Comment by heavyset_go | Hacker News Reader

Comment by heavyset_go | Hacker News Reader

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> By default, I don't run JavaScript. I don't see blocking JS as a problem - in fact, it's a blessing as the web is blinding fast without it - and also most of the ads just simply disappear if JS is not running.

Years ago I was on the "people who block JavaScript are crazy" bandwagon, until just loading a single news article online meant waiting for a dozen ads and autoplaying videos to load. I spent more time waiting for things to finish loading than I spent browsing the actual sites, which killed my battery life. I'd get a couple of hours of battery life with JS on, and with it off, I could work all day on a single charge. It was nice.

Ever since then, I've been using NoScript without a problem. I've spent all of maybe 5 minutes, cumulative over the course of several years, clicking a single button to add domains to the whitelist. If whitelisting isn't something you want to do, you can use NoScript's blacklist mode, too.

> I'm now so spoilt by the advantages of the non-JS world that I don't think I could ever return. I'm always acutely reminded of the fact whenever I use someone else's machine.

I relate with this 100%.

> until just loading a single news article online meant waiting for a dozen ads and autoplaying videos to load.

That sounds like you not only didn’t block JS, you also didn’t block ads. Which is a very different argument. I only block 3rd-party JS by default (and that already requires a lot of whitelisting for almost every site that has any interaction) and I don’t have those issues because I also block ads.

There was a period around 2014 - 2016 where even if you used uBlock, ads would still get through. Even now, when I use computers that just have uBlock Origin installed, some ads, and especially autoplaying videos on news sites, still get through.

Tried NoScript for years and it was a pain. Too many of the sites I use need so many domains full of JS. So I think this will vary widely depending on the person and their preferred/needed sites.

I use NoScript with Firefox on Android (together with uBlock Origin). After I unblocked the websites I regularly use (and not the ad delivery domains), it doesn't get in the way that much.

Unblocking the sites you use removes the advantage of not being tracked by Google through tag manager though.

That's probably true. Part of the reason why I still also use an ad-blocker.

I've had Google Tag Manager blocked for years and sites have worked fine without it.

It has to be said: there are people who can get by without JavaScript and those who can't. You can almost predict those who can and those who can't by their personality.

If you are heavy user of Google's services, Twitter and Facebook as well as many big news outlets and heavy-duty commercial sites then you're the 'JavaScript' type and stopping scripts is definitely not for you!

If you are like me and don't have any Facebook, Twitter or Google accounts and deliberately avoid large commercial sites like, say, Microsoft then you can happily switch off JavaScript and experience the 'better' web.

You know the type of person you are, so with this fact in mind there's no point me proselytizing the case for disabling JavaScript.

I can relate 100%. In the past I was constantly using Twitter, Gmail, et al. I was using different hacks to bend them to the extent possible to my will. Time changed, my personality changed and the desire and need to use those services disappeared, therefore I naturally stopped using them. When people where talking about this or that service being down, I didn't notice it at all. I was also lucky enough to not rely on them on my $dayjob. I run my mail server, host my website and run my scripts. Old fashoin guy lets say. It works well for me. Moreover, JS-bloat is a red flag to stay away from certain services. Has served me well.

This seems like a broad generalization. JS continues to permeate every industry brought to the web. It's increasingly not optional as employers and governments mandate more and more web services. Doubtful that can be predicted by personality.

"...as employers and governments mandate more and more web services."

It's not compulsory, especially governments. I never deal with government on the web at a personal level. If they expect me to fill in forms I simply say that I do not have the web and would they please send me a paper copy - which they're obliged to do at law - same goes for the census.

If the government expects me to do business with it on the internet then it will have to legislate to make it compulsory AND then provide me with the necessary dedicated hardware for said purpose.

Why would I act this way? Well, for quite some years I was the IT manager for a government department and I know how they work (or I should say don't work).

BTW, as IT manager I never used email within the department (perfunctorily emails sent to my office were received by secretarial staff). If the CEO wanted to send me an important memorandum then he had to have it typed up on paper and personally sign it (and I would reciprocate the same). When in government you quickly realize that atoms on paper and especially a written signature is real guaranteed worth - unlike ephemeral emails that can vanish without trace.

I'm forever amazed at the trust the average person has in these vulnerability-ridden flaky systems.

> If you are heavy user of Google's services, Twitter and Facebook as well as many big news outlets and heavy-duty commercial sites then you're the 'JavaScript' type and stopping scripts is definitely not for you!

I, unfortunately, use some of these services and similar ones, too, and it takes a few seconds to enable JS on them, and then the sites will work indefinitely afterwards.

> Too many of the sites I use need so many domains full of JS

I hear you, but I wonder if you are being honest with yourself when you use the word need.

At this point, I view Google and Facebook as the equivalent of loan sharks. A loan shark does provide a service, but most people shouldn't use one.

Are you a web developer by any chance?

> Years ago I was on the "people who block JavaScript are crazy" bandwagon, until just loading a single news article online meant waiting for a dozen ads and autoplaying videos to load.

Seems like clear case of "crossing the river to collect water" (as the Swedish saying says)? This is what I use uBlock Origin (with the right blocklists) for and it happens automagically. I did use uMatrix for quite a awhile, but eventually ended up ditching it because uBlock Origin worked so well.

uBlock Origin solves the problem you had too, without breaking multiple sites.

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