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Comment by superkuh | Hacker News Reader

With the usual qualification that you have to have your browser set to automatically execute javascript code from random untrusted websites.

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So ... the default settings of most browsers? The way you phrased your sentence makes it seem as if users themselves set their browser up like that, when that is not the case.

Yup. The defaults and expectations for the commercial web are terrible. Since this is a technical forum I assume most of as aren't running our browsers that way.

I doubt most of us turn off javascript, and enable it on a case by case basis, regardless if it's a technical forum or not. I certainly don't. That would be a major inconvenience to do for very little benefit, imo.

"Most of us" probably not, but a lot of us. NoScript is one of the most popular Firefox extensions in nerd circles. Also makes a huge difference when browsing on old hardware or from a connection where data is pricey.

I used to (NoScript, then uMatrix for years), but it is a ton of work. Just blocking problem scripts with uBlock Origin gets you 95% of and way there. The last 5% is a lot of extra effort for seriously diminishing returns.

After nearly a decade of using NoScript I have developed an intuitive sense of what domains to temp whitelist, and in what orders, to get things working without letting third party scripts get involved. It you stick with it it gets much easier.

I do use uBlock Origin too with NoScript, but that's only for handling the JS of domains NoScript temp whitelists.

Assumptions are usually wrong unless verified.

That’s a really surprising assumption.

Did you know that HN works fine without Javascript? There's a reason for that.

While I admire your dedication to privacy by disabling JavaScript, personally I’ve gone crazy and given up due to all the people around me in my life forcing me to live in a privacy nightmare

The era of being able to reasonably disable javascript by default ended about 10 years ago, maybe 15 at this point.

If you're still disabling by default in 2023, you are a fraction of a percent of a fraction of a percent of people dedicated enough to go through that pain.

I wish I had your dedication.

Which is the default for the vast majority of users.

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