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There was a big brew-ha-ha over the past few days with NoScript and some unscrupulous bit of code installed in it. In case you haven’t heard, NoScript recently released an updated version of the popular Firefox plugin that would disable the Adblock Plus plugin whenever the user visited the NoScript website or a few of the author’s partner sites. This was all done without any notifications to the end user.
There was a furious uproar over this, and rightly so. The commonly held ideal is that no browser plugin should interfere or disable another plugin without the users knowledge or consent. Giorgio Maone, the developer of NoScript, crossed the line of ethical behavior with this and is suffering a huge backlash over this despite profusely apologizing for his actions and releasing an updated version of his plugin that removed it’s malicious behavior.
However, even though Maone has born the brunt of this controversy, he is not the only guilty party in this. The other browser plugin involved, Adblock Plus, also shares some of the guilt.
Giorgio Maone funded the development of his popular plugin with user donations and with website advertising. Anyone who hopes to derive an income from website advertising is no doubt aware of Adblock Plus and the adverse affects it has for many advertising methods. So Maone coded his site to where his ads wouldn’t be blocked by the plugin.
Whenever Maone bypassed Adblock’s functions, Wladimir Palant (the developer behind Adblock Plus) would have the filter maintainer ad a block specific to what Maone had done. This went back and forth a few times until the filter maintainer (someone known as Ares2) instituted a block that in effect broke the usability of the NoScript website. Users who had the Adblock plugin installed could not download the NoScript plugin from the NoScript website.
It was after these events that Maone issued the controversial release of his plugin. And while Maone’s reputation has been severely tarnished, it should also be noted that he is not the only guilty party in this fiasco.
As a side note, I have been using both of these plugins for a long time, and despite the actions of both parties in this matter I will continue to use these plugins.
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