Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant • Hacker News Board

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#31

Post by luckylion » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 6:42 AM UTC

namuorg wrote: post #11

I’ve been really into using scripts to enhance my browsing experience, so much so that I’ve spent the last 6+ months developing these extensions to curate my experience on the Web: - Intention ( https://getintention.com ) - Pauses distractions so I can scroll less and do more - Hide Feed ( https://hidefeed.com ) - Replaces feeds with my daily focus - Hide Likes ( https://hidelikes.com ) - Hides vanity metrics for a m…

I like Hide Likes, I've done similar things with Stylus on some sites (e.g. HN where I hide the points of my own comments).

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#32

Post by darekkay » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 7:05 AM UTC

Userscripts are great. I'm using it mainly for adjusting page styles (similar to Stylish[1]). I'm reading this very HN page in my custom dark mode. But I've also created some behavior-altering or automation scripts, some of them being open-source [2]. Adding a "@downloadURL" attribute makes it possible to sync the scripts easily across all devices (and users). Userscripts was also my main reason for switching to Firefox, because the mobile version supports Addons.

[1] https://userstyles.org/

[2] https://github.com/darekkay/config-files/tree/master/userscr...

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#33

Post by malwarebytess » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 7:13 AM UTC

Given the increasingly hostile nature of websites, along with the tendency to remove user control, userscripts are not just still relevant but more relevant than ever.

Here's some that I like:

https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/10096-general-url-cleaner

https://greasyfork.org/fr/scripts/19210-google-direct-links-...

https://github.com/ParticleCore/Iridium

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#34

Post by Firehawke » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 7:13 AM UTC

I have severe photosensitivity; large blocks of white hurt my eyes. I use userscripts with Tampermonkey to change sites like this one and Github to a dark color theme that my eyes will tolerate much better.

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#35

Post by Veedrac » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 7:22 AM UTC

malwarebytess wrote: post #33

Given the increasingly hostile nature of websites, along with the tendency to remove user control, userscripts are not just still relevant but more relevant than ever. Here's some that I like: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/10096-general-url-cleaner https://greasyfork.org/fr/scripts/19210-google-direct-links-... https://github.com/ParticleCore/Iridium

> https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/10096-general-url-cleaner

Redirecting away from smile.amazon.com leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#36

Post by malwarebytess » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 7:27 AM UTC

Veedrac wrote: post #35

malwarebytess wrote: post #33

Given the increasingly hostile nature of websites, along with the tendency to remove user control, userscripts are not just still relevant but more relevant than ever. Here's some that I like: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/10096-general-url-cleaner https://greasyfork.org/fr/scripts/19210-google-direct-links-... https://github.com/ParticleCore/Iridium

> https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/10096-general-url-cleaner Redirecting away from smile.amazon.com leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

That's not what that does. It makes it work for smile links. In any case, the code is there it can be changed.

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#37

Post by dragonshed » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 7:27 AM UTC

One of my favorite browser extensions, Simplify [0], started its life as a userscript/userstyle.

I've used Greasemonkey scripts to fix stupid (and in one case, broken) things on mandatory intranet sites. They're invaluable.

[0] https://github.com/leggett/simplify

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#38

Post by turnipla » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 7:59 AM UTC

Firehawke wrote: post #34

I have severe photosensitivity; large blocks of white hurt my eyes. I use userscripts with Tampermonkey to change sites like this one and Github to a dark color theme that my eyes will tolerate much better.

Your OS might be able to “reduce white point” everywhere or you can replicate it via color profile.

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#39

Post by stefs » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 8:08 AM UTC

15 years ago i used userscripts for ... kinda cheating at a popular browser game. i didn't do anything _really_ illegal, it just extended the UI.

e.g. if you sent an army to rob a village, it stored the type and level of workshops and calculated how many troops you'd have to send plundering the next time.

it worked really well. next i changed the backend from local storage to a shared database and shared the script with a few friends from my clan. that kinda broke the game. we were incredibly successful but i also immediately lost interest, quit the game and killed the server.

Re: Userscripts Are Fun and Are Still Very Much Relevant

#40

Post by howenterprisey » Fri, Apr 17, 2020, 8:10 AM UTC

MediaWiki (the software that runs Wikipedia) has extensive built-in support for user scripts. There's a decent number of them, too, used for everything from automation of batch tasks to adding any feature one could ask for to the interface. I've written a few myself. Actually, the first programs I ever wrote that other people really used were user scripts. I remember live-debugging one with several users in my ear via TeamSpeak once. "Working yet?" "Nope." "Nah."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:User_scripts