[HN Gopher] Firefox: Dark pattern consent dialog invites users t...
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       Firefox: Dark pattern consent dialog invites users to share their
       location
        
       Author : perihelions
       Score  : 45 points
       Date   : 2021-10-08 21:32 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.theregister.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.theregister.com)
        
       | intelMgmntEnema wrote:
       | A 700+point related post from yesterday that was flagged as a
       | dupe because another with 80 points had been posted previously:
       | 
       | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28783381
        
         | perihelions wrote:
         | I think it's interestingly different from that other HN thread
         | (and its dupe). This story is about this consent dialog [0] --
         | particularly the sneaky "not now" in the top corner -- that
         | weren't mentioned at all in the (mozilla.org) article
         | submission. I think most HN'ers aren't even aware of it (or at
         | least I can't find any specific comments about it -- in fact I
         | read multiple comments where I believe HN'ers _misunderstood_
         | the dark pattern, thinking Firefox had automatically opted them
         | in, when more likely they clicked the wrong option. (
         | "Customize in settings", instead of "Not now")).
         | 
         | [0] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/10/07/suggest.jpg
        
       | brutal_chaos_ wrote:
       | Does a serious alternative to Firefox exist? I mean an
       | alternative that is what Firefox purports to be? I'm ready to
       | make the switch. Been with Mozilla since Pheonix, but the user
       | hostility has become too much.
        
         | kunagi7 wrote:
         | Well... A few years ago I did the same journey, abandoning
         | Firefox for something else. There's several stable and serious
         | browsers out there.
         | 
         | After looking for weeks I created a list of categories... And
         | it depends on what are you willing to sacrifice:
         | 
         | Just want a plain browser, without logins, synchronization,
         | without ANY external connections etc:
         | 
         | Ungoogled-chromium (Windows, Linux...) and Bromite (Android).
         | 
         | Don't care about full web compatibility or speed but keep your
         | privacy under control:
         | 
         | Waterfox Classic and Palemoon (Windows and Linux).
         | 
         | Don't care about Open Source vs Closed Source licensing (but
         | still preserve some privacy):
         | 
         | Vivaldi (the most customizable Chromium-based browser out there
         | but the UI even after several improvements feels a bit slower
         | than other browsers).
         | 
         | Don't care about privacy... Then it's quite easy:
         | 
         | Edge, Chrome, Opera.
         | 
         | If you are into cryptocurrencies or need a nice browser with
         | decent adblocking on iOS: Brave.
         | 
         | I decided to use Vivaldi since I like to personalize the looks
         | of my browser quite a lot.
         | 
         | The best recommendation is to try everything for a while and
         | settle with the one you feel most comfortable.
        
           | nsonha wrote:
           | All these forks will die because even firefox, a well
           | organised OSS project is struggling
           | 
           | That leaves Edge, Chrome, Opera and Vivaldi
           | 
           | Because you even mentioned them, I don't think you understand
           | the question. Let me rephrase it: who will develop, and have
           | a sustainable business model for a new browser engine and
           | break Chromium's monoculture, other than Firefox?
        
             | kreeben wrote:
             | >> firefox, a well organised OSS project
             | 
             | I see no proof of this.
             | 
             | >> is struggling
             | 
             | Money-wise, no. Management-wise, hell-to-the-yes.
        
               | alfiedotwtf wrote:
               | _Every_ time I see Mozilla mentioned on HN, I get sad how
               | badly they screwed things :(
        
         | kayson wrote:
         | I wish. Gecko is open source, so there's no technical reason
         | another non-Chromium browser couldn't be created (which I think
         | is important for the web ecosystem, avoiding browser
         | monoculture, etc.). I suspect that no one has really done it
         | because it would be a terrible uphill battle and there's no
         | direct revenue to be had. Browser money comes from ad/search
         | partnerships, which require a strong existing userbase, or just
         | the userbase itself in the case of something like Chrome.
        
         | shock wrote:
         | I plan to give LibreWolf a try.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | jjcon wrote:
         | I know everyone hates this answer but if you look into what the
         | Brave team is doing they have a lot of really interesting
         | projects in the works. I've had a great experience with Brave.
        
           | xx511134bz wrote:
           | They also have a search engine that's good enough most of the
           | time.
        
           | throwaway661885 wrote:
           | Please no
           | 
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28746873
           | 
           | Edit - Also 'Ublock Origin' works best with Firefox
           | 
           | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26755252
        
           | BiteCode_dev wrote:
           | Brave being webkit, it's not an alternative.
        
             | jjcon wrote:
             | Brave is Blink not webkit - Blink has been developed by
             | Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Intel and many others. It is
             | the standard for web rendering just as linux is for web
             | hosting. There is nothing wrong with open standards.
        
         | bloopernova wrote:
         | You could give Waterfox a try.
        
         | intelMgmntEnema wrote:
         | Personal opinion:
         | 
         | There is an entire economy and ecosystem based on rewarding
         | sinister web design. The complexity and resources involved in
         | keeping pace with contemporary garbage while qualifying simply
         | as a functional browser is too vast. So much that I suspect
         | it's all downhill from here. I don't believe we'll ever see an
         | all around user-friendly, privacy respecting, well designed,
         | functional browser. I'd delight in being wrong here, but
         | sincerely doubt it.
        
           | tablespoon wrote:
           | > There is an entire economy and ecosystem based on rewarding
           | sinister web design. The complexity and resources involved in
           | keeping pace with contemporary garbage while qualifying
           | simply as a functional browser is too vast.
           | 
           | Yeah, HTML standards have basically evolved into a kind of
           | regulatory capture that protects Google's browser. Even
           | Microsoft found them too difficult to implement and meet user
           | expectations.
           | 
           | > I don't believe we'll ever see an all around user-friendly,
           | privacy respecting, well designed, functional browser. I'd
           | delight in being wrong here, but sincerely doubt it.
           | 
           | At least if we rely on market incentives. I suppose we might
           | see one if it's regulated into existence (e.g. European
           | regulators forcing Google, Microsoft, etc. to provide
           | browsers that respect privacy and provide functional
           | extension capability for ad blockers and the like).
        
       | sudobash1 wrote:
       | I'm not sure how long this message has been here, but Firefox
       | does have this note on it's website[1]:
       | 
       | > We haven't quite hit our mark. We've received feedback that
       | it's difficult to figure out which Firefox experience you've got
       | enabled. We are hard at work to address this and continue to
       | improve the feature.
       | 
       | [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/navigate-web-faster-
       | fir...
        
       | perihelions wrote:
       | The dark pattern in one image:
       | 
       | https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/10/07/suggest.jpg
       | 
       | I and I think many others chose "Customize in settings" -- but
       | the actual opt-out is that hard-to-see, third button in small
       | print. We didn't "get opted-in automatically" -- it's this dialog
       | we "opted in" with.
        
         | sudobash1 wrote:
         | I would choose that button particularly because the "not now"
         | button sounds like it would prompt us again in the future.
        
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       (page generated 2021-10-08 23:01 UTC)