4 ms·

Loads to a blank white page with JavaScript disabled. Utter failure.

by mfincham 14y ago

aoprisan 14y ago
try browsing half the web without JS enabled and it'll look just as bad
- andreimic 14y ago
  I am, actually, and it's not half as bad as you would think. I don't think that js-less browsing is so uncommon, either.
  - bradleyland 14y ago
    JS-less browsing is either uncommon, or it isn't. It's not something you "think", it's a verifiable statistic. The most recent data I could find (2010) puts it at around 2% in the US. I would venture that 2% should be considered uncommon. http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2010/10/how-many-users-have-javascript-disabled/ http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2010/10/how-many-...
    - niggler 14y ago
      How are text browsers (lynx, elinks) counted in the statistic? Strictly speaking, javascript isn't disabled because its not supported in the first place
    - andreimic 14y ago
      Fair point, but still, that's only Yahoo websites, and (to nit-pick) I, for one, don't Yahoo! Another thing to take into consideration regarding this sort of stats is the user base. I _think_ a lot of the NoJS (or the likes) users are of the tech-savvy bunch and more likely to use sites like this one. So, I _think_ a more relevant percentage of people that have JS disabled is higher in this case.
bpatrianakos 14y ago
Utter failure? Seriously? Why is it that whenever someone shares something cool someone else inevitably wants to tear it down? This is far from an "utter failure". In 2013 you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has disabled JavaScript or is using a browser that doesn't support it. Furthermore, its safe to assume that a user who has purposely disabled JavaScript is sufficiently technical enough to know why they did it and re-enable it if they really want to use the site. Calling this an utter failure is total hyperbole. Okay, so the site doesn't gracefully degrade. That's a failure for best practices. But best practice isn't always so black and white and a site that doesn't degrade gracefully isn't always absolutely an utter failure. Consider the target audience of this. It'll be more technically inclined people. It's again safe to assume these people will mostly have JS enabled and most people won't have a problem. Even beyond that, we're not talking about a website that's trying to capture the hearts and minds of the entire Internet using population who'd ever want to use a Pastebin. It's some guy or girl who put together a beautiful side project and open sources it at that. But in the end whether you're right or wrong, have a good point or not, just doesn't matter. It's this pervasive culture of seeking out and focusing only on what's wrong with a project around here that seriously needs to stop. There was a project on the font page last night that wasn't the most impressive piece of code but served a cool purpose and the overwhelming majority of comments just wanted to tear it down and call it useless. It was pretty disgusting really because the project wasn't useless at all. It was just that the commenters didn't personally have a use for it and for some reason couldn't see anything beyond their own personal preferences as if they thought the entire world did (or should) have their same tastes or something. This needs to stop. If it doesn't we'll either no longer get anyone submitting their cool projects or all of HN will be overrun with over zealous critics or both.
- niggler 14y ago
  "In 2013 you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has disabled JavaScript or is using a browser that doesn't support it" I and many other people still use lynx/elinks. Which is not to say that I expect every service to work on a text browser, but to dismiss text browsers for a service catering to developers is a bit presumptive
- mfincham 14y ago

Loads to a blank white page with JavaScript disabled. Utter failure.

aoprisan 14y ago

try browsing half the web without JS enabled and it'll look just as bad

andreimic 14y ago
I am, actually, and it's not half as bad as you would think. I don't think that js-less browsing is so uncommon, either.
- bradleyland 14y ago
  JS-less browsing is either uncommon, or it isn't. It's not something you "think", it's a verifiable statistic. The most recent data I could find (2010) puts it at around 2% in the US. I would venture that 2% should be considered uncommon. http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2010/10/how-many-users-have-javascript-disabled/ http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/posts/2010/10/how-many-...
  - niggler 14y ago
    How are text browsers (lynx, elinks) counted in the statistic? Strictly speaking, javascript isn't disabled because its not supported in the first place
  - andreimic 14y ago
    Fair point, but still, that's only Yahoo websites, and (to nit-pick) I, for one, don't Yahoo! Another thing to take into consideration regarding this sort of stats is the user base. I _think_ a lot of the NoJS (or the likes) users are of the tech-savvy bunch and more likely to use sites like this one. So, I _think_ a more relevant percentage of people that have JS disabled is higher in this case.

bpatrianakos 14y ago

Utter failure? Seriously? Why is it that whenever someone shares something cool someone else inevitably wants to tear it down? This is far from an "utter failure". In 2013 you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has disabled JavaScript or is using a browser that doesn't support it. Furthermore, its safe to assume that a user who has purposely disabled JavaScript is sufficiently technical enough to know why they did it and re-enable it if they really want to use the site. Calling this an utter failure is total hyperbole. Okay, so the site doesn't gracefully degrade. That's a failure for best practices. But best practice isn't always so black and white and a site that doesn't degrade gracefully isn't always absolutely an utter failure. Consider the target audience of this. It'll be more technically inclined people. It's again safe to assume these people will mostly have JS enabled and most people won't have a problem. Even beyond that, we're not talking about a website that's trying to capture the hearts and minds of the entire Internet using population who'd ever want to use a Pastebin. It's some guy or girl who put together a beautiful side project and open sources it at that. But in the end whether you're right or wrong, have a good point or not, just doesn't matter. It's this pervasive culture of seeking out and focusing only on what's wrong with a project around here that seriously needs to stop. There was a project on the font page last night that wasn't the most impressive piece of code but served a cool purpose and the overwhelming majority of comments just wanted to tear it down and call it useless. It was pretty disgusting really because the project wasn't useless at all. It was just that the commenters didn't personally have a use for it and for some reason couldn't see anything beyond their own personal preferences as if they thought the entire world did (or should) have their same tastes or something. This needs to stop. If it doesn't we'll either no longer get anyone submitting their cool projects or all of HN will be overrun with over zealous critics or both.

niggler 14y ago
"In 2013 you'd be hard pressed to find someone who has disabled JavaScript or is using a browser that doesn't support it" I and many other people still use lynx/elinks. Which is not to say that I expect every service to work on a text browser, but to dismiss text browsers for a service catering to developers is a bit presumptive
mfincham 14y ago