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<title>The WWWorst App Store |
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- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> |
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<h2>The WWWorst App Store</h2> |
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|
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<address class="byline">by Alexandre Oliva</address> |
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<p>Picture the most abusive app store.</p> |
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<p>Programs in it are meant to run on your own computer.</p> |
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<p>However, you have to be online to run them.</p> |
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<p>Every time you start them, they contact the app store.</p> |
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<p>If there is an updated version, it's installed automatically, no |
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questions asked. You'd rather run the earlier version? Tough.</p> |
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<p>If the app store decides you're no longer welcome, the program won't |
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start any more.</p> |
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<p>If the app store servers are offline, or if you are, it won't start |
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either.</p> |
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<div class="important"> |
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<p>Programs in this app store must also hold your data in the app store's |
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servers.</p> |
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|
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<p>If the program won't start, you can't get to the data on the servers |
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any more.</p> |
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<p>You may have downloaded backups of your data, but you'd have to figure |
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out how to decode them without the program.</p> |
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</div> |
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|
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<p>Sounds like a nightmare? It is. But it's also very real.</p> |
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|
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<p>Well-known app stores are approaching this level of nastiness.</p> |
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|
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<p>But they are just catching up with the real thing.</p> |
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|
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<p>The most abusive app store is the business-driven perversion of the |
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old user-empowering distributed hypertext system called “the Web.”</p> |
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|
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<p>Users have been encouraged to adopt “web apps” for much of their |
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computing, paving the way for other app stores to follow suit.</p> |
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|
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<div class="important"> |
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<p>“Web apps” are most often distributed as JavaScript (though Java and |
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Flash have served similar purposes), automatically installed and |
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executed on your browser.</p> |
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|
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<p>But the problem is not that they're in JavaScript, or that it's your |
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browser that runs them. It's that:</p> |
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|
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<ul> |
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<li>you don't have control over what the program does;</li> |
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<li>you don't have control over when you can run it;</li> |
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<li>you don't have control over your own data.</li> |
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</ul> |
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<p>The app store owner takes all that control away from you, thereby |
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gaining control over you.</p> |
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|
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<p>You lose when the JavaScript code is nonfree software.<br /> |
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<a href="/philosophy/javascript-trap.html"> |
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https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html</a></p> |
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|
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<p>But you also lose when it is (nominally) free software!</p> |
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</div> |
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|
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<p>When the app / web site has so much control over what runs on |
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your computer, the effect “is equivalent to using a nonfree program |
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with surveillance features and a universal back door.” <br /> |
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<a href="/philosophy/network-services-arent-free-or-nonfree.html"> |
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https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/network-services-arent-free-or-nonfree.html</a> <br /> |
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|
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<a href="/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html"> |
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https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html</a> </p> |
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<p>The owner gets all the freedom, and you, the user, get none.</p> |
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<p>That's not a self-respectful way to do your computing.</p> |
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<p>It invades your privacy, it keeps you and your data hostage, it takes |
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away your agency and your freedom when it comes to your digital life.</p> |
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<hr class="column-limit" /> |
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<p>The web used to be a wonderful way to share information.</p> |
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<p>Web apps and mandatory JavaScript have turned it into the worst app |
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store.</p> |
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<p>It is time to separate the WWWonderful from the WWWorst practices.</p> |
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<p>Here are some ways to help:</p> |
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|
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<ul> |
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<li>request web sites that require JavaScript execution to offer either: |
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<ul> |
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<li>alternate means of access to information they publish, or</li> |
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<li>alternate means of delivery for their apps;</li> |
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</ul> |
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</li> |
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|
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<li>promote free browser extensions that control JavaScript execution;<br /> |
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<a href="/software/librejs/">https://www.gnu.org/software/librejs/</a></li> |
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|
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<li>beware of apps that are mere front ends for SaaSS;<br /> |
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<a href="/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html"> |
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https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html</a></li> |
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<li>demand software you use to be delivered in freedom-respecting ways;</li> |
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<li>promote hypertext systems that do not grant servers control over users.<br /> |
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol)"> |
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemini_(protocol)</a><br /> |
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)"> |
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)</a></li> |
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</ul> |
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<p>More generally:</p> |
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<ul> |
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<li>as a self-respecting user, reject the abusive practices whenever you can;<br /> |
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<a href="/philosophy/saying-no-even-once.html"> |
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https://gnu.org/philosophy/saying-no-even-once.html</a></li> |
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|
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<li>discourage automatic execution of downloaded code;<br /> |
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<a href="https://www.fsfla.org/blogs/lxo/pub/who-is-afraid-of-spectre-and-meltdown.en.html"> |
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https://www.fsfla.org/blogs/lxo/pub/who-is-afraid-of-spectre-and-meltdown.en.html</a></li> |
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|
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<li>as a network service operator, set a user-respecting example;<br /> |
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<a href="/philosophy/network-services-arent-free-or-nonfree.html"> |
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https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/network-services-arent-free-or-nonfree.html</a></li> |
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|
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<li>spread awareness of the problem, and advice on solving and avoiding it.<br /> |
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<a href="/help/help-javascript.html"> |
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https://www.gnu.org/help/help-javascript.html</a></li> |
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</ul> |
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|
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<p>Now, if you wish your site to give its users a taste of how the |
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WWWorst app store feels to us, add to web pages you control the |
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following JavaScriptlet:</p> |
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|
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<p class="emph-box"> |
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document.body.textContent = 'Please disable JavaScript to view this site.'</p> |
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<p>If you wish, make “disable JavaScript” a link to this article.</p> |
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<hr class="column-limit" /> |
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<p>Thanks to Richard Stallman for the inspiration to write about this |
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issue, and for the encouragement to publish it.</p> |
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<p><em>2021-04-01 update:</em> thanks to KE0VVT for letting me know that |
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textContent can't have links; you need innerHTML for that.</p> |
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<p>Copyright © 2021 Alexandre Oliva</p> |
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<p>This page is licensed under the <a rel="license" |
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<p class="unprintable">Updated: |
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<!-- timestamp start --> |
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$Date: 2021/09/10 09:04:50 $ |
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