Https-everywhere: Consider adding a "first run" info
Maybe we should add a short introduction how HTTPS-Everywhere works or what differs from the legacy version.
J0WI
All 7 comments
At least a short FAQ about "What happened to my SSL Observatory?" would be great.
J0WI
on 23 May 2017
I often find the first-time run dialogues annoying - what is it adding to the user experience? Just one more click? We should evaluate the trade-offs here.
The way the SSL Observatory first-time run popup currently works is that there is a config boolean value for whether it has been seen or not before: extensions.https_everywhere._observatory.popup_shown. If not, it is shown and the flag is set to true. Within Tor Browser, this flag is manually set to true so that the dialogue does not appear for all new Tor Browser users.
We can certainly do this within chrome.storage, but one tricky thing is that I'm not sure if there is a manual way to set values in chrome.storage for an extension without it having been run before. I'll have to look into this.
Hainish
on 25 May 2017
We also had this bar on the top "HTTPS Everywhere is now active ..." with the FAQ button.
J0WI
on 29 May 2017
Sorry, I'm misunderstanding. Where did we have this?
Hainish
on 5 Jun 2017
I think it's here:
https://github.com/EFForg/https-everywhere/blob/master/src/chrome/content/toolbar_button.js#L115-L157
J0WI
on 6 Jun 2017
I agree with @Hainish here, we don't need a first run notice for this change. I have no statistical data but I guess HTTPS Everywhere isn't something most people interact with or think about when they're using it. A first run notice for an obscure change would probably be confusing instead of helpful.
Also remember that HTTPS Everywhere is on the short list of add-ons that are recommended for and installed by technical people on behalf on less-technical people, so the people who see this notice may not even know they are using HTTPS Everywhere or even what an add-on is.
Instead of a first run notice, another option is to include a temporary clickable menu item to the UI like "Why did the UI change?" that we keep for a few Firefox release cycles and then remove. It could go between "About HTTPS Everywhere" and "Donate to EFF", for example.
jeremyn
on 6 Jun 2017
I'm closing this due to the concerns mentioned. If a link in the menu is desired, please open another issue and we can discuss it there.
Hainish
on 8 Jun 2017
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Most helpful comment
I agree with @Hainish here, we don't need a first run notice for this change. I have no statistical data but I guess HTTPS Everywhere isn't something most people interact with or think about when they're using it. A first run notice for an obscure change would probably be confusing instead of helpful.
Also remember that HTTPS Everywhere is on the short list of add-ons that are recommended for and installed by technical people on behalf on less-technical people, so the people who see this notice may not even know they are using HTTPS Everywhere or even what an add-on is.
Instead of a first run notice, another option is to include a temporary clickable menu item to the UI like "Why did the UI change?" that we keep for a few Firefox release cycles and then remove. It could go between "About HTTPS Everywhere" and "Donate to EFF", for example.