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Browsers were able to block pop-ups because websites used to open another browser window to display ads. Modern websites use modals using CSS and JavaScript wit

by drewfax 9mo ago

Browsers were able to block pop-ups because websites used to open another browser window to display ads. Modern websites use modals using CSS and JavaScript within their page canvas. It's hard to block them deterministically by the browser. Though uBlock Origin and NoScript can block almost all these annoyances.

reddalo 9mo ago
In other words: browsers should just implement uBlock Origin by default.
- ycombinatrix 9mo ago
  Firefox does already have some tracker blocking built in, though it would be fantastic to import arbitrary filter lists. Chrome & Safari are operated by advertising/surveillance companies, so no dice there.
  - extra88 9mo ago
    Safari (desktop and mobile) also has tracker blocking built in. "Prevent cross-site tracking" and "Hide IP address from trackers" are two settings it has; I think the first is checked by default, I don't remember about the other. In the DevTools network pane, it shows requests to known trackers, like Google Tag Manager, being blocked. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102602 https://support.apple.com/en-us/102602
    - DetectDefect 9mo ago
      Try using Amazon in Safari sometime (in Lockdown Mode, no less): non-stop ads (some which flash), sponsored results dominating the first page of search, random Dufus pop-ups forcing AI. You can hide "distracting" elements but they just appear again later. Safari is not a user-friendly browser.
      - extra88 9mo ago
        Safari is my default browser. I don't know what "Dufus" means, I don't recall any A.I. references. On Amazon, it's all first-party stuff, what browser blocks that natively? It seems like you're comparing using Safari without an ad blocker to a different browser with an ad blocker. I know the most popular ad blocking extensions don't make a Safari version but there are ad blockers for Safari.
        DetectDefect 9mo ago
        Dufus = Rufus, the obnoxious AI "helper" that takes up 20% of the screen when I search for something on Amazon, which no one asked for.
        extra88 9mo ago
        I don't get any of that in Safari or any other browser. "Rufus" is just a button in the main navigation, between "All" and "Same-day delivery" that I ignore. On individual product pages, there's "Ask Rufus" stuff in a couple of pages but it's no worse than other content I scroll past and seems just like previous features that didn't have a named AI identity.
- cheschire 9mo ago
  So, Brave.
- Workaccount2 9mo ago
  This is the equivalent of "Lawmakers should legally set rents to $0, so we can all live for free"
  - amanaplanacanal 9mo ago
    Only if you assume ads are the only way anybody could run a website.
  - reddalo 9mo ago
    You're not totally wrong. Some European countries impose limits on short-term rents in order to limit services like Airbnb.
- porridgeraisin 9mo ago
  This is what brave does. It's implement without needing an extension, so Manifest V2/V3 etc doesn't matter one bit.

by drewfax 9mo ago

reddalo 9mo ago

In other words: browsers should just implement uBlock Origin by default.

ycombinatrix 9mo ago
Firefox does already have some tracker blocking built in, though it would be fantastic to import arbitrary filter lists. Chrome & Safari are operated by advertising/surveillance companies, so no dice there.
- extra88 9mo ago
  Safari (desktop and mobile) also has tracker blocking built in. "Prevent cross-site tracking" and "Hide IP address from trackers" are two settings it has; I think the first is checked by default, I don't remember about the other. In the DevTools network pane, it shows requests to known trackers, like Google Tag Manager, being blocked. https://support.apple.com/en-us/102602 https://support.apple.com/en-us/102602
  - DetectDefect 9mo ago
    Try using Amazon in Safari sometime (in Lockdown Mode, no less): non-stop ads (some which flash), sponsored results dominating the first page of search, random Dufus pop-ups forcing AI. You can hide "distracting" elements but they just appear again later. Safari is not a user-friendly browser.
    - extra88 9mo ago
      Safari is my default browser. I don't know what "Dufus" means, I don't recall any A.I. references. On Amazon, it's all first-party stuff, what browser blocks that natively? It seems like you're comparing using Safari without an ad blocker to a different browser with an ad blocker. I know the most popular ad blocking extensions don't make a Safari version but there are ad blockers for Safari.
      - DetectDefect 9mo ago
        Dufus = Rufus, the obnoxious AI "helper" that takes up 20% of the screen when I search for something on Amazon, which no one asked for.
        extra88 9mo ago
        I don't get any of that in Safari or any other browser. "Rufus" is just a button in the main navigation, between "All" and "Same-day delivery" that I ignore. On individual product pages, there's "Ask Rufus" stuff in a couple of pages but it's no worse than other content I scroll past and seems just like previous features that didn't have a named AI identity.
cheschire 9mo ago
So, Brave.
Workaccount2 9mo ago
This is the equivalent of "Lawmakers should legally set rents to $0, so we can all live for free"
- amanaplanacanal 9mo ago
  Only if you assume ads are the only way anybody could run a website.
- reddalo 9mo ago
  You're not totally wrong. Some European countries impose limits on short-term rents in order to limit services like Airbnb.
porridgeraisin 9mo ago
This is what brave does. It's implement without needing an extension, so Manifest V2/V3 etc doesn't matter one bit.