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looking forward into the past [Thu, 14-Feb-2008 11:53 AM]
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[music |Jem -- Save Me]

MySpace, 2008:

NCSA Mosaic, 1993:

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Comments:
[User Picture]From: [info]positricity
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:07 PM (UTC)

(Link)

How did they accomplish that prompt?

<a href="http://example.com" onclick="return prompt('Do you really want to leave our Web site for example.com?')">This is a link</a> is a semi-modern method.
[User Picture]From: [info]jwz
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:14 PM (UTC)

(Link)

It was built into the browser!

If the option "protectMeFromMyself" was set, it would pop up that dialog every time you clicked a link. And it wasn't (just) a joke, it was added as a requirement by some customer. (I don't remember if that customer was inside the university or was corporate, though.)
[User Picture]From: [info]poige
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:34 PM (UTC)

> And it wasn't (just) a joke, it was added as a requirement

(Link)

:-)

It's quite clear what should be happening if "Yup, I'm sure, really." would had been chosen, but where to "Ack, no! Get me outta here." was leading then? :-) Just canceling [Go] is boring. :-)
[User Picture]From: [info]jwz
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:37 PM (UTC)

(Link)

It just cancelled the click.
[User Picture]From: [info]poige
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:39 PM (UTC)

jwz > It just cancelled the click.

(Link)

Yeah, I guessed so. )
[User Picture]From: [info]cnoocy
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 10:58 PM (UTC)

Re: > And it wasn't (just) a joke, it was added as a requirement

(Link)

Google seems to have adjusted their algorithm, but there was a time where searching for "Exit" or "Leave" pulled up Disney as the first result from so many people using it as the alternative when asking to enter a porn site.
[User Picture]From: [info]marnanel
Fri, 29-Feb-2008 4:51 PM (UTC)

Re: > And it wasn't (just) a joke, it was added as a requirement

(Link)

I can also remember Disney being the top hit for "no" (as an answer to "Are you 18 or over?"). Now it's Wikipedia, as is the top hit for almost everything else.
[User Picture]From: [info]icis_machine
Fri, 15-Feb-2008 5:26 AM (UTC)

(Link)

ahh... that explains why i never saw it even the first month of mosaic or when i worked in those same uni sites for 3 years.

we did however have a huge porn problem by the name of joshua laugh that might begin to explain reaction.
[User Picture]From: [info]lionsphil
Tue, 19-Feb-2008 12:08 AM (UTC)

(Link)

Ugh, the requirements of paying customers. Word has it that that's why Opera supports the abomination which is <blink> in this day and age.

I don't know what Firefox's excuse is.
[User Picture]From: [info]marnanel
Fri, 29-Feb-2008 4:57 PM (UTC)

(Link)

If you attempt to use the "blink" text-decoration in styling an external page on Facebook, it removes that line and generates the warning message "Are you kidding?"
[User Picture]From: [info]inoci
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:30 PM (UTC)

(Link)

Which versions/years was that warning included in? I seem to recall seeing it once, but I can't remember when or where, though a computer lab of some sort comes to mind. It was notable at the time as I just figured the first paragraph was more of a promise than a warning.
[User Picture]From: [info]jwz
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:32 PM (UTC)

(Link)

It was in XMosaic 2.5 at least, and I think earlier.
[User Picture]From: [info]mark242
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 9:01 PM (UTC)

(Link)

It was earlier.

I wish I had a screengrab of one of the pranks a group of computing-club members (as undergrads) pulled on the grad students in their nice clean spiffy X-Terminal lab (while us undergrads had to deal with vt100 greenscreens). Someone "acquired" root access and modified the script that fired up XMosaic to force that option on. Then, they took beav and modified the actual message to say something like "Prior to clicking continue, please call (System Admin Guy who we didn't like) at XXX-XXX-XXXX to verify hyperlink integrity", or some such nonsense.

To this day, I'm amazed that university admins let the club exist, when it was pretty clear who was causing all of that trouble.
[User Picture]From: [info]baconmonkey
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 8:57 PM (UTC)

(Link)

so that is what space smells like!
[User Picture]From: [info]elfs
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 9:03 PM (UTC)

(Link)

"Pornography, even nudity"?

Shouldn't that have been the other way 'round?
[User Picture]From: [info]giles
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 9:34 PM (UTC)

(Link)

If I wasn't so lazy I'd draw a great Venn diagram on this topic, but the short answer is: nope! You've got your old men in diapers (for recreation, not incontinence) and the people in dog crates and women stomping on things and fursuits and imperiled bondage and the Food Network.
[User Picture]From: [info]marnanel
Fri, 29-Feb-2008 4:48 PM (UTC)

(Link)

It's true that there's porn which DOESN'T involve nudity, but I think [info]elfs's point was that since the proportion of porn which does include nudity is larger than the proportion of nudity which isn't pornographic, it would have made more sense to say "nudity, even pornography" rather than "pornography, even nudity".

Also, I can't type "porn" any more because my fingers keep correcting it.
[User Picture]From: [info]insomnia
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 9:52 PM (UTC)

(Link)

Admittedly, this was '93 we're talking about here, so chances are good it would've been ascii text pr0n...
[User Picture]From: [info]elfs
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 9:59 PM (UTC)

(Link)

Oh, yeah. I was responsible for an awful lot of that myself, back then, wasn't I?
[User Picture]From: [info]kragen
Fri, 15-Feb-2008 5:31 AM (UTC)

(Link)

Yeah. For years nobody could run a free porn site on the web, because the traffic would swamp their server and their network connection and cost them loads of cash. When did sounds.sdsu.edu shut down their free music download archive? 1994?
[User Picture]From: [info]insomnia
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 9:49 PM (UTC)

(Link)

Dear Jebus, pls sav mi frum d'click. Kthnxbye.
[User Picture]From: [info]bmused
Thu, 14-Feb-2008 10:22 PM (UTC)

Sorry for the off-topic comment

(Link)

Hi there -- I just saw a comment you left in Brad's journal asking about the potential benefits of solar panel installation at DNA. I've known and worked with the owners of SolarCity for many years, and I'm sure they'd be happy to help you out.

If you're interested in hearing more and/or would like me to get you in touch with them, please feel free to email me at my LJ address.

/shameless + intrusive plug

Edited at 2008-02-14 10:23 pm (UTC)
[User Picture]From: [info]lars_larsen
Fri, 15-Feb-2008 3:48 AM (UTC)

Re: Sorry for the off-topic comment

(Link)

A night club powered by solar panels? I suspect some peak load timing issues.



[User Picture]From: [info]neurophyre
Fri, 15-Feb-2008 10:53 AM (UTC)

(Link)

Those assholes ruined my rickroll and I had to fix it this morning.
[User Picture]From: [info]vomitrocity
Fri, 15-Feb-2008 3:54 PM (UTC)

(Link)

*cringe*
[User Picture]From: [info]huddlingmasses
Fri, 15-Feb-2008 7:36 PM (UTC)

(Link)

or even nudity.

ah, the winsome naïveté of the early Web.
[User Picture]From: [info]icedaemoness
Mon, 18-Feb-2008 6:32 AM (UTC)

(Link)

Dude. I love Jem. Good job with the music selection. ps omg thank you for your costume on friday.
[User Picture]From: [info]steveshot
Mon, 3-Mar-2008 3:14 AM (UTC)

(Link)

Clearly, Mosaic is wayyy better than Myspace. ^_^

Sense of humor is good compared to the seriousness of the Myspace warning of not typing your Myspace password in the new website.

I mean, what if the new website was the place where you had an account to it and you're using the same password? ;) I know using the same password on mulitple accounts is the worst things ever, but they obviously didn't consider that this person going to this site had an account on it. They just automatically call the site outside of Myspace (any site, I guess) a phishing one. XD
[User Picture]From: [info]jwz
Mon, 31-Mar-2008 8:41 AM (UTC)

doing that which must be done

(Link)

Incidentally, I didn't just happen to have that Mosaic screen shot handy. I dug an SGI O2 out of the closet and compiled NSCA Mosaic 2.5 on it from source to grab that.

I will go to great lengths for a joke.