• Riskable@programming.dev
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    2 months ago

    As expected, nobody cares about “reader mode”. Only once in my life has it ever come in handy… It was a website that was so badly designed I swore never to go back to it ever again.

    I forget what it was but apparently I wasn’t the only one and thus, it must’ve died a fast death as I haven’t seen it ever again (otherwise I’d remember).

    Basically, any website that gets users so frustrated that they resort to reader/simplified mode isn’t going to last very long. If I had my way I would change the messages:

    “This website appears to be total shit. Do you want Firefox to try to fix it so your eyes don’t bleed trying to get through it?”

    I want an extension that does this, actually! It doesn’t need to actually modify the page. Just give me a virtual assistant to comiserate with…

    “The people who made this website should have their browser’s back button removed entirely as punishment for erecting this horror!”

    • Vincent@feddit.nl
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      2 months ago

      As expected, nobody cares about “reader mode”.

      Whaaat? Reader mode is fantastic! I feel like everyone who knows about it, loves it, it’s just that few people know about it.

      Edit: ah, it’s top 10, so actually one of the most popular features.

    • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Me, it makes me a bit sad it’s so low. Reader Mode is one the really cool features of Firefox, but I understand that consuming web content by reading is rapidly on the decline, as a result of the comparatively low information density of video and audio allowing bigger ad space compared to text.

      Plus we know from the last 10-15 years how much reading comprehension has nosedived since the proliferation of video content.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        What reader mode needs is a (possibly crowdsourced) setting to be the default view on a per-site basis. (I say this because my main problem with it is forgetting it exists and failing to toggle it on.)

        • muhyb@programming.dev
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          2 months ago

          To be fair, I imagine an entire browser just like that for a long time. You have your settings and every website would look the same. A default frontend for everything. No Javascript, just the content.

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Ah, yes, the Web as it was intended to be, with semantic markup and separate presentation/styling that the user was not only able, but encouraged by design, to override as he saw fit.

            I’ve spent pretty much my entire adulthood being low-key pissed off about how that got thoroughly and comprehensively fucked as soon as the marketing fuckwads got their hands on the Web.

    • Delusion6903@discuss.online
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      2 months ago

      I love reader mode. It can force dark mode, a pleasant font and font size, and stop those pop-ups that appear as you scroll. Firefox reader is better than anything I’ve seen on Chrome.

    • Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      2 months ago

      The current era internet is full of web pages that can be salvaged with reader mode. It is an essential tool for my everyday browsing habits.

    • muhyb@programming.dev
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      2 months ago

      Reader mode is really useful and I use it daily basis. It removes all the clutter and leaves just the important part.