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Dear devs,

It's NEVER ok to lock people out of a webapp because their User-Agent doesn't match your predefined list. 😡

Especially webapps they need to manage their healthcare.

(I am in fact using one of the browsers on this list, your code just isn't able to tell.)

:boost_love: Please boost for basic education.

#webdev

reshared this

in reply to Michael Downey 🚩

Especially "fun" if you update your router to the latest firmware – and it comes back online with such a "friendly hint" without any chance for you to get in again. Just tested for you…

(luckily I use a 5-browser-concept so I was able to get in with one of the others)

What can be so difficult with a simple web interface that it needs a specific browser?

in reply to IzzyOnDroid ✅

@IzzyOnDroid Just a heads-up; You can easily fake your user agent via extensions (to the point of pressing a button, followed by the browser).

There isn't a whole lot of things that aren't done easier in-browser, compared to using multiple ones nowadays.

in reply to Chris

@christopherklay you can and I can, and I bet @downey can as well. But many users are simply lost at that point. Furthermore, if faking the agent does the trick, the blocker was entirely unnecessary.

And as for "using multiple ones": I do that for multiple reasons. One of them is "compartments" (yes I know "container tabs", but what's in different browsers is an entirely different beast).

in reply to IzzyOnDroid ✅

@IzzyOnDroid I completely agree that the blocker is pointless to begin with.

My point is mostly that simply having a user agent switcher installed that solves any of these issues down the line, is the easier solution compared to opening the page in a different browser every time it happens.

After all, the majority of people isn't running multiple ones, or is even logged in (if needed) in a second one.

in reply to IzzyOnDroid ✅

@IzzyOnDroid
Which Browsers do you recommend?
I use Librewolf, Vivaldi, Ungoogled Chromium and Tor.
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