> Also — I was under the impression that anything that comes after # is not sent to the server, being a fragment meant to be processed entirely by the client.
You aren't missing anything. The article is wrong.
You aren't missing anything. The article is wrong.
This is especially the case if the browser scrolls and doesn't load all prior resources automatically because they were never "in view".
The scenario you've given is also very similar to a scenario in which the user opens the web page and then manually searches for "cancer". Or scrolls down rapidly until they notice the word "cancer" and then stops. I do that all the time for example.
So I don't see how excluding such a feature protects the user in any way compared with the status quo.