4 ms·

You can't turn off gifs or canvas because it would just break too much internet. I could imagine and equal reaction thread here if google deemed some gifs and

You can't turn off gifs or canvas because it would just break too much internet. I could imagine and equal reaction thread here if google deemed some gifs and canvas uses "unworthy" and were blockable.

gopiandcode 6y ago
This is not an excuse - the user should have the freedom to disable whatever they want - who is to say that your definition of a broken internet matches mine?
- Red_Leaves_Flyy 6y ago
  This. If I, the user, disable some functionality and the site doesn't work I can: A: add the site to an allow list B: temporarily enable the feature for that site C: stop using the site Most of the time I'll give a site the benefit of the doubt, only when they pull shady tricks like dark patterns and whatnot do I just stop using the site. Reddit is a great current example. I will not use their site or their app because they're both awful, and reddit is trying to force the app down my throat. If the app I use gets shut down by API changes I'll just stop using reddit.
Meph504 6y ago
Not sure how it would break the internet at all, can you say that you have ever had a user experience improved by auto playing anything? I mean, heaven for bid, they could the user the ability to actually control the repaint rate. Or pull only the first frame of a gif, and not pull the 100+ meg gif without user consent(via touch, by site, etc..) Browsers wouldn't block popups for years because it could break legitimate use, now I don't think a single browser doesn't ship with that option not on by default. I think the reality is, that these are features and functions that advertisers want, and google is in the business of selling ads. This isn't a can't, its a won't.
- kelnos 6y ago
  Agree -- I mean even Buzzfeed of all sites usually doesn't auto-play their gifs[0]; you get a static image with a play button that swaps to the gif when you click it. [0] Just realized while typing this that I haven't clicked a Buzzfeed link in a long time, so my memory might be off. But I know some site I used to visit frequently did this.
fiblye 6y ago
> You can't turn off gifs or canvas because it would just break too much internet. That sounds like a challenge. I think if there were a click to play button on gifs > N megabytes or > X*Y resolution, nobody would complain, nor would they complain about click to play on frequently updated canvases.
- dependenttypes 6y ago
  I suggest using uBlock Origin https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Per-site-switches#no-large-media-elements https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Per-site-switches#no-...
- zajio1am 6y ago
  Why limit it based on resolution? When 'disable autoplay' is selected, i would like play button for all videos, animated GIFs or animated SVGs.
adrianN 6y ago
It what way would putting a play button on gifs above a certain file size break the internet?
dredmorbius 6y ago
Another organisation's guiding principles suggest an alternate viewpoint: Individuals must have the ability to shape the internet and their own experiences on it. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/
- userbinator 6y ago
  Mozilla's slogan used to say "putting users in control", which was then silently(?) replaced with "individuals": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10040344 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10040344 It's a very convenient phrasing, because these "individuals" certainly are doing what they say; it's just that they are not you. I trust Mozilla only slightly more than Google.
  - dredmorbius 6y ago
    I see "individuals" as generally preferable to "users", though possibly less clear as to ... er, use role.
dependenttypes 6y ago
Turning off canvas only breaks tracking. Very few sites require it to work. Firefox will ask you to enable it on a per-site bases by enabling privacy.resistFingerprinting.
srtjstjsj 6y ago
Canvas is video (or spyware). If I don't want autopay video, I don't want autoplay canvas.

gopiandcode 6y ago

This is not an excuse - the user should have the freedom to disable whatever they want - who is to say that your definition of a broken internet matches mine?

Red_Leaves_Flyy 6y ago
This. If I, the user, disable some functionality and the site doesn't work I can: A: add the site to an allow list B: temporarily enable the feature for that site C: stop using the site Most of the time I'll give a site the benefit of the doubt, only when they pull shady tricks like dark patterns and whatnot do I just stop using the site. Reddit is a great current example. I will not use their site or their app because they're both awful, and reddit is trying to force the app down my throat. If the app I use gets shut down by API changes I'll just stop using reddit.

Meph504 6y ago

Not sure how it would break the internet at all, can you say that you have ever had a user experience improved by auto playing anything? I mean, heaven for bid, they could the user the ability to actually control the repaint rate. Or pull only the first frame of a gif, and not pull the 100+ meg gif without user consent(via touch, by site, etc..) Browsers wouldn't block popups for years because it could break legitimate use, now I don't think a single browser doesn't ship with that option not on by default. I think the reality is, that these are features and functions that advertisers want, and google is in the business of selling ads. This isn't a can't, its a won't.

kelnos 6y ago
Agree -- I mean even Buzzfeed of all sites usually doesn't auto-play their gifs[0]; you get a static image with a play button that swaps to the gif when you click it. [0] Just realized while typing this that I haven't clicked a Buzzfeed link in a long time, so my memory might be off. But I know some site I used to visit frequently did this.

fiblye 6y ago

> You can't turn off gifs or canvas because it would just break too much internet. That sounds like a challenge. I think if there were a click to play button on gifs > N megabytes or > X*Y resolution, nobody would complain, nor would they complain about click to play on frequently updated canvases.

dependenttypes 6y ago
I suggest using uBlock Origin https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Per-site-switches#no-large-media-elements https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Per-site-switches#no-...
zajio1am 6y ago
Why limit it based on resolution? When 'disable autoplay' is selected, i would like play button for all videos, animated GIFs or animated SVGs.

adrianN 6y ago

It what way would putting a play button on gifs above a certain file size break the internet?

dredmorbius 6y ago

Another organisation's guiding principles suggest an alternate viewpoint: Individuals must have the ability to shape the internet and their own experiences on it. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/

userbinator 6y ago
Mozilla's slogan used to say "putting users in control", which was then silently(?) replaced with "individuals": https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10040344 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10040344 It's a very convenient phrasing, because these "individuals" certainly are doing what they say; it's just that they are not you. I trust Mozilla only slightly more than Google.
- dredmorbius 6y ago
  I see "individuals" as generally preferable to "users", though possibly less clear as to ... er, use role.

dependenttypes 6y ago

Turning off canvas only breaks tracking. Very few sites require it to work. Firefox will ask you to enable it on a per-site bases by enabling privacy.resistFingerprinting.

srtjstjsj 6y ago

Canvas is video (or spyware). If I don't want autopay video, I don't want autoplay canvas.