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This site requires JavaScript and Cookies to be enabled. Please change your browser settings or upgrade your browser.

I noticed this on change.org, sigh. Along with a weird javascript redirect which included my IP address. But various other users have noticed the exact same message, and even the redirect, on seemingly unrelated sites.

Edit: I guess I didn't phrase this very well. I knew about the general issue. What I noticed in the links above was the exact same message, and the same weird JS redirect which includes your IP address.

It looks like it's part of a specific web framework, or open-source boilerplate, used by all these sites. My question: has anyone has identified the framework this comes from?

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sourcejedi
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  • And JavaScript/Cookies are already enabled in your browser? Is this only affecting Firefox? – MrWhite Apr 10 '13 at 08:40
  • I use NoScript. (Cookies are enabled for the session). I'm not happy to use sites that don't let me look at their public content without enabling Javascript; that's just not acceptable. – sourcejedi Apr 10 '13 at 08:59
  • I agree, it's not acceptable, and should not be necessary for the pure delivery of content/information. However, JavaScript dependence is indeed on the increase. Why change.org should "require" JavaScript does seem silly. – MrWhite Apr 10 '13 at 09:38
  • If your question is why are sites blocking access when JavaScript/Cookies are disabled then there probably isn't an acceptable answer, other than the sites are assuming that the majority of their user base has JS enabled. Incidentally, it is now law in the EU to alert users if the site uses cookies - although it would seem that this does not necessarily mean that the site should work OK with cookies disabled. – MrWhite Apr 10 '13 at 09:44
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    Edit: I guess I didn't phrase this very well. I knew about the general issue. What I noticed in the links above was the exact same message, and the same weird JS redirect which includes your IP address.

    It looks like it's part of a specific web framework, or open-source boilerplate, used by all these sites. My question: has anyone has identified the framework this comes from?

     – sourcejedi Apr 19 '13 at 10:56

2 Answers2

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These messages are written into the website, likely under a tag. The simple way to avoid seeing these messages is to turn on JavaScript and Cookies - however the security and privacy concerns which (presumably) lead you to use the NoScript addon will not be addressed.

Security and privacy concerns might be satisfied by:

  • using private browsing mode
  • using anonymising routing such as ToR

Since the vast majority of web browsers allow JavaScript, it's becoming common not to have a non-JavaScript version of websites, probably to save on development effort. If you choose not to permit JavaScript, then these websites cannot display their content to you.

Penguat
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Your question is essentially: "How does a web server detect that Javascript (and/or cookies) is enabled?"

The answers to this Stackoverflow question suggest two methods: "Use JavaScript to set a cookie, and then test for that cookie using server-side scripting upon subsequent page views", and "Redirect in the tag". So there are different methods.

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Jan Doggen
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