Dumb Abo (für derstandard.at)

A small Firefox extension that re-enables the comment-sort tabs that derstandard.at recently moved behind their Smart-Abo paywall — Plus, Minus, Älteste, and friends.

The fix lives entirely on the client. The comment GraphQL endpoint already returns the sorted data unauthenticated; only the page's own JS short-circuits the fetch for non-subscribers and renders a paywall card instead. This extension flips that short-circuit and lets the fetch through.

Install

• Firefox — addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/dumb-abo-für-derstandard-at
• Chrome / Chromium / Edge — Chrome Web Store listing

After install, open any derstandard.at/story/... article and scroll to the Diskussion section. The previously locked sort tabs now load comments.

How it works

The forum widget is a Lit custom element (<dst-forum>) with an open shadow root. Two content scripts cooperate:

• An isolated-world script (src/content.js) watches for clicks on the sort tabs (via event.composedPath() so it sees through the shadow boundary) and forwards them.
• A main-world script (src/inject.js) talks to the Lit element's instance API: when a sort click triggers the paywall, it clears showSubscriptionNotice, resets the pagination cursor, and calls the element's own fetchPostings() method. It also keeps nextCursor in sync from each response so scroll-pagination stays consistent.

No subscription state is faked — no cookies, localStorage, or prototype-level overrides. The bypass is limited to one render-time UI flag, flipped only after a deliberate tab click.

Permissions & data

• Runs only on *://*.derstandard.at/story/* (declared in the manifest).
• No host permissions, no storage, no remote servers, no telemetry.
• All network traffic stays between your browser and derstandard.at's existing GraphQL endpoint.

Compatibility

• Firefox 128+ (verified target).
• Chrome / Chromium / Edge 111+ — same manifest, same code. The MV3 world: "MAIN" content-script feature landed in Chrome 111 and Firefox 128. The Firefox-specific browser_specific_settings.gecko block is harmless on Chromium (unknown manifest keys are ignored).

Limitations

• Sort-tab labels are matched against a German regex (Plus|Minus|Älteste| Aktuellste|…). If derstandard.at adds a new label, widen the regex in src/content.js.
• The unlock recipe depends on <dst-forum>'s shadow root staying open and on the showSubscriptionNotice / fetchPostings API not being renamed. A meaningful frontend rewrite on derstandard.at's side will likely break this and require re-inspecting the element.

Development

No build step, no dependencies. To run from source:

• Firefox: about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox → Load Temporary Add-on… → pick manifest.json. Click Reload after edits.
• Chrome / Chromium / Edge: chrome://extensions → enable Developer mode → Load unpacked → pick the repo folder. Click the refresh icon on the extension card after edits.

Filter the DevTools Console by ds-unlock to follow the extension's decisions (paywall detected for sortField=…, synced nextCursor, …). See CLAUDE.md for the architecture deep-dive — including the cursor-sync subtlety that's easy to miss.

If icons/dumb-abo.svg changes, refresh the PNG set (Chromium's manifest needs PNGs). Use rsvg-convert (brew install librsvg) — ImageMagick's built-in SVG renderer silently drops stroked paths:

for s in 16 32 48 96 128; do
  rsvg-convert -w $s -h $s icons/dumb-abo.svg -o icons/dumb-abo-${s}.png
done

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Disclaimer

Not affiliated with or endorsed by STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft m.b.H. "derStandard" and "Smart-Abo" are trademarks of their respective owners; they appear here for descriptive use only. If you find derstandard.at's journalism worth paying for, please do — this extension exists for users who specifically miss the sort-by-likes feature, not as a substitute for supporting the publication.