Hello Patrick, On Mon, 2009-01-26 at 21:55 +0000, Patrick H. Lauke wrote: > David Lane wrote: > > Given the increased number of threats and the availability of slick > > script blocker extensions for Firefox like NoScript > > (http://noscript.net/) it's only going to get more common, particularly > > among security conscious people. I certainly use it, only enabling > > Javascript for a site I'm visiting when I can see what benefit it has to > > me. > > As good as it is to hear anecdotal evidence from expert users such as > list members here, I'd say it's much more important to bring some actual > live user stats to the table. Most "normal" users don't even know that > "the internet" is not just the blue E on their desktop, or what > javascript is, or how to install extensions, or what security threats > are. Heck, most don't even know that they can zoom/text resize/print > most of the time, without having a widget or icon on the actual pages.
Agreed - the level of savvy of most user is absurdly low, and at present few will know what Javascript is, much less how to disable it. The question is whether people today design for today's users, or tomorrow's... The trend will continue towards more sophisticated users, using better browsers (i.e. not IE) which support useful plugins like NoScript and their analogues for Opera, Webkit, etc. I suspect as more and more people get burned by identity theft and other forms of exploitation, the pain individuals experience will provide a strong motivation for learning. Also, organisations will increasingly make that decision on behalf of their users to minimise their own risk... Cheers, Dave -- David Lane = Egressive Ltd = d...@egressive.com = m:+64 21 229 8147 p:+64 3 963 3733 = Linux: it just tastes better = nosoftwarepatents http://egressive.com ==== we only use open standards: http://w3.org Effusion Group Founding Member =========== http://effusiongroup.com ******************************************************************* List Guidelines: http://webstandardsgroup.org/mail/guidelines.cfm Unsubscribe: http://webstandardsgroup.org/join/unsubscribe.cfm Help: memberh...@webstandardsgroup.org *******************************************************************
