keiko

Hey, so there are a few threads I can't see from this instance due to defederations and I wanna respond anyway.

@Digit@lemmy.today open dyslexia font? nice touch.

Thanks. Yeah, it's OpenDyslexicAlta Bold. It felt like a good option for a meme font that was kinda different and maybe easy enough to read to make it useful too.

@Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe That makes it easier for dyslexics?

Possibly for some, as @Ludicrous0251@piefed.zip said. I think it would probably be more beneficial for those who are introduced to it at a young age. Otherwise it takes some time to get used to it, and I did end up falling back to the fonts I had been using. But I do like OpenDyslexicAlta font and think it makes a good meme font, so yeah.

Okay so that's my response to the chain of comments quoted above. Sorry I can't give y'all upvotes due to the defederation, and sorry it took me so long to realize there were comments which were hidden from me. I do try my best to respond to everything that seems directed at me or which I can offer a worthwhile response.

The next chain of comments is much longer (it's a really good one too), and I'm thinking I'll make one or more responses when I get back online a while from now.

🩷

NoScript is one of the oldest browser addons for selectively blocking/allowing scripts and some other things, and it's the only addon which comes preinstalled in Tor Browser. And yes, it has a dedicated toolbar button.

Well I was able to disable it. Though I'm still curious why there's such a weird blur effect to go along with an equally-weird adult-consent thing which requires javascript. ~Also worth noting that removing the blur doesn't allow clicking any links.~ Nevermind, I was able to get that to work. But each page load/reload requires this same attention. Still weird. I've never come across a lemmy instance that's gated in this way before. Most either have a blank page or captcha. And I'm still curious about why this one is configured like this.

Why the blur?

In this fucked-up world, it turns out that I end up blending in, just not with other people. Users who disallow javascripts are often mistaken for bots nowadays. We don't stand out, and so we're assumed to be bots. I think that if more people browsed without javascript it'd eventually be easier to distinguish between bots and people, and captchas could maybe die out.

Bottom left text gives reasons that relate to security, which is also related to privacy. I don't trust arbitrary scripts, and I find it more convenient to simply disallow them. While css can theoretically be used to track mouse movements, that is typically done with javascripts, and I find that creepy af. I don't like the feeling that I'm being observed. I get enough of that whenever I go outside into this dystopic world.

So on that note, as I've said in some other comments within this thread, I prefer static pages from a UX perspective. Static pages feel comfy and safe, at least in comparison to the alternative. In contrast, javascripts tend to make the UX of sites worse in my view. So there aren't any compelling reasons for me to allow them most of the time.

It comes down to this: What do I gain by allowing javascripts? What I see is largely nothing. What do I lose by allowing javascripts? Comfort, calm, and a relaxed experience.

lol you have no idea

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I was talking about my own experiences. We can agree to disagree on what is a better user experience, as it's inherently subjective. I can't think of a site I've come across that was made better by javascripts, from my own perspective and experiences. I have always been let down and frustrated by such sites and always relieved to find static sites.

It is only your opinion that dynamic UI elements aren't worth it.

Yes. And for all of the reasons I've given, I stand by my opinions on javascripts. You're free to disagree. I wasn't trying to convince anyone, just sharing my experiences and opinions on them.

Sorry if I came across as dismissive of your experiences and opinions.

i am sometimes like this too ^^' except i rarely get enough sleep anyway

the thing that characterizes disorders is that they get in the way of life, so technically if your obsessiveness is only productive and not a hindrance then it wouldn't be categorized as a disorder. but i do wonder about that sometimes. cuz like, what if there were someone who very clearly had ocd or adhd but no other peculiarities and somehow was able to manage it even though it was quite obvious? just feels like we should probably have other terms for such things beyond the rigid definitions we currently have...(end of random mini-rant)

In reality now it's used for full on software applications.

I think software applications are better made as actual applications instead of browser-based web-apps.

it's also used for dynamically updating the UI.

It might seem useful on the surface but is prone to the same sorts of breakage and annoyances I was talking about.

A world you speak of would mean much worse order forms, paperwork for doctors, etc. I mean you do you, but you can't just not acknowledge that dynamic updates of a UI are better than filling out a long form then getting back "invalid data, you selected this and entered that, start over".

That's an interesting example, because that's happened to both of my parents within the past few months from two different healthcare-related sites. The javascript elements frustrated them more than me, since they didn't understand why certain things weren't working, and I had to figure it out for them. And there were a few times when we had to start over due to the sites being poorly made.

That's really what I see in this reliance on javascripts, corner-cutting which causes problems. Properly-configured sites work better, and the ones reliant on javascript tend not to be.

I would prefer static order forms so that I can have the entire form and fill it out before submitting, while retaining a copy so that if there were issues I could more quickly and efficiently resubmit with the corrections.

Some people might prefer the dynamically updating UI stuff, but except for live chats I can't see a good use for it that static pages can't do better. And I think live chats are better in non-web apps which support end-to-end encryption anyway.

The tracking concerns are mostly mitigated by vpns, ad blockers, and private browser features.

The most useful and efficient private browsing feature is the ability to disable javascripts. Using vpns and ad-blockers protects against very specific vectors of surveillance, while javascripts allow a diverse set of surveillance capabilities, so blocking them protects against several forms of surveillance. And with more people disabling javascripts, we all blend together better.

you may prefer static documents, but modern society is built on forms and other types of vital apps, which would inevitably be worse without javascript.

Modern society is also built on ignorance, conformity, and exploitation, all of which make javascript-based sites more dangerous and prone to issues. It's the easy answer thrown at every problem, like "a.i." and is similarly dangerous.