Bug #2168
closedSimplechat Deprecation Fails
0%
Description
Simplechat does not function with JavaScript disabled.
Wt's chat widgets should be set up for graceful degradation no different from other widgets. For this reason I've placed this under "Bug" tracker status and not feature request, since graceful degradation is advertised without stipulation for Witty.
Anecdotally, the FBI recently took down a hosting provider that was running hidden tor services for a number of persons, including tormail.org. Before killing the servers they first installed a JavaScript code that collected user information including ip and hostname (who knows what else). Now those users have their information stored in an FBI database somewhere just because they were (in most cases) seeking personal privacy.
So, allowing JavaScript to remain disabled is still highly relevant. A separate html popup window and manual interval refreshes should be applied.
Updated by Koen Deforche about 11 years ago
- Status changed from New to Feedback
Hey,
Actually there is the obvious stipulation that of "degradation" --- instead of not working the things that can still work we make them work.
Server push is not something that we can make work, if we put a refresh then that's hardly server push? If this needs fixing, it's in the example (to revert from example to using a WTimer instead but with some warnings that this is not real-time) rather than in the library.
If as a user you choose not to use JavaScript, then surely you are not expecting things that can only work (well) with JavaScript enabled?
Interesting though how privacy is suddenly a concern in the US :-)
Regards,
koen
Updated by Bud T about 11 years ago
Currently the lack of JavaScript causes the widget to nothing. Degradation implies "something": even a message stating that JavaScript must be enabled. I saw nothing, which is not - ostensibly - degradation.
The suggestion was to do something, and some degraded version of the chat is what I suggested. I don't see that as controversial, but I'll apologize for not presenting my opinion to you at what was apparently not an acceptable level of clarity.
There are some other issues with this particular implementation of the chat widget as relates to ssl. I thought that these were worth pointing out, and I added those in another issue.
You are right that simplechat on its own does work without JavaScript enabled. I guess it just wasn't clear to me why such functionality wasn't rendered in this case cited. Thanks for the clarification.
Updated by Koen Deforche about 11 years ago
- Status changed from Feedback to InProgress
- Assignee set to Michael Vilsker
- Target version set to 3.3.1
Michael,
When JavaScript is not available in the simple chat, can you add a note like ("Note, you do not have JavaScript and this chat will have degraded functionality") and add a WTimer with a 5 second resolution (which will cause page refreshes)?
koen
Updated by Michael Vilsker about 11 years ago
- Status changed from InProgress to Resolved
Updated by Koen Deforche about 11 years ago
- Status changed from Resolved to Closed