1727134 - about:webrtc's auto-update is troublesome: flickering doc updates + interferes w/cut'n'paste

Status: NEW

(Core :: WebRTC, defect, P3)

Description

[Jan-Ivar Bruaroey [:jib] (needinfo? me)]

+++ This bug was initially created as a clone of Bug #1727083 +++

Even before bug 1727083 made symptoms stand out, about:webrtc's auto-update feature has been troublesome.

1. Updates flicker occasionally every ~10 seconds on average.
2. Cutting and pasting information from this page is tricky, because the highlight tends to reset when the page updates.

Flickering update STR:

1. Prerequisite: make sure to have added a media-related pref to about:config, like media.getusermedia.audiocapture.enabled.
2. Open about:webrtc and wait 10 seconds

Expected result:

• No blinking

Actual result:

• The User Set WebRTC Preferences flickers every ~10 seconds or so (seems highly timing related).

Solution

I think we should add a ☐ live data checkbox near the top and default it to off.

(Bikeshed: at first I thought "auto-update" would work, but these appear to be partial updates, only refreshing the data of already-shown peer connections. The user still has to ↻ refresh the page to see new ones)