G+ doesn't support Opera... why? | Hacker News Reader

G+ doesn't support Opera... why?

plus.google.com

13 pointsduiker10116 comments

Google+ is blocking Opera, even though it will work fine in Opera.

Why is Google doing it? Ask Google. But Google already has a habit of blocking "unsupported" browsers, such as unknown browsers or browsers with small market share. If you have done something once, chances are that you have done it before. Google is ignorantly following tradition that will chastise people using that "unsupported" browser.

I have looked at the CSS, HTML, and JavaScript source code. Google uses unnecessary, server-side browser sniffing to send Opera a crippled webpage, missing CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, which, in effect, do not include web toolbar buttons and advanced feedback features.

If you don't already know, I created a User JS and extension for Google+ that will inject the missing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript so that the web toolbar notification and share buttons will work correctly.

See my post here, and try out my Google+ Injector User JS or extension: http://my.opera.com/community/forums/findpost.pl?id=9922772

Also, try out my Google +1 Button extension. My extension will let you +1 a webpage even if it lacks +1 buttons.

Feedback requested! Thanks.

Google+ Injector 1.03 now tries to detect the language instead of using English by default.

Google+ Injector: https://github.com/XP1/Google--for-Opera/

For the User JS, click on the file and then click "raw". For the extension, click "Downloads" and then install "googlePlusInjector-1.03.oex".

If you use the User JS, "User JavaScript on HTTPS" must be enabled, and you will get an HTTPS warning for each browsing session. opera:config#User%20JavaScript%20on%20HTTPS or opera:config#UserPrefs|UserJavaScriptonHTTPS

If you use the extension, "User JavaScript on HTTPS" does not have to be enabled, so you will not get an HTTPS warning for each browsing session. However, for extensions, "Allow interaction with secure pages" must be enabled.

Known issues: Webpages, like "https://plus.google.com/photos/ and "https://plus.google.com/circles/, do not have the notification and share text, so there is no way to get the the notification and share text for non-English languages. For these webpages, they will always show as "Notifications" and "Share", unless you edit the User JS.

G+ also doesn't support Camino, which uses the same rendering engine as Firefox...

This could also be a Google trying to control the user platform during a beta/test period. It is much easier to troubleshoot issues when you limit the platform your app is running on.

It would be just as esy to just throw out the data you collect from that user agent

You can bypass that by disabling the browser-checking functions. ;)

Probably lack of resources.

Opera has allways been one of the nicest browsers, at one point in time even the only sane IE alternative, but never got the market share it deserves, except on the dombphones as Opera Mini.

Lack of resources is a answer I am willing to accept from say Grooveshark. But, when Google and Facebook offer that same excuse, its a lot harder to digest. Also, once you realize that Opera supports most Google products without any special optimization, that fallacy of that logic becomes apparent. Remember that Google optimized Google Instant for the listed browsers, but it didn't for Opera. Yet, Google Instant worked in Opera right from the beginning, as long as you masked your useragent as Firefox. Yes, changing the useragent fixed the incompatibility problem! Same thing is happening with G+. Mask as Firefox and the notification and share options that are normally not available in the Google bar in Opera because visible. Browser sniffing sucks. Its time that Google followed what it preached and developed websites that follow the spirit of "Open Web". Related Reading Material: http://techie-buzz.com/browsers/google-instant-opera.html http://my.opera.com/ODIN/blog/2009/11/05/the-lengths-to-go-t... http://my.opera.com/hallvors/blog/ http://my.opera.com/core/blog/show.dml/3130540

I really don't understand this perspective. Google has lots of resources. Google has lots of projects. A particular team may not have more or less resources then Grooveshark. There is no 'fallacy of logic'. You build the broadest support you can with the resources you have. I don't think their lack of support of Opera for a beta project suggests anything about their support of Opera besides they consider it a lower priority then the four browsers listed. Its not a personal affront. They just don't have unlimited people. Would you be surprised to learn they don't yet support text based browsing using lynx? I wouldn't.

If I am using lynx, chances are high that I know some things are not going to work anyway. I don't need google to tell me this. And in many cases (not for Google+, I think they rely too much on js.), some things will work.

Plus, there is a middle ground between blacklisting lynx and blacklisting cutting-edge or almost cutting-edge browsers.

If this was just happening with Google+ then your point of view would have been understandable. But, this has happened in the past with Google Search, Google Docs, Picasa and pretty much every Google product. In each of those cases masking Opera as Fx solved the problem, but Google took months to officially solve the issue, if they at all did.

> Probably lack of resources.

WHAT!

If you look at the JavaScript source code, you will see that Google is checking for the presence of Opera and then using that information to make it work in Opera.

The problem is the server-side browser sniffing that nullifies ALL THE THINGS.

true, but as far as i know Opera is the browser that cares the most about standards, so i do not understand why G+ should be incompatible. Also i think that i should be able to choose if i want to navigate anyway, even if the website is incompatible.

If we trust Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_(web_browser)#Market_adop... (one should never trust Wikipedia blindely), Opera has 3.3% of general browser market. I believe that is not enough to add official support for it.

Of course, Google could just let Opera users in, but since it can't guarantee 100% compliance, decision not to support Opera at all is understandable to some degree.

Perhaps the video chat plugin doesn't work with Opera? I don't know personally. If this is the case, however, then I can see Google not wanting to offer a half-working product to users.

Opera 11.50 works fine. Make sure that:

1. You're running the latest version of Opera.

2. You're not spoofing as another browser.

Not really. If you compare "Identify as Opera" and "Identify as Firefox", you will see that the web toolbar notifications and share buttons are missing for the Opera user agent (also, advanced feedback tools are missing, where it takes a screenshot and allows you to highlight the problem area).

I created the User JS and extension that will inject the code into the DOM. See my earlier post.

No antialiasing for firefox and ie logo is probably intentional :D

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