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This article clearly suggests that you should use their own solution, Plausible Analytics. They are also JavaScript based, so how long before ad-blockers start

This article clearly suggests that you should use their own solution, Plausible Analytics. They are also JavaScript based, so how long before ad-blockers start blocking them too? Isn't it time to come back to server side analytics?

timdaub 5y ago
They are blocked a whole lot too, see my comment in the thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28365505 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28365505
- ponytech 5y ago
  I don't get your comment, sorry. By server side analytics I meant using a tool like AWStas or Webalizer which parse web server logs to tell you how much visitors you had on your site. I can't see how it can be blocked.
  - jobigoud 5y ago
    They meant that "Plausible Analytics" are blocked a whole lot too.
    - timdaub 5y ago
      exactly (can't edit original post anymore, sorry)
      - ponytech 5y ago
        You were answering the first question not the second, totally make sense now. Sorry for my misunderstanding.
ushakov 5y ago
you can serve the script from your own server (what they call proxy) and it shouldn’t be noticed by adblockers
- jeroenhd 5y ago
  Most adblockers I know block Piwik and that's fully self hosted in most cases. I know because I gave it a spin and the entire interface was broken because of my adblocker. Smuggling tracking through first party proxies is certainly an easier way to avoid privacy protection systems on your customers' devices, but it's definitely not the silver bullet people want it to be.
- Seirdy 5y ago
  Adblockers are fully capable of blocking subdomains and individual scripts by name, as well as forbidding certain outbound connections. You'll probably have to use inline scripts and send data back bundled with actual data necessary for your site to run if you want to sneak past the user's defenses. But if a site has that much of an adversarial with its users, maybe it's time to stop using that site.
sodality2 5y ago
I've noticed several plausible.js's blocked by uBlock origin. Not sure how, maybe pattern matching? I doubt it was manually in any blocklists as it was a small personal blog.
marvinblum 5y ago
That's the main reason we promote the backend integration for Pirsch [0] so much. In the long run, JS will probably not be sufficient, depending on your target audience. [0] https://pirsch.io/ https://pirsch.io/
- ponytech 5y ago
  Thanks for mentioning Pirsch, their backend integration sounds like a modern solution. Tools like AWStats or Webalizer are really outdated nowadays.
Seirdy 5y ago
Plenty of filter lists block several instances of Plausible. I welcome that; if I want to give feedback I'll do so myself. Analytics should not be opt-out.

timdaub 5y ago

They are blocked a whole lot too, see my comment in the thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28365505 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28365505

ponytech 5y ago
I don't get your comment, sorry. By server side analytics I meant using a tool like AWStas or Webalizer which parse web server logs to tell you how much visitors you had on your site. I can't see how it can be blocked.
- jobigoud 5y ago
  They meant that "Plausible Analytics" are blocked a whole lot too.
  - timdaub 5y ago
    exactly (can't edit original post anymore, sorry)
    - ponytech 5y ago
      You were answering the first question not the second, totally make sense now. Sorry for my misunderstanding.

ushakov 5y ago

you can serve the script from your own server (what they call proxy) and it shouldn’t be noticed by adblockers

jeroenhd 5y ago
Most adblockers I know block Piwik and that's fully self hosted in most cases. I know because I gave it a spin and the entire interface was broken because of my adblocker. Smuggling tracking through first party proxies is certainly an easier way to avoid privacy protection systems on your customers' devices, but it's definitely not the silver bullet people want it to be.
Seirdy 5y ago
Adblockers are fully capable of blocking subdomains and individual scripts by name, as well as forbidding certain outbound connections. You'll probably have to use inline scripts and send data back bundled with actual data necessary for your site to run if you want to sneak past the user's defenses. But if a site has that much of an adversarial with its users, maybe it's time to stop using that site.

sodality2 5y ago

I've noticed several plausible.js's blocked by uBlock origin. Not sure how, maybe pattern matching? I doubt it was manually in any blocklists as it was a small personal blog.

marvinblum 5y ago

That's the main reason we promote the backend integration for Pirsch [0] so much. In the long run, JS will probably not be sufficient, depending on your target audience. [0] https://pirsch.io/ https://pirsch.io/

ponytech 5y ago
Thanks for mentioning Pirsch, their backend integration sounds like a modern solution. Tools like AWStats or Webalizer are really outdated nowadays.

Seirdy 5y ago

Plenty of filter lists block several instances of Plausible. I welcome that; if I want to give feedback I'll do so myself. Analytics should not be opt-out.