

Alex Limi is Ruining Firefox - wordlyDevice
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=873709
JavaScript is now a required component in almost all modern web applications (GMail, Apple.com, Facebook, etc.) and this preference option is no longer applicable and should be removed. If anything, keep it in about:config.<p>Having this option probably causes more harm than good when someone accidentally disables JavaScript and then the web stops working for them in Firefox.<p>Reproducible: Always
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jcape
Firefox made sure the "break the entire Internet" button is not easy to find.

Those bastards!

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mikeratcliffe
I think your comment just about covers this issue. There are very few reasons
for a less technical user to disable JavaScript. For those that do need to
disable it, the about:config solution is fine.

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elktea
Seems like a good decision and something that should be handled by an
extension.

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jfoster
It's a great decision. JavaScript is now about as common as HTML.

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DanBC
Add ons are evil[1] and should be avoided.

I'm happy for sane defaults and hidden options, but hiding the option for
turning javascript on or off seems a bit much. Maybe they have numbers showing
most people leave it turned on?

It's interesting that Javascript has a dialog box in the browser options, but
other stuff (flash; etc) doesn't.

[1] evil is perhaps hyperbole, but I don't like extensions.

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james-skemp
Why? In my experience and opinion add-ons are optional and enhance the
experience for those who opt to use them.

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DanBC
I've seen people who have huge lists of not well programmed add ins that do
Weird things.

It is a personal preference and I probably can't justify it if pushed.

Specifically for javascript: that's part of the browser, it's not an
extension. So configuring it should really also be part of the browser. I
prefer Firefox's approach to settings than Google's.

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james-skemp
Weird issues with add-on are definitely a problem, and with poor performance,
one of the reasons I switched to Chrome. But when it comes to JS, and I'm
willing to bet my bias as a web developer and website owner influences this, I
don't think this should be easy to change.

Maybe Firefox needs a better warning when someone goes into the config; it
wouldn't be the first time. But JS is not only a part of the browser, it's a
core part of the web, good and bad.

For this reason, I don't believe that it needs to continue to be easy for
someone who doesn't understand that to switch it off because of false or
misleading information. The web has grown since JS really started being used,
and won't be going away anytime soon.

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mentat
Most people turn off JS because of security, because loading a web page should
not always lead to code (besides rendering) being run on your machine.

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MetaCosm
"Most people" don't turn it off, those who do are sophisticated users and can
easily download and use NoScript (and probably already do), which is a far
smarter solution allowing for you to use the modern web on sites you trust.

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dkuntz2
How do you know it was his decision?

Also, devil's advocate, why is it a bad thing for non-technical users not to
be able to disable javascript? Do you know of any non-technical users who
disable javascript?

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ronaldx
I can only assume your definition of 'technical users' includes all people who
might want to disable javascript?

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dkuntz2
No. I don't personally know anybody who turns off javascript, and through the
internet I only know of technical people (as in, the kinds of people who
understand how browsers and the internet work) who disable it.

