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But I want to use extensions! Extensions do so many useful things that go beyond what scripts with fewer permissions can do. I want a utility that handles scree

But I want to use extensions! Extensions do so many useful things that go beyond what scripts with fewer permissions can do. I want a utility that handles screenshotting sections of pages. I want a thingy that tracks the price history of products on Amazon so I know if something is real on sale or fake on sale. I want a thing that makes ssh sessions clickable for my weird internal ssh thingy. I want the stupid and experimental web mashup extensions that add weird stuff like "a chat room for every website you visit so you can chat with other people using that website." Well, okay, I don't want that last one, but I want it to exist.

FredPret 3y ago
These things worked well when the internet was a toy. Now it's no longer a good idea because that same browser is also: - your bank, - likely your point of contact with the government / tax folk - the place you do your shopping - the portal for most of your communications with the rest of the world
bossyTeacher 3y ago
The price for convenience is security. If you are willing to hand your digital life to others, you will gain the convenience that you seek. You are seeking to become a digital king by gaining digital servants that handle every aspect of your life. The day one of them betrays you, it will be painful for you at the very least
- CobrastanJorji 3y ago
  Sure, but to continue the metaphor, the price for not relying on others is having to do everything yourself. And no king can succeed alone.
- advael 3y ago
  Fuck that. Pardon my language but that's a falsehood I am so sick of hearing repeated, and the only reason anyone believes it's an inevitable tradeoff is that this belief has been imposed on us by proprietary software ecosystems that have obtained the monopoly status needed to unilaterally reject competing models The price for convenience and security being compatible is for these extensions to be auditable and for updates to be opt-in. Sure, someone could still install malicious updates under this model, but the value proposition of doing so scales with the number of people who care about the thing, and auditability allows experts who care about the thing to warn people if it does something suspicious, which also scales with the number of people who care about the thing

FredPret 3y ago

These things worked well when the internet was a toy. Now it's no longer a good idea because that same browser is also: - your bank, - likely your point of contact with the government / tax folk - the place you do your shopping - the portal for most of your communications with the rest of the world

bossyTeacher 3y ago

The price for convenience is security. If you are willing to hand your digital life to others, you will gain the convenience that you seek. You are seeking to become a digital king by gaining digital servants that handle every aspect of your life. The day one of them betrays you, it will be painful for you at the very least

CobrastanJorji 3y ago
Sure, but to continue the metaphor, the price for not relying on others is having to do everything yourself. And no king can succeed alone.
advael 3y ago
Fuck that. Pardon my language but that's a falsehood I am so sick of hearing repeated, and the only reason anyone believes it's an inevitable tradeoff is that this belief has been imposed on us by proprietary software ecosystems that have obtained the monopoly status needed to unilaterally reject competing models The price for convenience and security being compatible is for these extensions to be auditable and for updates to be opt-in. Sure, someone could still install malicious updates under this model, but the value proposition of doing so scales with the number of people who care about the thing, and auditability allows experts who care about the thing to warn people if it does something suspicious, which also scales with the number of people who care about the thing