+1 for that! IH Berlin is a nice meetup with people working on interesting projects

> I think this is a bad idea. Even though I personally block 3rd party trackers by default, breaking the web by default will cause problems.

How is this “breaking the web”? Honest question, I would not subscribe to that sentiment, but am interested in other points of view.

By default, unless the user has changed his settings, if a website tells a browser to load something, the browser should do so.

If there are some conflicts of interest between the user and the website, the browser (chosen by the user and put on user's device by the user) should be on the user's side, and work with them to ensure that the interests of the user are met - at the expense of website "desires". A browser is not a platform for websites to run on; a browser is a tool for the user to interpret the content provided by websites according to the user's wishes.

A prime example of "if a website tells a browser to load something" is popup windows - if a website tells a browser to open a dozen popups and popunders, then no, the browser should not do so. Earlier browsers did what the websites told them to do, and that was a horrible thing, so that's been changed.

A browser is a user agent - it exists to serve the user. Its defaults should be chosen to best serve the interests of the user.

What if the website told the browser to load malware?

Browsers in the modern web need to defend the user, not execute arbitrary instructions from random websites that nobody cares about.

If I ask my User Agent to load a particular news article (for example), I am not intending to ask for a myriad companies to start monitoring my reading habits, social interactions, shopping, or anything else.

When I buy and read a newspaper, I don't expect the publisher to start following me everywhere and keeping a log of my life. When I read an article online, I shouldn't have to think about that either. But sites have so flagrantly abused the ability to deliver more than just the content I've deliberately requested, in order to track (and monetize) user behavior everywhere, that it's entirely appropriate for my User Agent to take steps to defend me.

I don't mind a site delivering some ads alongside the content I've asked for, just like I accept some ads in a printed magazine. But I don't expect my magazine to come with an embedded tracking device that will stick to me like a burr, even long after I've read the content and recycled the pages.

How are you drawing a principled distinction between "if a website tells a browser to load something, the browser should do so" and "a website cannot load malware [except via an exploit]"? Clearly, asking the browser to load an EXE, or run this JavaScript that attacks website X, could be considered malware, so the line is fuzzier than 'if a website asks, a browser should load it'.

'We should patch exploits' and 'all things we would like to not load are considered exploits' seems to be rather begging the question. There is a class of things that use legitimate browser features, but we would prefer to not load by default.

Malware is software that is explicitly designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a machine.

You are covering the unauthorized access but disrupting/damaging is absolutely possible using plain old HTML and JS.

Privacy advocates argue that it's not only possible but many trackers are guilty of exactly that.

So the browser is in fact blocking malware.

... And yes, if you think about it, that definition does apply to ads as well. Really says something doesn't it :)

sure they can, unrequested crypto miners running in the background are malware

As opposed to requested crypto miners. I would gladly trade some processor time and energy so that I don't have to watch obnoxious ads.

I disagree. I think by default the browser should protect the user, and protect the user's privacy. The browser is an agent of the user, not an agent of the websites the user visits.

Edit: PeterisP says it much better in a sibling comment.

Yeah, you lost that ‘right’ at the time when popup ads were popular.

Jules | Fullstack Software Developer (Ruby, JS, DevOps experience) | Berlin | Berlin or REMOTE | https://julesdocs.com

Jules is a fast and reliable version control system for text documents. It brings the best version control features to non-technical users, in a simple and easy-to-use way. Jules is currently in prototype stage and has received great feedback during the demos.

You will be working on the full stack, from UI to backend performance. If you are comfortable working in Ruby, if you like working with data structures and, ideally, have a sound understanding of deploying a web app, I'd love to talk to you. I'm working as a solo developer now. Let's talk and see if this is either a hiring opportunity or a chance to become a member of the founding team.

jan@julesdocs.com

Fork is a great Git GUI with a very "Mac-like" interface (also available for Windows): https://git-fork.com

I use it for some git operations when I would be slower on the command line, and I can highly recommend it. The UI is very polished! Bonus: I can open it from the command line with a simple "fork" command.

Thanks! I will try that over SourceTree! Do you know how it compares? Especially with other clients like Kraken / Tower?

You should also give Sublime Merge a go. I'm mostly a CLI git user, but Sublime Merge is so lightweight (and intuitive to someone who knows git), it's had me using it quite a bit.

I haven't really used any of the other clients long enough to give you a solid answer.

For me, Fork just works, I can scroll through the commits easily, file trees are available as a tab for each commit. The UI is very easy to use and discoverable, that's why I like it.

That looks really good! Thanks for sharing it.

I switched to this font about a year ago. Input Mono is really readable and has great proportions.

The new Output font (yes, that’s the name) of Input‘s creator David Jonathan Ross looks great as well! Very clean sans-serif font.

Jules | Fullstack Software Developer (Ruby, JS, DevOps experience) | Berlin | Berlin or REMOTE | https://julesdocs.com

Jules is a fast and reliable version control system for text documents. It brings the best version control features to non-technical users, in a simple and easy-to-use way. Jules is currently in prototype stage and has received great feedback during the demos.

You will be working on the full stack, from UI to backend performance. If you are comfortable working in Ruby, if you like working with data structures and, ideally, have a sound understanding of deploying a web app, I'd love to talk to you. I'm working as a solo developer now. Let's talk and see if this is either a hiring opportunity or a chance to become a member of the founding team.

jan@julesdocs.com

Jules | Fullstack Software Developer (Ruby, JS, DevOps experience) | Berlin | Berlin or REMOTE | https://julesdocs.com

Jules is a fast and reliable version control system for text documents. It brings the best version control features to non-technical users, in a simple and easy-to-use way. Jules is currently in prototype stage and has received great feedback during the demos.

You will be working on the full stack, from UI to backend performance. If you are comfortable working in Ruby, if you like working with data structures and, ideally, have a sound understanding of deploying a web app, I'd love to talk to you. I'm working as a solo developer now. Let's talk and see if this is either a hiring opportunity or a chance to become a member of the founding team.

jan@julesdocs.com

I quit my job in big-law and set out to crack a problem I have seen so often during my previous career.

I liked my previous job, it was interesting and demanding. But being my own boss has taught me a lot as well: I have learned new skills, I have met a lot of people I probably wouldn't have got in touch with in the previous job, and I learned a lot about myself. On most days I wake up feeling that some new discoveries are out there for me... Until now, this journey is very rewarding.

Is there a good app or other ressource to learn shorthand? I want to learn it, for quite some time now, but haven‘t found any good approach without a training course...

I'd recommend Teeline. It was developed for British journalists. I've used it off and on when I was a scrum-master to keep notes on standups https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teeline_Shorthand

Happy user at mailbox.org

They are hosted in Germany, have a strong stance re data protection, and have a very cheap basic plan. Plus multiple payment options, I think you can even send them money by post for complete anonymity.

Edit: You can use a custom domain

I like their inbox encryption feature, all inbound mail is automatically encrypted with your gpg key. This means that mails downloaded to clients must be decrypted with your gpg key, and it's impossible to read mails in your inbox with their webmail thing. This means that if your device is stolen, your emails (their contents) are still encrypted.

Another happy user at mailbox.org here!

Mail (with optional custom domain), calendar, address book, storage and XMPP for 1€/month.