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Remember that the formal name for a web browser is a User Agent. This metaphor makes it clear that when there is a conflict of interest between you the user an

Remember that the formal name for a web browser is a User Agent. This metaphor makes it clear that when there is a conflict of interest between you the user and whatever the server on the other side wants, your Agent should act in your interest.

s1k3s 7y ago
Not when the User Agent is built by the world's largest online advertiser.
- frou_dh 7y ago
  That's a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_agent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_agent
- a3n 7y ago
  That's an agent that serves users to ad networks. "To Serve Man."
tomaskafka 7y ago
This - so far I have a title, 'The death of User Agent' of an article about how browsers turned from user (my) agents, who represent my best interests on the internet, into corporate agents (which act in best interests of their makers - on my own computer!)
dredmorbius 7y ago
There's some interesting history here of which I'm. only vaguely aware, such as Hewitt's Actor Model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor_model https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actor_model