Closed Bug 904248 Opened 11 years ago Closed 11 years ago

Restore options to turn off image loading and javascript

Categories

(Firefox :: Settings UI, defect)

Product:
Firefox
Component:
Settings UI
Version:
23 Branch
Platform:
x86_64
Windows 7
Type:
defect
Priority:
Not set
Severity:
normal

Tracking

()

Status:
VERIFIED WONTFIX

People

(Reporter: cb736, Unassigned)

References

Details

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 6.1; WOW64; rv:22.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/22.0 (Beta/Release)
Build ID: 20130618035212

Steps to reproduce:

When version 23 was introduced, it was introduced with bug fixes 851701 and 851702, each of which rendered version 23 unusable. One removed the option to shut off javascript, the other the option to load images. Both options are frequently used, and without them render the browser unusable.


Actual results:

Javascript is used to provide stupid web tricks, such as keeping you on a web page when you want to leave it, by opening a new window when you click the close tab. Often the only way out of this is to go to options and shut off javascript. There are many other reasons to shut off javascript.

When loading images are shut off, the alt text is displayed, and the website loads faster. This can be critical for users who are on a metered ISP service, and would otherwise go over their data limits.


Expected results:

What should have been available is an easy to use by everyone option to turn off javascript and image loading. I am not interested in using a work around add-on to try to reproduce this basic functionality that should be available in any browser. The arguments about why it was removed are specious and ludicrous.
You will notice that I am currently using version 22, because I had no recourse other than to uninstall 23 and reinstall 22 until this bug is fixed.
Blocks: 851701
Status: UNCONFIRMED → NEW
Ever confirmed: true
Component: Untriaged → Preferences
Thanks to Firefox's excellent add-on ecosystem, you have plenty of recourse:

To be able to quickly toggle images on/off, I recommend:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/image-block/

To be able to quickly toggle JavaScript on/off, I recommend:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/quickjs/ or https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/noscript/ (for more advanced functionality). Additionally, future versions of Firefox have this functionality in the built-in developer tools.
Status: NEW → RESOLVED
Closed: 11 years ago
Resolution: --- → INVALID
(In reply to :Gavin Sharp (use gavin@gavinsharp.com for email) from comment #2)

> Additionally, future versions of Firefox have this
> functionality in the built-in developer tools.

Please attach Bug #?
Flags: needinfo?(gavin.sharp)
bug 864249
Flags: needinfo?(gavin.sharp)
So, bug 864249 added only javascript.

I reopen this for image.
Status: RESOLVED → REOPENED
Resolution: INVALID → ---
Summary: Add option to turn off javascript and image loading → Add option to turn off image loading
clarify that this is not a new feature but one that FF has always had.
Summary: Add option to turn off image loading → Restore option to turn off image loading
I am well aware that Firefox has many addons etc., but I am not interested in using any of them. Being able to not load images is a basic functionality that all browsers need to make readily available. The only exception of course, being Lynx, which has no image capability. And as to built in developer tools, no I am not interested in developing my own version of Firefox. What happens when the next version comes out, would I need to customize that one too? No, this is just a basic functionality that is expected in all browsers, and is a very useful option.
bug 864249 did not restore the javascript option checkbox.
Summary: Restore option to turn off image loading → Restore options to turn off image loading and javascript
Firefox has many addons available, but like many people I am not interested or even capable of looking though and trying out addons that I have no clue whether they are even safe to use, and prefer to stick with an option checkbox that is built into the browser.
(In reply to Alice0775 White from comment #5)
> So, bug 864249 added only javascript.
> 
> I reopen this for image.

I can call it WONTFIX if you prefer.

(In reply to Christopher Booth from comment #9)
> Firefox has many addons available, but like many people I am not interested
> or even capable of looking though and trying out addons that I have no clue
> whether they are even safe to use, and prefer to stick with an option
> checkbox that is built into the browser.

All addons.mozilla.org add-ons are reviewed by Mozilla, and you can be assured they are safe to use. The ones I linked to in comment 2 are very simple.
Status: REOPENED → RESOLVED
Closed: 11 years ago → 11 years ago
Resolution: --- → WONTFIX
"Won't fix" is not a suitable response. I can of course choose "won't use", and switch to Chrome, but I simply do not see this as viable. I simply am not going to use an add-on for something that the browser needs to offer, and that every other browser does offer.

I really do not think that you understand the relationship of addons to users like me. I do not know where they come from and I just do not trust them.
Resolution: WONTFIX → INVALID
Status: RESOLVED → REOPENED
Resolution: INVALID → ---
Comment 10 (and a number of other bugs have addressed this). We have 400 million users -- we can't please all of them, sorry, but strongly believe we've addressed the majority use cases.
Status: REOPENED → RESOLVED
Closed: 11 years ago → 11 years ago
Resolution: --- → WONTFIX
Status: RESOLVED → VERIFIED
Not a chance. These options are there for a reason. They are needed. If someone does not want to uncheck them, they certainly can. If someone unchecks them accidentally and can not find any way to fix the problem, when they reinstall the browser they will be restored as checked. This does not meet anyone's needs, let alone "the majority use cases". The way to meet the needs of 400 million users, though, is to add options, not remove them.
Even when these two changes were proposed, in bug 851701 and bug 851702 there were people who said, huh? And yet the bugs were implemented. This is not the way to develop software. This idea "of having a better experience" is completely alien to why most people even use a browser. They use it to find and provide information. The "experience" they obtain is tailored by being able to turn options on and off. One of the things I use it for is to check websites for user compatibility, to verify that with or without images and with or without javascript the website is still functional. Developers need to build websites that accommodate every user, browsers do not need to remove options.
But most of my friends have long ago migrated to other browsers, and until this bug is marked "fixed", as long as it is marked "won't fix", my response will be "won't use". I have enjoyed using firefox for a number of years now, but it is too bad to have it end this way.
There is a facebook page to advocate implementing this bugfix now. https://www.facebook.com/groups/286813071461409
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