(Warning, rant mode: on.)

The SIGCOMM 2016 program is out and there is much to like: a bunch of interesting papers and a keynote from Jim Kurose, and other events.

But the website follows the JavaScript trend that really grates on me. Each paper has a “paper” button that takes you to the content. Attractively rounded corners show it was made in the 2010s.

But I want to skim the program and download the most interesting papers to read later. How do I do that? I’d like to right-click and do “save link as…”.

But no, these are not actual links, they’re JavaScript. Specifically for the technical, they HREF doesn’t have a URL, it is “javascript:void(0) with an onclick handler.

The nine most terrifying words on the web are “Hi, I’m JavaScript; I’m here to improve your link’s user-experience”. (OK, ten words.)

Clicking on “paper” replaces the program with the paper. Let’s review the pain:

  • saving document goes from 3 steps (right click to save as, press return, close PDF application) to 6 steps and a lot of mouse movement (click on java script “link”, find PDF save button elsewhere on screen, click on save, close PDF application that popped up, hit back-arrow to go back to program, scroll back to where I was in the program)
  • I lose context about where you are in the program (back takes you to the top of the program not where you were)
  • consumes your whole web screen (I’m on a 30” monitor and would like multiple visible window, thank you, not everyone is on their phone)

And replacing a URL HREF with JavaScript was a bunch of work for the web page author and is slower: someone had to find the JavaScript library and code the A HREF with JavaScript, and your browser has to load all this and interpret it. (Sure, it’s a library, and the Internet is so fast these days, but you’re making work for yourself!)

But the best part is: how did this improve the User Experience at all? The functionality is just like a URL HREF would have been.

Now I get that not everyone browses this way (right clicking, with multiple windows at a time on a desktop, wanting to save files for offline reading). But think of us 1%! And the 1% is not just for strange users—how’s that Javascript work out with your accessiblility plan for the visually or physically impared?

I get that JavaScript is a thing of wonder, bringing me an interactive atlas), a usable equivalent to a whole desktop office suite and mail reader, hundreds of shoot-em-up video games, and a whole 6502 simulator in my web browser. Those are great. But a better URL link, not!

What am I missing here?!? When did a simple URL become passé?