published:   29/09/22 (dd/mm/yy)
updated:     29/09/22 (a few minutes after)

A reflection on the small web

The small web movement is underway (see [0]), and I'm thinking of *new* ways to
explore the *existing* web to force it to be as small as possible.

One of those ways is to force your browser to *not* download any file larger than a
fixed threshold (like 50 kilo bytes (kilo octets for my fellow european readers?)).

I started to think about forking Firefox and applying this hard limit somewhere, but then
I realized that I'm not even on Arch by the way⁰, so I obviously don't know how to
efficiently build Firefox, or how to distribute it, or even how to make the change effective.
So I'm not going to release another browser. I'm going to search what already exist.

And hooo surprise it already exist! On a popular web extension! That I already have on my
computer!

Yep, I just found that this option already exists on uBlock Origin (this extension is
the best adblock extension available btw), under Settings > Default behaviour > Block
media elements larger than [ ] KB (the doc is here [1]).

I'm starting a journey where I'll block large content on the web by default, wish me luck!

----

Edit:
There are other networks than http that are connecting people all around the world, here's some link on Gemini and Gopher:
  https://gemini.circumlunar.space/
  https://spwhitton.name//blog/entry/geminispace/
  https://drewdevault.com/2020/11/01/What-is-Gemini-anyway.html

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)
  https://charlieharrington.com/surfing-the-gopherspace/
  https://www.wired.com/2004/04/gopher-underground-technology/ (yup this article is from 2004)

And a very useful tool named Offpunk, made by ploum (it's a "terminal browser for the web/RSS/gemini/gopher"):
  https://notabug.org/ploum/offpunk

(I'm using deedum on Android to browse gemini capsules and other experiments)

----

0: I just wanted to write my own "arch btw" joke, I know arch users aren't *that* smart in
comparison to ordinary stupid windows users /s

[0]:
Take some of this:
  https://ar.al/2020/08/07/what-is-the-small-web/
  https://www.raptitude.com/2022/02/how-to-make-the-internet-small-again/
  https://benhoyt.com/writings/the-small-web-is-beautiful/
  https://www.jayeless.net/wiki/small-web.html
And this?
  https://hypirion.com/musings/smaller-static-sites-with-new-formats
And maybe even this?
  https://www.nextofwindows.com/the-smallest-simplest-office-apps-right-in-your-browser

[1]:
Here's the doc:
  https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Per-site-switches#no-large-media-elements
And here's uBlock Origin firefox page, where you can install this extension:
  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/