301886 - Page layout issues caused by extension installations

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[Jeff D. Hanson]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.10) Gecko/20050716 Firefox/1.0.6
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.10) Gecko/20050716 Firefox/1.0.6

This is really bizarre.  I was testing some extensions when I noticed the
Firefox extensions list pages were not formatting correctly,
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/showlist.php?application=firefox&category=Download%20Tools
  for example.  The obvious problems were overlapping text and missing rating
stars and thumbnails.  I've spent several hours attempting to narrow this down
but it doesn't seem to be tied to any specific extension.  These are the ones
I've messed with:
Download Manager Tweak 0.6.3
FlashGot 0.5.9.7
Sage 1.3.5
Tabbrowser Preferences 1.2.7.1
Forecastfox 0.8.1.1
Adblock v.5 d1 * nightly 39

Sometimes removing an extension fixes the problem, sometimes not (even with the
same version).  The page is viewable if I change the page style to "No Style"
from Cavendish.  I've tried to recreate the problem predictably on three other
systems with random results.  All systems can develop the problem but the
extension that causes it is not always the same one nor does it appear to be a
combination of extensions.  In addition to the main XP SP2 PC which was 1.0.4
upgraded to 1.0.6 (as per the Build ID above), the other systems are:
Mandriva 2005LE:  Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.6)
Gecko/20050317 Firefox/1.0.5
Ubuntu 5.04:  Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.6) Gecko/20050524
Firefox/1.0.4 (Ubuntu package 1.0.2 MFSA2005-44) (config version changed to
enable access to extensions site)
Windows XP SP2:  Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.7.10)
Gecko/20050716 Firefox/1.0.6

I was able to correct the problem on the Linux PCs by wiping out the profile
data except for bookmarks and profile folder, thus removing all extensions.

Reproducible: Sometimes

Steps to Reproduce:
1.  Install Firefox 1.0.6
2.  Install some extensions
3.  Check extension download list pages to verify layout

Actual Results:  
Overlapping text and missing graphics.

Expected Results:  
No change in rendering as compared to default install.

Theme doesn't seem to affect it.  I normally use Microfirefox but the other PCs
with the default theme have the same problem.  Systems were using 1024x768 and
1280x1024 with both the default window size, maximized, and full screen.

Comment 1

[Jeff D. Hanson]

Attachment: Screenshot

Screenshot of an improperly rendered page.

Comment 2

[José Jeria]

So I assume this works fine in safe mode (no extensions enabled) ?

Comment 3

[Jaime Mitchell (use [e-mail] for email)]

IHMO This looks like a server issue with the style sheet for the right hand pane
not being loaded correctly. Style sheet problems on a.m.o with firefox 1.0.6 are
a known issue.

Comment 4

[Jeff D. Hanson]

Safe mode did not affect it.  I tried on a laptop running Mandriva 2005LE and
1.0.4 but no problems.  At the same time on the same pages, the other PCs show
the problem.  I wiped the profile on the Mandriva PC but the problem still
persisted even though this workaround worked before.  What doesn't make sense to
me is that they are not all affected at the same time and once it happens it is
repeatable but the initial cause is not.  Nor do I understand how messing with
extensions sometimes fixes it.

Comment 5

[Jeff D. Hanson]

I haven't seen this bug manifested in the last two months on several systems. 
I'm not sure if the site was fixed or Firefox but I'll resolve it for now.