Re: Why is the screenshot tool disabled in Abrowser?

O 2024-01-02 01:20, escribiu:
>
> I notice that this feature is missing (disabled) in Abrowser.
> Specifically, it is disabled by setting a preference in
> [settings.js][2]. I am very curious as to why this is. I find the
> feature very useful, and don't see any downsides to keeping it
> enabled. To my knowledge it doesn't infringe on user freedoms.
>
> Does anyone know why screenshots are disabled? This [other forum
> topic][3] asked the same, but never got any response.

I don't know it either, but I am familiar with this kind of
restraint. The same happens with Privacy Browser for Android. When you
use it on Replicant 6 you can take screenshots, but when you use it on
Android 12 the screenshots are disabled unless you access Settings and
change the setting restraining you from taking screenshots.

This is called T-computing. What does the T mean?
* According to its creators, Trusted computing, for your electronic
device is playing a role that others can trust.
* According to its detractors, Treacherous computing, for your
electronic device is serving others instead of you.

It is weird for Libre Software to enable this behaviour by default.
My guess is that that default setting is inherited from Firefox.

Speaking about the right to take screenshots, this is my point:
Everything our eyes and ears can legitimately see and hear, we can
legitimately record. The only limitation for this happens when we agree
otherwise, such as when we enter a movie teathers we (implicitly) accept
not to record, when we work with data that is personal, when we work for
an employer that keeps its technology under confidentiality and so on.
Yes, I know that laws in different countries might take on this
differently - when I say legitimately I am talking about the moral
aspect, not the legal aspect.

(Legitimately publishing what you record is, of course, another
matter).

I don't really know the reason for this kind of restraint for I
have never seen any developer explaining it - this is just imposed on us
without even an explanation. I can only guess. The legal concerns of
taking screenshots could be:
* Care for Privacy. When you access social networks with private
content, you get access to photos that are not intended for public
redistribution.
* Care for Copyright. Media corporations have been for decades
turning our electronic devices into media kiosks able to reproduce
content but unable to keep a copy of it - streaming replaced video
downloading, and surely they would be glad to prevent photo downloading
too. If you access Instagram with Abrowser, you'll find that saving
images is disabled.

My bet is on the second one. When it comes to care for privacy,
Internet services only care when the law pushes them to do it by
punishment. When it comes to care for copyright, it is the other way
round - Internet services are the ones pushing the law to care by
pressuring legislators.

I call this kind of deprivation an usability deprivation. I wrote
an article on this, in case you are interested you can find it here:

Nacho Agulló's Node in English: The rise and fall of usability
http://www.grafotema.com/agullo/articulos/usability/The_rise_and_fall_of_usability.html

(Yes, I know, the design is more than twenty years old - if you
have difficulty reading it, there is a link to a PDF version at the
top).

Kind regards,
Ignacio Agulló.