Vocal Voices

Quite often when I go onto a website, I find that I am unable to move up or down the page,
and a message appears saying, "This website is not responding due to a long-running script".
There is an option to address the problem but this often doesn't work, and I have to leave the
site and try again, often with the same response.

What is a "long-running script", and is it a fault in my laptop?

In simple Aggers it is a badly written website. The script (javascript used by the developers to create the site), is not written correctly and does not end when it should.

I get this more with IE than with other browsers although I've seen it with Chrome too. Firefox is the pretty much the best at handling bad websites but then Netscape, who created JavaScript, wrote the core of firefox. So it's not that much of a surprise is it??

Aggers, I agree with Suff, it is not a laptop problem but a website one. IE tends to be the browser most affected. There are fixes, some from Microsoft, but many need a registry edit.

Try Firefox or Pale Moon as other options, or if you like Google Chrome then SlimJet works well.

It is good practice to have an alternative browser on hand for problems of this type. Yes, it is a pain, but that is how the world turns.

Thanks chaps.

I've installed Firefox and it seems to be working very well now.

I must say that Firefox is very helpful, and seems to be much more efficient than other browsers I have used.

Aggers, a lot of people like it because in its native form it is fast and with only a few extensions can be made to work the way you like it. Chrome, and its clones, need quite a few extensions in order to "break" them out of the developer's ideas of what is best for you, then they become bloatware. IE - forget it.

With a bit of work Firefox can almost be made into complete work suite for e-mail, calendar, pdf, word docs and so on, but then it slows down and you have all those programs anyway. What you might like to try with it are these:

TabMix plus

NoScript

AdGuard

Firefox has reasonable built-in security, but NoScript adds an extra layer. AdGuard removes adverts from most pages, especially those bells and whistles annoyances. TabMix allows you to get the best out of the way Firefox works.

Well worth a look even if you do not install them.

I don't know whether it's my experience with browsers but IE just works for me and all the rest are clunky in some way or other.

I've been using IE since 2.0 (the basic browser deployed in the original W95 shipped in August 1995) and I'm just used to it. If you read the Firefox help there's shift and clicks, control and clicks all sorts of kepresses and clicks, but with IE I've managed to get by with one simple set. Right click for function and left click to activate.

The main problems with websites today are that they are trying to conform to a written standard that no single browser supports. Unlike when IE had 90% of the browser market and everyone wrote their sites to work with it, now people write their sites to the "standard" and find out that one or more browsers just don't work with it.

If it works for you Aggers, then that's good and keep going with it. Personally, every time I finish a session with Firefox I feel like I've been working just to do what I want to do and I want to beat it to death with a large stick. Not at all helped by the new "clean" interface which drives me nuts. To be fair I feel the same way about Microsoft Edge, so maybe it's just me???

I use the classic theme restorer to get Firefox back to a sensible workable mode for me. I don't like Chrome so why would I want every other browser to emulate it??

I can't really offer any other experience helpers. I use it when all else fails and only grudgingly then.

Suff wrote:Personally, every time I finish a session with Firefox I feel like I've been working just to do what I want to do and I want to beat it to death with a large stick

Not an uncommon emotion for many of us with many browsers. I also like IE, mainly because it works the way my brain works, but it does have some downsides.

A reason for mentioning add-ons for Firefox/Chrome was to make them more comfortable to use than their standard setups.

One thing I have done with IE, which does help with the scripting problem is this: Settings wheel>>>Internet Options tab>>>Manage add-ons button>>>Tracking Protection>>>Get Tracking Protection List online and then adding EasyList Standard, EasyPrivacy and either of the PrivacyChoice lists. They knock out loads of ads and animations.

Interesting. My tracking protection was disabled but I know I enabled it during the 8.1 setup. Which means one of the updates disabled it again....

I don't have those full settings. Probably because there is nothing in the list yet. I'll check.

My private list is empty and disabled, but the others are all enabled. They tend to cover most of the invasive sites.

If I am going to sites with live sports streams (F1, Champions League, NFL, Cricket) I either run a VM or run a browser in a sandbox.