.
Not to mention, there are extensions not intentionally installed by users. For a while, there was some very common malware that rendered my website unusable. It added the text
<script src="http://example.com/malware.js"></script>
But it did it badly, so it changed:
<script src="/legitimatescript.js"></script>
to
<script src="/legitimates<script src="http://example.com/malware.js"></script>cript.js"></script>
Which, of course, rendered my site unusable.
- Sanddancer 11y agoIf you want or need pixel perfect and all kinds of fancy javascript to run your site, maybe you should just make a program instead, even if it's a wrapper around some browser engine.
- Zarel 11y agoI actually do offer that too, for precisely that reason, but of course many people prefer the online version. And browser extensions and things like Stylish let people do some pretty neat things. It's just a support nightmare. :(
- gobbert 11y agoUnfortunately, asking people to install something and keep it updated is a huge deterrent for casual users.
- userbinator 11y agoUsers have asked me how to change their icon, and then gotten mad at me when I say I don't know. How about explaining it better? Get them to show you a screenshot, and then you can point out the fact that it's not coming from code you served. For a while, there was some very common malware that rendered my website unusable. Perhaps that was a good thing, because it made you aware of its presence quickly.
- Zarel 11y ago> How about explaining it better? Get them to show you a screenshot, and then you can point out the fact that it's not coming from code you served. You presume users understand what the difference is. Not all users are technical enough for that sort of thing. Someone also points out a related problem: if the user complains on social media instead of directly to me. I don't always have the opportunity to explain at all. > Perhaps that was a good thing, because it made you aware of its presence quickly. Unfortunately, being aware of its presence didn't help much. I considered alerting the user that they had malware, but generally the only time a website tells a user they have malware is to scam a user (see: MacKeeper), and I didn't want users to see my site as untrustworthy.
- Jordrok 11y agoEr...so if you didn't tell them it was malware, then what DID you tell them?
- Zarel 11y agoI didn't tell them anything. I just deployed a workaround where the <script> tag the malware inserted was between <!-- and -->. https://github.com/Zarel/Pokemon-Showdown-Client/commit/95f2b90d9a87b33fc720cb6dec406e7a274aec41 https://github.com/Zarel/Pokemon-Showdown-Client/commit/95f2...