[cbhl]

In my mind, if you look at the sheer number of people who self-XSS themselves on Facebook and Google, that the average user shouldn't be able to trigger a JavaScript Console seems like a logical conclusion to me.

Is it condescending? Yes. Does it make the barrier to entry in programming higher? Yes, but considering that properly debugging a web application on a tablet seems to require a separate laptop connected at the same time (with admin privileges to install whatever crazy USB drivers), I'd say that barrier is already high enough that the kid can figure out how to download $DEVELOPER_FIREFOX.

[userbinator]

No, those who self-XSS are following the path of ignorance, which only leads to more of the same. What's next, not allowing users to type in a URL in the address bar because they could visit a malicious site? (Remember when Chrome decided to hide the full URL?) Mollycoddling users will lead to a significant loss of freedom and the vicious cycle will never end as they increasingly think everyone else will "protect" them from themselves, leaving all the -- possibly important -- decisions to someone else. Trying to make it impossible for users to make mistakes will also make it difficult for them to learn anything.

The "I don't know what this piece of code does, but I'll run it anyway without even so much as Googling" mentality is what needs to change, if we are to have better netizens. You don't need to be an expert to know what JavaScript is and what it can do. Despite the Internet being such an easily-accessible body of knowledge, and the influence it has on our lives, it's quite disappointing that people have generally not become more knowledgeable of it and instead are mostly consumers like they were before with TV and radio.