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At least on iOS, this is an easily solvable problem on most web sites even without AMP: tap the "Safari Reader" button in the toolbar to get a text-only version
by chipotle_coyote 9y ago
At least on iOS, this is an easily solvable problem on most web sites even without AMP: tap the "Safari Reader" button in the toolbar to get a text-only version of the web site. I assume that something like that is a thing on Android and elsewhere.
I understand the usability case for AMP, but let's face it -- making a mobile-friendly web site really isn't that difficult, as long as you're not insisting on jamming things up with untold megabytes of JS woo. Google's argument to publishers is essentially "jam up your desktop sites with whatever JS woo you want, and let us unjam the mobile site for you." And, you know, fine, but to take advantage of it, you're essentially tailoring your web site to let Google reformat your content in a similar fashion to Safari Reader -- and, unlike Reader, Google is doing it by rehosting your content. They get the clicks, and you get whatever analytics and revenue they deign to share with you. And worse, that opens up the strong potential for Google's search results to penalize those of us who would rather maintain control over our own content.
- ucaetano 9y ago> At least on iOS, this is an easily solvable problem on most web sites even without AMP: tap the "Safari Reader" button in the toolbar to get a text-only version of the web site. I assume that something like that is a thing on Android and elsewhere. You need to load the page first to do that.
- MBCook 9y agoNot anymore. In iOS 11 you'll be able to set certain sites to always default into Reeder about.
- ucaetano 9y agoAnd how would that happen? 1) iOS loads the full site, displays it in reader mode? 2) Some server (Apple's?) fetches the site, strips it down to reader mode, iOS fetches it from that server? #1 requires downloading the full site. #2 is just using an old "reformat pages for mobile" proxy.
- MBCook 9y agoOption one doesn't require downloading all the images backgrounds and and videos and other stuff until it's been determined that that should actually be displayed by reader mode.
- chipotle_coyote 9y agoI'm not sure it's technically true; the text on the page needs to be loaded, but that doesn't mean every other HTTP request associated with the page has to have completed before Safari makes the Reader button available. While this is entirely anecdotal, I can definitely see that button appearing before pages are fully loaded.