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It's mildly amusing that this page itself doesn't render without JavaScript enabled. JavaScript is killing the static Web — and IMHO that's a terrible thing.

by zeveb 9y ago

It's mildly amusing that this page itself doesn't render without JavaScript enabled. JavaScript is killing the static Web — and IMHO that's a terrible thing. In part, I imagine Google like JavaScript pages because it's a barrier to the entry of another search competitor.

exikyut 9y ago
There is, incidentally, a "render this page" link at the bottom of the page. A meta tag to autodetect the lack of JS and auto-redirect could be interesting feature... (The idea being the JS deletes the tag from the page)
pmontra 9y ago
The content is hidden inside a noscript tag inside a div.loading with visibility: hidden. However setting visibility: visible doesn't help. The quick workaround is editing the noscript section from developers tools, delete the noscript tag and keep its content. By the way, if Google executes the JavaScript in the pages it means that they could be mining some coins for those sites with coin-hive and the like? They probably check what they run and how long they run it, but people can be very smart if the goal is making money.
- zeveb 9y ago
  > The content is hidden inside a noscript tag inside a div.loading with visibility: hidden. Why would someone do that? I'm reminded of this exchange from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > “But the plans were on display…” > “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.” > “That’s the display department.” > “With a flashlight.” > “Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.” > “So had the stairs.” > “But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?” > “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”
sheraz 9y ago
I think the good people at Scrapy [1] have done a great job in keeping pace with making open-source crawler components that handle javascript. It is called Splash [2], and I use it for rendering out screenshots. [1] - https://scrapy.org https://scrapy.org [2] - https://github.com/scrapy-plugins/scrapy-splash https://github.com/scrapy-plugins/scrapy-splash

by zeveb 9y ago

exikyut 9y ago

There is, incidentally, a "render this page" link at the bottom of the page. A meta tag to autodetect the lack of JS and auto-redirect could be interesting feature... (The idea being the JS deletes the tag from the page)

pmontra 9y ago

The content is hidden inside a noscript tag inside a div.loading with visibility: hidden. However setting visibility: visible doesn't help. The quick workaround is editing the noscript section from developers tools, delete the noscript tag and keep its content. By the way, if Google executes the JavaScript in the pages it means that they could be mining some coins for those sites with coin-hive and the like? They probably check what they run and how long they run it, but people can be very smart if the goal is making money.

zeveb 9y ago
> The content is hidden inside a noscript tag inside a div.loading with visibility: hidden. Why would someone do that? I'm reminded of this exchange from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > “But the plans were on display…” > “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.” > “That’s the display department.” > “With a flashlight.” > “Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.” > “So had the stairs.” > “But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?” > “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

sheraz 9y ago

I think the good people at Scrapy [1] have done a great job in keeping pace with making open-source crawler components that handle javascript. It is called Splash [2], and I use it for rendering out screenshots. [1] - https://scrapy.org https://scrapy.org [2] - https://github.com/scrapy-plugins/scrapy-splash https://github.com/scrapy-plugins/scrapy-splash