Waterfox web site issues (meta)

[grahamperrin]

Partial background

• https://blog.waterfoxproject.org/waterfox-56.0-release-download (2017-11-30) "… staging website is available to test at staging.waterfoxproject.org, …"
• https://redd.it/84hi0f (2018-03-14) "While the next version of Waterfox is being prepared … please check out and test the new Waterfox website before it all launches together: …"
• https://redd.it/87cmcu (2018-03-26) "Waterfox 56.1.0 Release - This release brings with it a brand new website, …"
• https://redd.it/8avoji (2018-04-09) "What do you think is missing from the website? Any bits of informations you’d like to know about but can’t find easily? An FAQ? Please let me know!"

[grahamperrin]

FAQ ideas

From #484 (comment):

… work on getting WF to pretend its v57 for the add-on store.

Maybe worth having an FAQ paragraph re: expected issues. I'll flesh this out nearer the time.

Waterfox Classic

From 603, as requested (condensed or moved):

• resource:// images don't work in old addons · Issue #647 …
• e10s: availability of multi-process with older versions of operating systems : waterfox
• multi-process by default, especially at refresh time, known issues with incompatible extensions ∴ users who choose to use incompatible legacy extensions should (if/when they learn of e10s stuff) proceed at their own risk
• location services may not work as expected (see for example https://www.reddit.com/comments/8xt831/-/e2aekc2/ ▶ https://www.reddit.com/comments/8oief0/-/e06jqjf/?context=1 and the more recent comments below hulu live tv #797 (comment)
• …

Waterfox Current

• some of the above, I guess

…

[grahamperrin]

Risks associated with unsigned extensions should be unmistakably clear. Have a line amongst answers to FAQ.

---

UX, privacy, security: consider defaulting to disallow unsigned extensions · Issue #695 · MrAlex94/Waterfox

If suggestion 1 is implemented, then an additional answer can include direction to:

• about:config?filter=xpinstall.signatures.required

[grahamperrin]

In the advanced dialogue at e.g. https://www.waterfoxproject.org/en-US/waterfox/new/?scene=1 maybe add 64-bit to the Windows Portable link.

[grahamperrin]

Please don't use tracking scripts on your website. : waterfox

[laniakea64]

blog.waterfox.project.org occasional/persistent error 502 (bad gateway) for some readers:

Hi @MrAlex94 this problem has returned, for the past few days I have been consistently getting the 502 error when trying to access https://blog.waterfoxproject.org/ .

[grahamperrin]

Downloads page(s) and home page

https://www.waterfox.net/releases/

#582 (comment) above, kicking the ball around, in particular:

Too much blurb, too deep/tall …, will be a problem for readers who omit to scroll.

From #1227 (comment):

… I have to apologize. I downloaded Classic instead of Current simply because I didn't scroll further down the releases page. …

Maybe it might be a good idea to reverse the layout so that Current appears at the top?

@Telmesomething thanks, but I shouldn't reverse the layout.

If reversed, muscle memory will cause some readers to 'blindly' reach for and click the wrong link without reading a word of what's linked. Like "OK, I see an Apple, click.".

We'll see an increasing number of posts re: comparisons between Waterfox Classic and Waterfox Current so for what it's worth, I imagine a separate page for each flavour.

A current view of the home page, and a very rough mock-up:

Very rough. The essence is to have the two flavours linked from the head of the page.

I have other ideas but GitHub is not a forum for discussion so 😑 I'll save them for Reddit if/when there's an invitation to comment on planned changes to the site.

Postscripts

For what it's worth, I imagine a separate page for each flavour.

https://redd.it/dl9aam describes Waterfox Classic as "latest waterfox 2019.10 next gen" and may be an example of confusion arising partly from next generation appearing on the same page as Waterfox Classic:

– also partly from 2019.10 describing both Waterfox Classic and Waterfox Current.

A more recent screenshot of the page (2020-04-11) – we now have a different order, Waterfox Current first:

– and people occasionally download the wrong installer.

[grahamperrin]

… other ideas … save them for Reddit …

Discussion of version IDs arose here in GitHub, so here goes …

Re: #1253 (comment)

Still kicking the ball around:

  page                                       page
⌌-------------------------------------⌍    ⌌-------------------------------------⌍
| Waterfox Classic                    |    | Waterfox Current                    |
| ================                    |    | ================                    |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|                                     |    | Beta                                |
|                                     |    |                                     |
| Pre-release: 2019.11-classic-p      |    | Pre-release: 2019.11-current-p      |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|    * note for testers               |    |    * note for testers               |
|    * note for testers               |    |    * note for testers               |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|    Releases: 2019.10                |    |    Releases: 2019.10                |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|              * announcement (blog)  |    |              * announcement         |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|              2019.11-classic-r1     |    |              2019.11-current-r1     |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|              * not yet available    |    |              * not yet available    |
|                                     |    |                                     |
| Features                            |    | Features                            |
| ========                            |    | ========                            |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
⌎-------------------------------------⌏    ⌎-------------------------------------⌏

                                 pages at a later date
⌌-------------------------------------⌍    ⌌-------------------------------------⌍
| Waterfox Classic                    |    | Waterfox Current                    |
| ================                    |    | ================                    |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|                                     |    | Beta                                |
|                                     |    |                                     |
| Pre-release: expired                |    | Pre-release: expired                |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|    Releases: 2019.11-classic-r1     |    |    Releases: 2019.11-current-r1     |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|              * announcement         |    |              * announcement         |
|                                     |    |                                     |
| Features                            |    | Features                            |
| ========                            |    | ========                            |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
⌎-------------------------------------⌏    ⌎-------------------------------------⌏

                                 pages at a later date
⌌-------------------------------------⌍    ⌌-------------------------------------⌍
| Waterfox Classic                    |    | Waterfox Current                    |
| ================                    |    | ================                    |
|                                     |    |                                     |
| Pre-release: expired                |    | Pre-release: expired                |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|    Releases: 2019.11-classic-r1     |    |    Releases: 2019.11-current-r1     |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|              * announcement         |    |              * announcement         |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|              2019.11-classic-r2     |    |              2019.11-current-r2     |
|                                     |    |                                     |
|              * announcement         |    |              * announcement         |
|                                     |    |                                     |
| Features                            |    | Features                            |
| ========                            |    | ========                            |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
| …                                   |    | …                                   |
⌎-------------------------------------⌏    ⌎-------------------------------------⌏

[grahamperrin]

Blog navigation stumbling block

1. Begin with the « navigation at the foot of https://www.waterfox.net/blog/waterfox-2019.10-release-download/
2. aim for a link to the earlier blog post about 56.2.14

Expected

3. after the link appears, time enough to click on the link

Actual result

3. redirection; disappearance of the required link

Workaround

4. ignore the «
5. step up to the https://www.waterfox.net/blog/ level then browse.

Context

Redirection was a workaround to #1202

[grahamperrin]

Commentaries with and without a trailing slash / solidus (#260) · Issues · Commento / Commento · GitLab ▶ Comment fetching is case-sensitive with URL-encoded national characters (#221) · Issues · Commento / Commento · GitLab

[grahamperrin]

https://www.reddit.com/r/waterfox/comments/en38kg/waterfox_202001_is_now_available_with_all/ffejjl1/

… Waterfox Classic profile spoilt by inadvertent use of Waterfox Current.

At https://www.waterfox.net/download/ it's not immediately obvious that Waterfox Classic exists. Need to page down.

Postscript, 2020-03-08

What just happened? Extensions not working? : waterfox – another case of someone (understandably) confused by gaining Waterfox Current when Waterfox Classic was required.

[LeeBinder]

SOLVED (click to expand)

Whoever admins the web server needs to do some tiny bit of .htaccess magic and add a line of mod rewrite which adds a trailing slash so even URLs w/o one are being redirected properly.

Guinea pig as an example: https://www.waterfox.net/blog/waterfox-2020.02.1-release (via click onto "What's New").

[grahamperrin]

Minimum requirements: memory

Given the 2 G figure at https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/56.0/system-requirements/, is the 512 MB figure below (bottom left) appropriate, for Windows?

Gut feeling, from use of Firefox 73.0.1 (64-bit) and Waterfox Classic on (Tier-3) FreeBSD-CURRENT, with KDE Plasma:

• the two figures for Windows should be 2 G
• the two figures for Linux should be 1 G.

Re: the requirements above and at https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/68.0/system-requirements/ you might prefer to express a minimum requirement of 512 MB for macOS, however screenshots such as those at https://www.askwoody.com/forums/topic/watefox-takes-up-most-of-1-gb-of-ram-even-when-is-just-on-but-not-in-use/#post-2175298 suggest that (at least for Waterfox Classic) 512 MB might be pushing it. Realistically, 1 GB might be a better statement for Mac users.

Maybe Mozilla's figures are similarly questionable … that's not to invite discussion here, just saying.

Two frames from a screen recording:

Postscript

Discussion, in Reddit:

• Minimum requirements – Linux and macOS (Mac OS X) : waterfox

[LeeBinder]

done!

@jorg35 : why 👎 ?

[grahamperrin]

64-bit requirements are not mentioned at https://www.waterfox.net/download/.

(The 64-bit nature is debatably implicit in file names e.g. waterfox-current-2020.03.en-US.linux-x86_64.tar.bz2 and waterfox-classic-2020.03.1.en-US.linux-x86_64.tar.bz2 however IMHO requirements should be upfront, before download begins.)

[grahamperrin]

Documentation

Suggest installing FFmpeg on systems where it will be of benefit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/waterfox/comments/fmh0cs/cant_play_live_videos_in_linux_with_waterfox/fl537vi/?context=1

[grahamperrin]

Confusion from the third of the DOWNLOAD options at the home page

From discussions spread across the Internet – most of which focus on compatibility with legacy extensions (and will continue to do so, e.g. when historic/limited discussions are found through search engines) – many newcomers will expect an automatically-chosen download of Waterfox to be Waterfox Classic.

Instead it's Waterfox Current – but no mention of Current (we can't expect readers to observe the intricacies of a URL, foot of this window):

Related: https://old.reddit.com/r/waterfox/comments/fqcvpj/-/flskl3n/

[grahamperrin]

Languages

Documentation. Users of Waterfox Current must not add packs from https://addons.mozilla.org/language-tools/

Cross reference:

• https://redd.it/ftum7k and various other incidents.

[MrAlex94]

It seems later versions of Firefox load the update page whenever the DISPLAY_VERSION changes, but unfortunately Classic does not. Since it still thinks it’s 56.3, it doesn’t launch the page. It’s on the list, just been busy to get it fixed 😬