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by TomasEkeli 2222 days ago
I really like how that site solved the problem of visitors that don't accept tracking. I got a challenge asking me to accept cookies, out get the just-text version.

No images, no scripts, no cookies, no styling. Just the text. What a great thing!

2 comments

The question I keep asking myself is why tracking and cookies can't be handled at the browser level?
One facet of this: the dominant browser manufacturer is the dominant tracking body.
You can configure your browsers not to accept any cookies, or not to accept 3rd party cookies. These may or may not break many sites.

Tracking more generally is not something that can be prevented by a browser which executes code written by the tracker, and must give that code access to the internet. Even if the SOP was completely enforced, trackers can still store the information on the origin server. Even if the browser doesn't expose any tracking information, the tracker can still measure all sorts of information which may be unique to your system, especially in concert with your IP address.

It's exactly how the text-only Lynx browser handles them. I really wish Firefox would implement the same thing.
It also handles NoScript well

Text, images, and no scripts

When I disable JS with UBlock Origin:

• the "Agree and Continue" button does nothing;

• the "Decline and Visit Plain Text Site" button directs me to the article index at https://text.npr.org/ (instead of https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=858800112)

Perhaps NoScript special-cases this site?

It does not work in private mode

Perhaps I had opened the page without noscript in the past, and it still had the relevant cookies