[Ext] Adblock Plus 0.5.11.4

IceDogg · Post by **IceDogg** » January 17th, 2006, 6:37 pm

Thanks for pointing to that Paul, at least there is some evidence (thanks to you and Rue) that this is with mcm's consent.

Wladimir Palant · Post by **Wladimir Palant** » January 17th, 2006, 7:03 pm

Well, rue, why not tell the full truth for a change?

I didn't try to "hijack" Adblock at first, I offered you a rewrite of the crappy Adblock code with the condition that you would publish it. I've done my part of the job, but then you suddently had second thoughts. I have no interest in maintaining an Adblock fork but people deserve better then current Adblock and I'm not going to throw good code away.

My contribution "for a 2-month span, back in 2003" actually were core parts of Adblock (at least that's the only things that managed to get it into the official build, after endless debates). I guess you would be still playing around with XBL instead of content policies if it weren't for me. I gave up because every little improvement required hours of discussions.

Well, these endless discussions with you were hell. Explaining the basics of programming to somebody who doesn't even listen is extremely painful. I was actually relieved when you finally said that you wouldn't let me control the Adblock project. Well, we sort of agreed on that already but I know too well what agreements with you are worth.

Sorry about this this emotional response, but I'm soooooo fed up with rue...

So, for all those who are wondering who I am, maybe this helps: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cg ... 0gtchat.de

Btw. mcm_ham was very well aware of what I was planning (and this since mid of December). He made quite a few suggestions on what is now known as Adblock Plus 0.6. Unfortunately he only gave me access to the SVN repository, not to the web site.

Wladimir Palant

rue · Post by **rue** » January 17th, 2006, 7:11 pm

Wladimir:
Now you have your fork. If users like it, I'm sure all will succeed. -Well-wishing.
--
mcm is back (partially), so I needn't speak further for him. He can post, in time, when ready.

IceDogg · Post by **IceDogg** » January 17th, 2006, 8:08 pm

trev2, I hope my not knowing who you was, didn't offend you. That was not my intent. I just needed some kind of confirmation as to what was going on. That was not meant as a "who the heck is this guy" type of comment. Just felt I should clear that up. I hope all versions do well.. the more choices for users the better. IMHO

******** · Post by ******** » January 17th, 2006, 8:41 pm

wait, so Adblock Plus 0.6 on addons.mozilla.org is actually a step back from Adblock Plus 0.5.11.2?

does Wladimir's version has DIV blocking?

and is it really faster?

Ðårkeñ® · Post by **Ðårkeñ®** » January 17th, 2006, 9:31 pm

desertfox wrote:wait, so Adblock Plus 0.6 on addons.mozilla.org is actually a step back from Adblock Plus 0.5.11.2?

does Wladimir's version has DIV blocking?

and is it really faster?

Adblock Plus 0.6 (Wladimir Palant | on addons.mozilla.org) --> No locales, No DIV blocking, No Overlay Flash, No Quickblock and doesn't seem compatible with Filterset.G Updater.

Adblock Plus 0.5.11.2 (from mcm_ham) is the best for me.

DEFIANT · Post by **DEFIANT** » January 17th, 2006, 10:34 pm

Long live Adblock Plus 0.5.11.2 (from mcm_ham)
(new name...Adblock Advanced)~my 2 cents
viva la revolution!
...let us stand and fight!

VinDSL · Post by **VinDSL** » January 18th, 2006, 12:55 am

DEFIANT wrote:Long live Adblock Plus 0.5.11.2 (from mcm_ham)
(new name...Adblock Advanced)~my 2 cents...

'Adblock Plus+', definitely!

Post by **BenBasson** » January 18th, 2006, 4:38 am

I don't really understand what's going on with Adblock and Adblock Plus, it makes no sense at all. Adblock has some great developers but seems to never actually get released, hence the reason for Adblock Plus to exist. So far, Adblock Plus has been an enhancement of Adblock, adding some features and whatnot. Now it seems that it's turning into a different (but not better) extension.

Surely all you guys can put your heads together and agree a better working relationship than this? Do we really need three Adblock variants? Is it going to take one almighty Adblock variant to crush the others, or can you figure out how to collaborate on one version and get something good released?

As I see it now, we have:

1. The official Adblock - it's dating a bit, but development is continuing towards a new release. I don't know any details about what's coming.

2. Adblock Plus 0.5 - it's been holding the torch for a while. Same as Adblock minus some issues, plus some features. This is still my preference.

3. Adblock Plus 0.6 - a good effort at doing something different, but it's no better than Adblock or Adblock Plus 0.5 in terms of interface, so I'm not sure what it's trying to accomplish. If the back-end code is cleaner, that's great... but I could take or leave the UI.

I don't like to raise criticisms too often, but I don't really think that any Adblock variant has good UI. It'd be a lot better if the key developers (even if they're maintaining their separate forks) got together and discussed user requirements. Things I can think of that come immediately to mind as being difficult with Adblock are:

1. Toggling Adblock on/off. Sometimes Adblock can trash a page (due to filters) and I just don't want to spend time fixing my filters at that point. I want to quickly disable it and view the page. There's a status-bar item, why no popup menu?

2. Unblocking. In Adblock / Adblock Plus 0.5, clicking the status-bar item launches the "Adblock-able Items" dialog. Why can't we also unblock from this? If you have 100 lines of filters, it's non-trivial to go back and remove something you added by mistake or that is screwing up the current page layout.

3. Filter search. If you have 100 lines of filters and want to change one, it's non-trivial to locate the correct filter.

While I'm at it, it'd be lovely if the filters weren't stored in the prefs. Using XML would make so much less of a mess of prefs.js.

I think I'm done, hopefully this is interpreted as constructive...

foghorn · Post by **foghorn** » January 18th, 2006, 5:06 am

Cusser wrote:1. Toggling Adblock on/off.

CTRL+Shift+B or Right click Adblock txt and you see "Disable Adblock" -option.
This works with mcm's Adblock Plus and with Official Adblock:
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/m ... .php?id=10

Or what did you mean with "popup menu"?

Cusser wrote:2. Unblocking. In Adblock / Adblock Plus 0.5, clicking the status-bar item launches the "Adblock-able Items" dialog. Why can't we also unblock from this?...

with Official Adblock you can't unblock them from "Adblock-able Items" -page, but there is edit button that goes to filter list and your selected item is selected and you can edit or delete it.

But we do need unblock button.
And i agree with no. 3.

Peng · Post by **Peng** » January 18th, 2006, 5:13 am

Cusser wrote:1. Toggling Adblock on/off. Sometimes Adblock can trash a page (due to filters) and I just don't want to spend time fixing my filters at that point. I want to quickly disable it and view the page. There's a status-bar item, why no popup menu?

Adblock Plus does do that.

Cusser wrote:2. Unblocking. In Adblock / Adblock Plus 0.5, clicking the status-bar item launches the "Adblock-able Items" dialog. Why can't we also unblock from this? If you have 100 lines of filters, it's non-trivial to go back and remove something you added by mistake or that is screwing up the current page layout.

That would definitely be a nice improvement. You can middle-click on Adblock Plus's status bar thing to more easily open the main window, but you should still be able to delete filters from the Adblock-able Items window.

Cusser wrote:3. Filter search. If you have 100 lines of filters and want to change one, it's non-trivial to locate the correct filter.

Yeah, that would be neat. Not super-important, but a neat feature.

Cusser wrote:While I'm at it, it'd be lovely if the filters weren't stored in the prefs. Using XML would make so much less of a mess of prefs.js.

I can be rather obessive about my prefs.js (damn Web Developer and its 100+ preferences and no default preferences file so they're all put in prefs.js), but I don't think Adblock is that bad. At least it's only one line in the file, even if it's a really long one. Storing the filters in a separate file in your profile isn't a bad idea, though. It would also make them easier to edit by hand with a text editor if you want to, having each filter on a separate line.

Overall, I don't think the Adblock Plus UI is that bad. Room for improvement, yes, but I don't think it's that bad.

Post by **BenBasson** » January 18th, 2006, 6:50 am

foghorn wrote:Or what did you mean with "popup menu"?

Oh, my bad, it's just the official Adblock missing this, right? Adblock Plus 0.6 possibly also, I didn't check.

foghorn · Post by **foghorn** » January 18th, 2006, 6:58 am

Cusser wrote:
foghorn wrote:Or what did you mean with "popup menu"?

Oh, my bad, it's just the official Adblock missing this, right? Adblock Plus 0.6 possibly also, I didn't check.

No, Official Adblock now also has it.
https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/m ... .php?id=10

Wladimir Palant's Adblock Plus 0.6 is missing that and almost everything else. I don't understand what "plus" means, there is no added features, only many are gone.

edbro · Post by **edbro** » January 18th, 2006, 7:18 am

It's crap like this that keeps Firefox in the "cult following" regime. Most people complain about extensions during upgrades and keeping the extensions themselves updated. This mess is a poster child for that whole argument.

Post by **BenBasson** » January 18th, 2006, 7:22 am

The cult following thing is a myth, really. 20% of Europe is beyond cult.