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How do you even browse the web? Is it common for people to disable JavaScript?

temp0826 1y ago
I usually keep js disabled by default with uBO and enable it per-site when it fails. Not terribly inconvenient (worst is auth workflows that bounce you through a few domains, but just save your settings as you go through it and you would only need to do that once for that flow).
ruuda 1y ago
Not the poster, but I also leave js disabled by default. Meltdown/Spectre made it very clear that automatically executing untrusted third-party code securely is basically impossible. I browse the web using Chromium. I don’t think it’s common for people to disable js, but it works way better than you might expect. It’s easy to add an exception for the handful of sites that really need it. (Just three clicks.) Half of the web becomes better (no ads, no cookie banners). The other half stops working entirely, but usually that’s just a reminder that the content was probably not worth reading in the first place.
bee_rider 1y ago
I keep it disabled by default (noscript) it is a tossup, lots of sites just load the essentials with JavaScript disabled and are, as a result, much better. Others break entirely. The ones that totally break tend to be the silly over-designed ones though. Most useful info is available in plain text (see the phenomenon of an old research professor’s home page). How common? Dunno. People here talk about it whenever it comes up. As a website for chit-chatting about tech stuff we have an unusually large population that cares about this kind of stuff, though.
HelloUsername 1y ago
How _do_ you browse the web with Js enabeld?
- can16358p 1y ago
  Putting aside security/privacy implications, Why not?
- 1bpp 1y ago
  Using an ad blocker. Noscript seems far more annoying than useful to me, resource usage is almost never an issue and everyone is tracking me through my phone regardless.
  - prmoustache 1y ago
    > and everyone is tracking me through my phone regardless. That defeatism brings you nowhere and this is solvable too by using a custom rom and preferring web browser over apps.
  - inquirerGeneral 1y ago
    [dead]
guelo 1y ago
I do it as well. I'm sure it's a lot more common among HN's techie audience than the general population.
zzo38computer 1y ago
Many people do, including myself (but I don't know how common it is by percentage though, but it is probably low). Although some web pages do not work, some work better. Even if it does not work, sometimes I can find the data and can still use it due to that, or use the API.
zahlman 1y ago
> How do you even browse the web? With NoScript, and some basic expectations for web designers to try to honour that "graceful degradation" concept that we were all assured was definitely a thing many years ago. > Is it common for people to disable JavaScript? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/ claims about a quarter of a million users. Which I suppose is really not very much in the grand scheme of things. But there are also people getting similar effects using uBlock and other such tools. But I don't care how popular this is or isn't. It's my computer and this is how I operate it. And I advocate strongly for others to follow suit, because there are numerous advantages.
CamperBob2 1y ago
It's the modern "I don't even own a TV."
hamburglar 1y ago
I don’t have time to browse the web. I’m too busy talking about how I have JavaScript blocked.
mvdtnz 1y ago
No it's not common which is why most of us don't bother to support it. They are an incredibly noisy minority though.
aendruk 1y ago
Progressive enhancement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement And empirically, failure of a site to follow this principle tends to correlate with being unhealthy or unbearable in other ways. There are of course countless exceptions, which I allowlist with a couple of clicks. But overall I find browsing this way to be a breath of fresh air.

I usually keep js disabled by default with uBO and enable it per-site when it fails. Not terribly inconvenient (worst is auth workflows that bounce you through a few domains, but just save your settings as you go through it and you would only need to do that once for that flow).

ruuda 1y ago

Not the poster, but I also leave js disabled by default. Meltdown/Spectre made it very clear that automatically executing untrusted third-party code securely is basically impossible. I browse the web using Chromium. I don’t think it’s common for people to disable js, but it works way better than you might expect. It’s easy to add an exception for the handful of sites that really need it. (Just three clicks.) Half of the web becomes better (no ads, no cookie banners). The other half stops working entirely, but usually that’s just a reminder that the content was probably not worth reading in the first place.

bee_rider 1y ago

I keep it disabled by default (noscript) it is a tossup, lots of sites just load the essentials with JavaScript disabled and are, as a result, much better. Others break entirely. The ones that totally break tend to be the silly over-designed ones though. Most useful info is available in plain text (see the phenomenon of an old research professor’s home page). How common? Dunno. People here talk about it whenever it comes up. As a website for chit-chatting about tech stuff we have an unusually large population that cares about this kind of stuff, though.

HelloUsername 1y ago

How _do_ you browse the web with Js enabeld?

can16358p 1y ago
Putting aside security/privacy implications, Why not?
1bpp 1y ago
Using an ad blocker. Noscript seems far more annoying than useful to me, resource usage is almost never an issue and everyone is tracking me through my phone regardless.
- prmoustache 1y ago
  > and everyone is tracking me through my phone regardless. That defeatism brings you nowhere and this is solvable too by using a custom rom and preferring web browser over apps.
- inquirerGeneral 1y ago
  [dead]

guelo 1y ago

I do it as well. I'm sure it's a lot more common among HN's techie audience than the general population.

zzo38computer 1y ago

Many people do, including myself (but I don't know how common it is by percentage though, but it is probably low). Although some web pages do not work, some work better. Even if it does not work, sometimes I can find the data and can still use it due to that, or use the API.

zahlman 1y ago

> How do you even browse the web? With NoScript, and some basic expectations for web designers to try to honour that "graceful degradation" concept that we were all assured was definitely a thing many years ago. > Is it common for people to disable JavaScript? https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/ claims about a quarter of a million users. Which I suppose is really not very much in the grand scheme of things. But there are also people getting similar effects using uBlock and other such tools. But I don't care how popular this is or isn't. It's my computer and this is how I operate it. And I advocate strongly for others to follow suit, because there are numerous advantages.

CamperBob2 1y ago

It's the modern "I don't even own a TV."

hamburglar 1y ago

I don’t have time to browse the web. I’m too busy talking about how I have JavaScript blocked.

mvdtnz 1y ago

No it's not common which is why most of us don't bother to support it. They are an incredibly noisy minority though.

aendruk 1y ago

Progressive enhancement: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement And empirically, failure of a site to follow this principle tends to correlate with being unhealthy or unbearable in other ways. There are of course countless exceptions, which I allowlist with a couple of clicks. But overall I find browsing this way to be a breath of fresh air.