Adblock Plus

hello everybody,

I suppose you've already heard of Flashblock or NoScript. There's something really nice in these extensions: for some blocked elements (objects or iframe) you can click on something which substitutes the element.

It would be nice if it was possible to have a filter (like "$script") which could allow to show something instead of blocked element (usable on object, iframe or image). And one click on this "thing" could allow to see the element. The filter could be something like "$show".

The same thing of Noscript or Flashblock in fact. I think it's the best solution to unblock some elements like object.

Even if you don't like this, Wladimir, you could maybe write an API, in case someone want to do it one day...

See http://adblockplus.org/blog/status-of-i ... ng-feature - not that easy. I might do another try however once the next version is released.

As to replacing an image (or script or whatever) by something else - see https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=421224. But even if this bug is fixed, replacement should definitely not be specified in the filter. That would put subscription authors in the position to spy on people and to run XSS attacks (cross-site scripting). And while we are very thankful that subscription authors spend their time to maintain filters for us - giving them that kind of power would be asking for trouble (not to mention that it would get my extension banned on AMO).

Since other filters don't cause security problem, I don't understand how a new filter could cause security troubles (but I'm not developer)...

In fact, I was thinking at some filters:
¤¤|http://www.dailymotion.com/ -> would put a placeholder instead of images, frames, objects on dailymotion
¤¤$third-party,object -> would put a placeholder for all objects of third-party domain.

These kind of filters (¤¤ in my example) would allow to have "blocked elements" (difficult to unblock, but that's what wanted) and also elements which could be unblocked in one click.


For the "immediate unblocking" problem, I don't really see the problem since Noscript and Flashlock manage to unblock element after having clicked on placeholder.
I really think placeholder is the way to go in order to have a better way of blocking/unblocking element...
For now, in order to have placeholder, we have to use NoScript or Flashblock, and both are not very compatible with AB+.

Displaying a standard placeholder is not a security issue, I thought you suggested that the filter should define the placeholder. But it still doesn't make it easy to implement.

NoScript and Flashblock placeholders are implemented via XBL, that's an entirely different mechanism (and - no, I am not going to open this can of worms, it only works with objects anyway).

Sometimes when you block an item on a page, the filter has more far-reaching effect than anticipated. It can be confusing to locate the filter that was just applied. I would like to see an option in the ABP pull-down menu that let you undo the last action taken. It would even be better if you could click multiple times to backout additions made during the session.

You always get a dialog before a filter is added. Is it hard to pay attention?
Just asking...

I'm sorry I didn't respond earlier, but missed the last statement by SlimShady. Yes, I do understand that the dialog is displayed and you can certainly pay attention. But what I sometimes fond is that the application of a filter can have consequences that are not immediately apparent. For example, if a web page is later reloaded, new content can be blocked that wasn't being displayed on the page you were initially reviewing. Depending upon the time lag in discovering this, you may have to do some investigative work to now discover which filter is responsible for the undesired result. I just think it would be convenient to be able to back out the last filter(s) in reverse order to see what then happens. (You could then have a corresponding "reapply" option to put them back in place.)

This is not a serious problem, but something that I believe would make a nice enhancement.

Regards.

The unsorted view seems to have the most recently added filter at the bottom of the list. Perhaps this will help you figure out which filter is creating the problem.

"The unsorted view..."

That is correct but still ‘stand alone’ UNDO command (right click on ABP icon) will be vey helpful. As ‘cjsmall’ said, sometimes selecting part of the site and removing it removes way to much.

BTW, ABP and Element Hiding Helper are the ONLY reason why I started using Firefox instead of Maxthon.

Hi,

Quite 2 years after, I wanted to know if "placeholder" was still impossible, or if it might be reconsidered with Firefox and ABP evolution

It isn't really impossible - but it isn't a high priority either. The tendency seems to go away from image ads towards ads inserted by third-party JavaScript. A placeholder isn't very meaningful there, "unblocking" JavaScript wouldn't do much good either (most of these scripts expect to execute while the page is loading and won't work properly otherwise). So what I need is a compelling use case - other than serving as a replacement for Flashblock.

I'm not sure if I've been well-understood.
In fact I'd like placeholder only for Flash (object in general).

Yes, meaning that you want Adblock Plus to replace Flashblock. This feature wouldn't be too useful when dealing with ads, only when dealing with objects (along with a "block all" policy). Which is a very special case as you hopefully agree. So if there is no other reason to implement this feature it will stay low priority.

Sorry to bring this thread again, but I just have an idea.
I know it's not a priority but it's just to discuss the idea (which could be an ABP extension)

Could it be possible to have a rule which would replace the object tag by a javascript code ? This code would allow to avoid the object creation except if there's a click on "what the javascript code would add". This click would launch the object creation.

I'm not sure if it's clear. But the thing would work like a placeholder you can see on extensions like Noscript.