Ad block shouldn't break your checkout • Hacker News Board

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#41

Post by tpl » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

al2o3cr wrote: post #6

TBH I don't see this as a TeeSpring problem - the code on their page guards against a realistic scenario (the GA script fails to load), but the "break" is caused by uBlock's changes. The article's title is correct: ad block shouldn't break checkout. Injecting a bogus value into a global breaks checkout, so ad block shouldn't do that.

Coupling your checkout to Google Analytics is not good though.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#42

Post by rallemoose » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

recursive wrote: post #29

rallemoose wrote: post #20

I’ve reported this to Teespring and all they reply with is to try another browser and clear my cookies. They won’t listen. They’re basically making Teespring unusable for the technical crowd.

The *adblocker crowd. I think I'm in the "technical crowd" but I've never used an adblocker. Running non-compliant extensions is your right, but the results don't need to be supported. I've run into this situation a number of times, although not with adblock. My advice has been to disable the extensions, or use a different browser without them.

I agree. Ideally an extension never breaks a site. But if I were to make a store. The most robust thing in the store would be the checkout system. They’re leaving money on the table considering how little work it is to test the site with the few popular extensions. It’s basically like supporting a special payment method or exotic browser.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#43

Post by mikelward » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

British Airways does this. It's been broken for years.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#44

Post by helsinkiandrew » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:21 PM UTC

Hang on: The Tee Spring code checks if GA is there and works without it, the website breaks because Ad block replaces GA with a fake object that doesn't have the same API.

Perhaps some companies have the resources to check if their websites run with different ad blockers, but expecting websites to work when plugins are replacing and breaking running code is a big ask.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#45

Post by Marsymars » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

One of the largest pharmacy chains in my area has a covid-vaccine-booking page that's impossible to complete if ad-blockers are enabled. (Even Safari content blockers on iOS break it.)

Developers failing to test sites with adblockers could literally result in people dying.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#46

Post by mindslight » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:24 PM UTC

While we're at it, potential customers shouldn't need to identify pictures of traffic lights and buses to shop your store. If you're a web store, then you're in the business of selling things and advertising that you're selling them far and wide. The only place you might need a CAPTCHA is the account login page, and only then after there are multiple failed attempts from the same IP address. Other than that, get the fuck out of your customers' way.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#47

Post by blacksmith_tb » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:25 PM UTC

My fave example of this - I am using NextDNS for ad-blocking on my stock Pixel 4a, the Wells Fargo app won't allow me to sign in with fingerprint or username/pass while using DNS over TLS.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#48

Post by avmich » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:27 PM UTC

Practically the whole Web doesn't function if client blocks add, disables JavaScript (which became quite annoying lately) or uses Tor.

I'd like to find a solution which would restore the ability to use sites. I'm thinking about website cleanup offering (startup anyone?), I wonder if something similar already exists.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#49

Post by wai1234 » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:27 PM UTC

Why is it checking for GA at all? A critical function like accepting payment should be bullet proof. It's critical code and should be treated that way.

Re: Ad block shouldn't break your checkout

#50

Post by throwawayboise » Tue, May 18, 2021, 4:29 PM UTC

lainga wrote: post #18

bellyfullofbac wrote: post #13

I remember trying to order from a pizza place that talked to a third party delivery site, I hit "Order" and the browser didn't do anything. DevTools told me it tried to talk to the 3rd party using HTTP although the page was in HTTPS, and the browser blocked it (this was years ago when browsers started blocking HTTP content on HTTPS sites). Modifying the submit URL to https solved the problem. I found it pretty funny…

Same thing happened to me with Domino's Canada. The call to place the order was returning a well-structured JSON error message (it didn't recognize the city I had entered, which was my suburb rather than my "post town") but the front-end wasn't telling me anything!

This is why I always call to order for takeout or delivery. I'd say that 75% of the time I experience some kind of technical issues with online ordering. Just talk to the human at the store.