4 ms·

Why are websites allowed to know that you've selected plain text? (genuinely clueless on web stuff)

• zebracanevra 4y ago
  I think there are a bunch of decent uses for that, like rich text editors (eg select text, hit ctrl-b, and the text is bolded). There are also some sites that popup a small box above your selection with a share box. Straight to hell with those. Compulsive selectors go mad on those sites. That's you, medium.com.
  • denton-scratch 4y ago
    But why does a rich text editor need to talk to a website?
    • LocalH 4y ago
      What if the rich text editor and the website are the same thing? What if the rich text editor is part of a larger tool that is the website?
      • denton-scratch 4y ago
        Well, I'm not sure what you're waving at. If the website is nothing more than a RTE, then it's better (and safer) to do it in the browser. If the RTE is just part of the website, then that's a part that's better done in the browser. Perhaps you want a RTE that doesn't depend on JS. I think that's a reasonable thing to want; but if you normally browse with JS switched off, then running into a working RTE is at least going to violate the Principle of Least Surprise.
• entropie 4y ago
  Why are websites allowed to know that I hover an element? Javascript knows about clicks, doubleclicks, hovers... like almost every interaction the user does. There are use cases but also potential to be exploited somehow.
  • paulryanrogers 4y ago
    Because websites are apps now. The browser is your operating system.
    • cypress66 4y ago
      Click events, hover, etc have always existed (since js exists I'm pretty sure).
      • paulryanrogers 4y ago
        Regardless of intent, today websites are often built as 'apps', making browsers more and more like your OS. JS is how that's usually implemented.
• shultays 4y ago
  In forums you can select parts of someone's post and quote that part in your reply