Scrolling past the most recent 20 articles at io9 and deadspin?
March 26, 2013 6:11 AM Subscribe
I get that Nick Denton has some sort of fixation on breaking the simple functionality of scrolling backward through a blog's archives, but the last time Gawker sites redesigned, you could work around the breakage by going to "blog.[gawkersite].com" to get it back. Is there currently any way to scroll back past the most recent 20 articles at the front pages of io9 and deadspin? Note: I've tried, but don't care about the Kinja comment system at all; I just want to read the posts on occasional visits. Is Gawker Media just writing visitors like me off or is there a workaround to the elimination of easy access to older stories?
Response by poster: No, I don't see a "show more" button at all. Weird. I'm in Firefox. What should I fix?
posted by mediareport at 6:18 AM on March 26, 2013
posted by mediareport at 6:18 AM on March 26, 2013
When I load Deadspin it automatically loads http://deadspin.com/recommended and I get a Show More button at the bottom of the page.
IO9 loads http://io9.com/ but again I can see the "Show More".
I'm using Firefox.
Are there any browser plug-ins you have that might interfere with/block the button from showing? Have you tried a Ctrl+F5 refresh?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:22 AM on March 26, 2013
IO9 loads http://io9.com/ but again I can see the "Show More".
I'm using Firefox.
Are there any browser plug-ins you have that might interfere with/block the button from showing? Have you tried a Ctrl+F5 refresh?
posted by EndsOfInvention at 6:22 AM on March 26, 2013
Response by poster: I've got Javascript disabled, most recent Firefox for Windows, no extra plug-ins to speak of beyond the usual Acrobat, Quicktime, etc. Tried refreshing before, doesn't work.
I'm glad to hear it's just me, though.
posted by mediareport at 6:29 AM on March 26, 2013
I'm glad to hear it's just me, though.
posted by mediareport at 6:29 AM on March 26, 2013
Hmm. I might have noscript set to allow whatever it is that shows the show more button. What happens if you try the page in a browser with JavaScript left on? I'm also on FF (OSX).
posted by rtha at 6:35 AM on March 26, 2013
posted by rtha at 6:35 AM on March 26, 2013
Best answer: I've got Javascript disabled
There's your answer. It's a script that loads more posts at the bottom of the page without changing the URL.
posted by bcwinters at 6:36 AM on March 26, 2013
There's your answer. It's a script that loads more posts at the bottom of the page without changing the URL.
posted by bcwinters at 6:36 AM on March 26, 2013
Response by poster: Ugh. So disabling Java breaks Gawker archives now?
posted by mediareport at 6:42 AM on March 26, 2013
posted by mediareport at 6:42 AM on March 26, 2013
Best answer: Yes, Javascript is not Java. At all. Javascript is the scripting language for the web, the thing that allows your browser to dynamically update and manipulate content without loading. Scrolling around Google Maps? Javascript. Loading more articles when reaching the bottom of the list? Little menus that appear when you mouse over them? Javascript. Javascript was developed by Netscape and later Mozilla, the same people who make your browser.
Java, on the other hand, is a programming language developed by Sun, now Oracle - again, completely unrelated to Javascript - that is used to write discrete applications. A corporate application that loads in your browser, say for videoconferencing? That's probably Java. An application that will run on multiple platforms from the same code, say, JBidwatcher? That's Java.
There have been any number of high profile cases lately of extreme Java browser plugin vulnerabilities resulting in the spread of virii. Many in the major media have implored users to disable Java in their browser, and as long as you don't absolutely have to use a service that relies on Java, that's completely prudent. So, please, keep Java disabled.
But while there technically have been security vulnerabilities in Javascript, there's been nothing at all like the recent ongoing issues with Java, and most big web sites have functionality written in Javascript that add to the experience - even making your web experience faster, when content loads without reloading the entire page. Javascript has become a critical component of the architecture of the web.
If you want to control what runs in a browser, by all means, run NoScript like rtha and put in exceptions where you feel JavaScript adds to the experience or gives you access to functionality not available without Javascript. But turning off Javascript carte blanche in this day and age results in a series of pretty severe limitations on what you can experience on the web, in a way disproportionate to the security benefits of turning it off.
posted by eschatfische at 7:11 AM on March 26, 2013 [4 favorites]
Java, on the other hand, is a programming language developed by Sun, now Oracle - again, completely unrelated to Javascript - that is used to write discrete applications. A corporate application that loads in your browser, say for videoconferencing? That's probably Java. An application that will run on multiple platforms from the same code, say, JBidwatcher? That's Java.
There have been any number of high profile cases lately of extreme Java browser plugin vulnerabilities resulting in the spread of virii. Many in the major media have implored users to disable Java in their browser, and as long as you don't absolutely have to use a service that relies on Java, that's completely prudent. So, please, keep Java disabled.
But while there technically have been security vulnerabilities in Javascript, there's been nothing at all like the recent ongoing issues with Java, and most big web sites have functionality written in Javascript that add to the experience - even making your web experience faster, when content loads without reloading the entire page. Javascript has become a critical component of the architecture of the web.
If you want to control what runs in a browser, by all means, run NoScript like rtha and put in exceptions where you feel JavaScript adds to the experience or gives you access to functionality not available without Javascript. But turning off Javascript carte blanche in this day and age results in a series of pretty severe limitations on what you can experience on the web, in a way disproportionate to the security benefits of turning it off.
posted by eschatfische at 7:11 AM on March 26, 2013 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone. It was a recent thread about vulnerabilities on the blue that got me to disable Javascript just in time for Gawker's redesign.
But turning off Javascript carte blanche in this day and age results in a series of pretty severe limitations on what you can experience on the web
Fair enough. But what struck me as odd is that I've only noticed trouble with "show more"-style loading at Gawker sites. BoingBoing's "Older Entries" loading still works fine, for example. Is that not also a Javascript thing?
posted by mediareport at 8:26 AM on March 26, 2013
But turning off Javascript carte blanche in this day and age results in a series of pretty severe limitations on what you can experience on the web
Fair enough. But what struck me as odd is that I've only noticed trouble with "show more"-style loading at Gawker sites. BoingBoing's "Older Entries" loading still works fine, for example. Is that not also a Javascript thing?
posted by mediareport at 8:26 AM on March 26, 2013
Response by poster: (Actually, now that I think of it, turning off Javascript has resulting in precisely one limitation I've noticed in my browsing experience: Gawker sites won't let me load previous articles. Everything else seems to be fine.)
posted by mediareport at 8:29 AM on March 26, 2013
posted by mediareport at 8:29 AM on March 26, 2013
I had a very similar problem with the new io9 site; there was no button to show more stories at the bottom of the page. I too have Java disabled but am running Javascript, so my solution may or may not work for you depending on what exactly you have disabled. I found the issue to be that I was blocking cookies. Once I set Chrome to delete that cookie on exit rather than blocking it entirely it solved my problem and the button appeared.
posted by Medw at 9:17 AM on March 26, 2013
posted by Medw at 9:17 AM on March 26, 2013
Best answer: BoingBoing's "Older Entries" loading still works fine, for example. Is that not also a Javascript thing?
Gawker's developers wrote their code so the entire button is javascript and nothing appears in its place at all if you have it turned off. Boing Boing's developers wrote theirs so it turns into a regular old HTML link to "Page 2" (etc) if you have javascript turned off.
posted by bcwinters at 10:54 AM on March 26, 2013
Gawker's developers wrote their code so the entire button is javascript and nothing appears in its place at all if you have it turned off. Boing Boing's developers wrote theirs so it turns into a regular old HTML link to "Page 2" (etc) if you have javascript turned off.
posted by bcwinters at 10:54 AM on March 26, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
I really hate the design. Oh well.
posted by rtha at 6:15 AM on March 26, 2013