Was reading through some of the posts here and noticed a couple of times that users may have javascript turned off. I have been using html/xhtml/javascript as a hobby for many years now and never understood why people would do this. Just wondering why people would turn it off when it poses a minimal security risk compared to all the "free" programs that people download from the net without giving it a second thought.

It's not just a security matter, disabling javascript will get rid of popups as well. Some people have plugins for their browsers that only allow JS on their regular sites.

And the user might be using a screenreader or mobile device without JS capability. This is why JS shold never be required to view a site, only to enhance it.

Thomas is correct. The majority of web users will have Javascript enabled, but you will always have people using screen readers, mobile devices, or just wanting to secure their browser, who will disable or not have any javascript.

 

Unless your website completely relies on Javascript (eg. Google Maps), you should only use it to enhance the user experience. Basically you should make sure it is fully functional with Javascript disabled.

I can understand why some people can't use javascript becuase of the equipment they use to browse the net, I really asked why people would switch it off when the security risks are minimal. With the rise in in the use of AJAX such as Google Maps etc then you wonder why people would switch it off given the choice (iknow it can be enabled for certain sites). I wouldn't normally rely on javascript for my sites to function but im nearly finished a chat script which relies heavily on javascript and have no intention of making it available to browsers that don't have javascript enabled. I realise this would reduce the potential amount of users but after all the browser hacks and browser specific code I've waded through to build standards compliant and accessible websites over the years it is really quite frustrating to think my site (although its mainly for a small community and wont receive many "outside visits") is not accessible to certain people becuase they have chosen not to enable a function in a browser which lets face it poses little threat compared to some of the stuff that floats around the net. lol mini-rant over

I hate how people are quite happy to use Flash in abundance (which I have a huge problem with, and I'm not the only one) whilst JS is seen as a "enhancement only". It pisses me right off.

Unfortunately not everyone is computer savvy, and will believe whatever they are told — like that cookies are evil! Some people just feel safer turning Javascript off, and until that functionality is removed from browsers, you will always have to assume that some of your visitors may have Javascript turned off. It's actually quite similar to people having images turned off. There isn't much logical sense to doing it, but some people might need that extra bit of bandwidth.

 

You just have to accept that some people use these options, even if it doesn't seem clear to you why they do.

I hate how people are quite happy to use Flash in abundance (which I have a huge problem with, and I'm not the only one) whilst JS is seen as a "enhancement only". It pisses me right off.

 

But Javascript is an enhancement. It is the behaviour of the web document, it has nothing to do with the structure or design. You could argue that DOM is part of the structure, but it is run on the client side after page load, and could (potentially) be manipulated, so you can't rely on it for anything more than enhancing the functionality of your website.

 

As for people over-using Flash, that is a topic for another day — I don't agree with 100% flash websites myself.

I hate how people are quite happy to use Flash in abundance (which I have a huge problem with, and I'm not the only one) whilst JS is seen as a "enhancement only". It pisses me right off.

 

I see Flash as enhancement as well. Something to be built on top of HTML.

I can understand why some people can't use javascript becuase of the equipment they use to browse the net, I really asked why people would switch it off when the security risks are minimal. With the rise in in the use of AJAX such as Google Maps etc then you wonder why people would switch it off given the choice (iknow it can be enabled for certain sites). I wouldn't normally rely on javascript for my sites to function but im nearly finished a chat script which relies heavily on javascript and have no intention of making it available to browsers that don't have javascript enabled. I realise this would reduce the potential amount of users but after all the browser hacks and browser specific code I've waded through to build standards compliant and accessible websites over the years it is really quite frustrating to think my site (although its mainly for a small community and wont receive many "outside visits") is not accessible to certain people becuase they have chosen not to enable a function in a browser which lets face it poses little threat compared to some of the stuff that floats around the net. lol mini-rant over

 

From what I've seen on the net it's adverts, espesially popups that makes people disable scripts. But the same users will run into problems with alot of sites that require it. I find Firefox's extension a better solutions for that. However, not everyone has the option to choose their browser settings. Some times it's the over protective system admin that locks everything down.

A lot of corporate companies disable java, javascript, and also don't allow 3rd party plugins like Flash either.