The Wardman Wire

Today, three of my biggest bugbears from the world wide web.

1 - Audio that autostarts

Problem: Sudden annoyance when a jolly (or less jolly) tune or speech starts without warning or permission.

Solution: Know where the plug of your loudspeakers can be unplugged. or the “shut up now” shortcut key combination. Blocking software.

2 - Video that autostarts, including adverts

Problem: This is where audio was a couple of years ago. A video or video ad that autostarts can slow your PC down - quite significantly if it is not a new PC.

Solution: This one is trickier. Ad blockers may help, but I am not aware of a way to stop flash video in its tracks. You can, however, make it less annoying by blocking the audio, as above.

3 - Right-click scripts

Problem: These are scripts that attempt to prevent visitors using the right-click menu “save as” option on photographs and images. Some scripts are so badly implemented that they prevent right-clicks over text hyperlinks.

To me, use of these scripts is an indication of a webmaster without a clue, since they can be circumvented by the expedient of turning off Javascript or using a different web-browser - such as Opera.

Solution: As described, use a web browser that avoids the problem.

The alternative - which I do regularly - is never to darken the door of such a website again, In short, treat it with the contempt it deserves.

[tags]internet audio, internet video, right-click scripts, blog bugbears, bad blogging ideas, hints and tips, hate your blog, netiquette not[/tags]