diff --git a/_posts/2018-08-01-the-bullshit-web.md b/_posts/2018-08-01-the-bullshit-web.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3df8c48 --- /dev/null +++ b/_posts/2018-08-01-the-bullshit-web.md @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ +--- +layout: post +title: Coping with The Bullshit Web +tags: +- opinion +--- + +I recently came across [this post](https://pxlnv.com/blog/bullshit-web/) from +Nick Heer castigating "the bullshit web." A term he uses to describe the fairly +despicable state of modern web applications. While I overwhelmingly agree with +the points he lays out, especially in his disparaging remarks towards +[AMP](https://www.ampproject.org/), I think there's more to be said about +alternative approaches for web users to once again experience the web without the +bullshit. + +My personal computing setup is a bit towards the extreme, so I understand that +most people will not utilize the approaches I favor, but I will list them here +nonetheless. + +* **Navigating to mobile sites by default**: one easy trick which I've utilized + on a number of international data connections is to default to using a web + site's mobile version, even though I'm on laptop (heresy!). A number of sites, + excluding news sites, become much more pleasant for mobile users due to the + constraints on CPU and network most mobile devices have. +* [NoScript](https://noscript.net): I have used NoScript, and it's Chrome + analogue + [ScriptSafe](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/scriptsafe/oiigbmnaadbkfbmpbfijlflahbdbdgdf), + for quite some time to block enormous amounts of JavaScript being loaded by + various pages. This is a very big hammer to wield against the bullshit web, + which makes it extremely effective but it requires a bit of understanding about + what domains contain adware or surveillance scripts versus those which are + simply part of the web application, despite being served from another domain. + Special dishonorable mention here to all the CloudFront users whose CDN domains + are completely opaque and impossible to determine whether they're serving + legitimate application code or adware. +* [Tor Browser](https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en): one + aspect of the bullshit web which I find particularly obnoxious is the + tracking, especially done on an IP basis. I've seen numerous people complain + in forums, and even within my own family, that "something creepy" was going on + when they saw an ad on an unrelated website for something they referenced in a + Facebook post, or had Googled. While NoScript by itself does an admirable job + preventing surveillance by tracker/beacon scripts, many larger web companies + will track you based on the browsr's fingerprint or your IP address. The Tor + Browser utilizes the Tor network to provide an anonymization layer upon which I + rely **heavily**. A non-trivial amount of my every day web traffic is routed + over the Tor network, further helping me opt out of the bullshit web. +* `w3m`: as I mentioned in my blog post last year [In Defense of Being a + Console Luddite](/2017/02/10/being-a-console-luddite.html), you would be + surprised how much faster everything gets when you cut the web down to it's + most basic, content-centric, components. While only a small percentage of my + traffic ends up going through the `w3m` text-based browser, I find it quite + useful for quickly getting answers without ever leaving my terminal (where I'm + typically working anyways). + + +Most of these approaches are good for the web-as-a-document-centric-universe, +but perform much more poorly with the web-as-an-application-platform. For many +web applications there is simply no practical way around a heavy browser-based +experience (e.g. Confluence, Jira, Slack). For these applications I don't have +much advice except to "vote with your wallet", or as is the case for many +people, advocate internally for better tools which are lighter weight or +support alternative nad more native interfaces. + + +Regardless of how you accomplish it, I hope you'll echo Nick's closing rally +cry: + +**Death to the bullshit web**.