Annoyance Request: Washington Post

[yokoffing]

Description

For those of us using Ads + Trackers + Annoyances:
Banner at the bottom of the screen takes up half the page upon scrolling.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Go to https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/05/26/amy-cooper-central-park/
2. Scroll down.
3. https://postimg.cc/gallery/N5DFH8D

[ghost]

I’m really not sure but they’re probably using Fanboy’s Annoyances list. I can’t check atm but if that’s the case reporting it there could be better.

[yokoffing]

I’m really not sure but they’re probably using Fanboy’s Annoyances list. I can’t check atm but if that’s the case reporting it there could be better.

To my knowledge, Ghostery has not disclosed how they are blocking annoyances.

[christophertino]

@remusao could you provide some insight here?

[remusao]

Hey, sorry for the delayed answer.

In a nutshell, Ghostery uses a mix of community-driven lists such as uBlock Origin annoyances or EasyList cookie, as well as some custom filters. We do not use Fanboy's annnoyances list at the moment, though.

@yokoffing Regarding the banner on washingtonpost.com, I have created a custom rule to handle it, it will be deployed to users before tomorrow.

Best,

[yokoffing]

@remusao, I always appreciate your insights on here and when I do run into you on Reddit!

As of the time me writing this, the banner still isn't blocked. I can check again in a few days.

[remusao]

Hey @yokoffing,

I checked and could reproduce that it does not work. It seems like there is a bug in the Ghostery extension source code (actually a typo), which breaks the selection of the custom presets from Ghostery... I already reached out to @christophertino to try and fix this ASAP. In the meanwhile, if you'd like to make it work on your side, you can open a debug console for the Ghostery extension (on Chrome: : menu > More Tools > Extensions > Enable Developer Mode > click on Background.js for Ghostery extension, then in Console you can enter the following: CLIQZ.prefs.set('cliqz_adb_mode', 2); for Firefox you need to visit about:debugging in the URL bar, then This Firefox on the left, then Inspect on the Ghostery extension and paste the same command than for Chrome in the console). This will force the adblocker to use the Ads + Trackers + Annoyances preset.

Let me know if this does not work or if you need any extra details,
Best,

[yokoffing]

It seems like there is a bug in the Ghostery extension source code (actually a typo), which breaks the selection of the custom presets from Ghostery.

@remusao, will this require a hard update to fix (e.g., Ghostery 8.5.1a or 8.5.2)?

In the meanwhile, if you'd like to make it work on your side, you can open a debug console for the Ghostery extension

This works for me! The banner isn't on https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/30/paycheck-protection-program/.

For Chrome, does entering CLIQZ.prefs.set('cliqz_adb_mode', 2) last perpetually or is this something I'd have to do every time I restart my browser? Also, does this setting get erased if I turn off Developer mode?

[remusao]

@remusao, will this require a hard update to fix (e.g., Ghostery 8.5.1a or 8.5.2)?

Most likely yes. But the fix is very small so this could happen quickly if we move soon (@christophertino will know more about that).

does entering CLIQZ.prefs.set('cliqz_adb_mode', 2) last perpetually or is this something I'd have to do every time I restart my browser

This is persisted across restarts.

does this setting get erased if I turn off Developer mode?

No it will persist as well.

If you want to change between presets you can use the following:

• Switch to ads only: CLIQZ.prefs.set('cliqz_adb_mode', 0)
• Switch to ads + trackers: CLIQZ.prefs.set('cliqz_adb_mode', 1)
• Switch to ads + trackers + annoyances: CLIQZ.prefs.set('cliqz_adb_mode', 2)

Best,