Need some help with exceptions please....

[ProxoDent]

(Nov. 15, 2009 08:08 PM)sidki3003 Wrote:  I take it then that none of the fixes discussed here need to be ported to the next config, which surprises me...

Sorry. I didn't see your previous post:

sidki3003 Wrote:  Focusing on critical errors with the alpha 4 config, what should i add/modify?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by 'focusing on critical errors'. In my estimation, they were all critical:

- broken e-mail reading;
- broken themes;
- Proxomitron's embedded 'bottom' display positioned where it shouldn't be;
- Broken 'untangled' links;
- Broken site 'Help' mechanism;
- Site menu duplication;
- Broken calendar editing tools;
- Site settings not preserved;

But based on your post, I'm guessing you don't think they are all 'critical', otherwise you would have just used what has already been posted.

I'm definitely willing to help, I just need a little guidance.

P.S.
Also, thank you for the advice on preserving list hashes.

[sidki3003]

Thanks.
Although i was actually hoping that the plethora of posted bypasses could be trimmed down to the essentials.

Which brings me to "critical":
There will always be thousands of pages being broken by this config!

The pre-alpha version currently has 343 Exceptions.ptxt entries. The reasons, incuding example links, for all entries need to be (and are) documented. All entries should be verified every 1-3 years. This takes several weeks. Naturally, for that i must be able to reproduce every problem.

To keep things halfway maintainable, that list should only contain entries which are either of special interest for the Proxomitron community or are ranking among the top 30K sites. And which are reportedly bugging someone.

Also, no entry may negatively affect other users. For instance, a keyword like "a_cookie" mustn't be used in the general Exceptions list, unless the allowed cookies are definitely session-only.

For everything else there is the user exceptions list.

[ProxoDent]

(Nov. 15, 2009 10:43 PM)sidki3003 Wrote:  ... i was actually hoping that the plethora of posted bypasses could be trimmed down to the essentials.

<snip>

For everything else there is the user exceptions list.

When I first began posting the bypasses for Live.com, I really envisioned leaving them as strictly user exceptions.

But, if you'd like to include a few that might pass your criteria, I'd suggest the following set of three exceptions as it fixes a lot of the functionality without overburdening the Exceptions list (the two e-mail-related ones really must be included as a pair if included at all):

Code:

# General site issues:
# Fix broken links caused by URL untangler (site is almost completely unnavigable otherwise); and
# Fix  embedded 'bottom' display which otherwise is presented at BOTH the top and bottom of the site's pages
[^/]++.live.com/&(^([^/]++mail.live.com/mail/*Inbox) )$SET(0=a_noprint.a_rdlink.)

# E-mail issues:
# Fix inability to read e-mail messages
[^/]++mail.live.com/mail/*InBox    $SET(0=a_adscr.a_noprint.a_rdlink.)
# Prevent 'loading' message from hanging when opening e-mail module
[^.]+.hotmail.com/mail/&gfx[0-9]  $SET(1=adkey_j:0.)

-- Side-issues and questions: ------

I used 'a_adscr' in the exception:

Code:

[^/]++mail.live.com/mail/*InBox    $SET(0=a_adscr.a_noprint.a_rdlink.)

when 'adkey_j' works as well. I'd generally like to use the method that applies the most restrictive filtering while still allowing things to work, but in this case I couldn't easily make up my mind. Any thoughts?

Also, for my personal use, I have abandoned the two e-mail exceptions recommended above in favor of these items placed in AdKeys-J.ptxt:

Code:

~adsToFire$TST(uDom=live.com|hotmail.com)&$TST(uPath=/mail/*)
~adsMinActions$TST(uDom=live.com|hotmail.com)&$TST(uPath=/mail/*)
~ads$TST(uHost=gfx[0-9].hotmail.com)&$TST(uPath=/mail/*)

I do not see that this method gets used much (if at all), but it seems to narrow the culprits down nicely without having to broadly bypass the entire AdKeys-J.ptxt file. Any thoughts here as well?

[Belarathon]

(Nov. 15, 2009 08:08 PM)sidki3003 Wrote:  I take it then that none of the fixes discussed here need to be ported to the next config, which surprises me...

My apologies. Actually, I would be very grateful if you would port these to the next config. I would think a good deal of hotmail clients would be as well. Thank you

[sidki3003]

Sorry about the delay. I wasn't available for a few months.

Thanks for the feedback. Very well done, ProxoDent!
I've created a hotmail account today and could verify everything (minus one) thanks to the excellent bug descriptions.

(Nov. 16, 2009 05:44 PM)ProxoDent Wrote:  

Code:

[^/]++mail.live.com/mail/*InBox    $SET(0=a_adscr.a_noprint.a_rdlink.)

when 'adkey_j' works as well. I'd generally like to use the method that applies the most restrictive filtering while still allowing things to work, but in this case I couldn't easily make up my mind. Any thoughts?

Yep, in this case "a_adscr" is the better choice, because it is targeting at a single filter, whereas "adkey_j:0" is affecting subroutines in many filters.

Quote:Also, for my personal use, I have abandoned the two e-mail exceptions recommended above in favor of these items placed in AdKeys-J.ptxt:

Code:

~adsToFire$TST(uDom=live.com|hotmail.com)&$TST(uPath=/mail/*)
~adsMinActions$TST(uDom=live.com|hotmail.com)&$TST(uPath=/mail/*)
~ads$TST(uHost=gfx[0-9].hotmail.com)&$TST(uPath=/mail/*)

I do not see that this method gets used much (if at all), but it seems to narrow the culprits down nicely without having to broadly bypass the entire AdKeys-J.ptxt file. Any thoughts here as well?

I handle it like that:
- Never alter (or add) an entry in general ad lists just because of a single page (i.e.: avoid overhead).
- If a specific match (like adsToFire) needs to be excluded, b/c it is breaking multiple pages, directly alter the expression (e.g. ads(^ToFire)). This usually keeps the respective entry hashable ("ads" not being a good example here). "except" notations are never hashable.


Here is the entire updated Microsoft section. Also needed to keep MS translator working which was broken due to a new (sneaky) referrer check.

Code:

## Microsoft, Bing, MSN & Windows Live
## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
technet.microsoft.com/          $SET(0=a_float.i_timer:2.i_noscr:2.)
www.microsoft.com/downloads/    $SET(0=a_posthtml.)
img.windowsmarketplace.com/     $SET(0=i_noscr:2.)

images.video.msn.com/           $SET(0=a_bug.)
video.msn.com/                  $SET(0=i_noscr:2.)
zone.msn.com/                   $SET(0=a_adscr.)
my.msn.com/                     $SET(0=a_adscr.)
[^.]+.video.s-msn.com/          $SET(0=a_jscont.)

[^/]++.live.com/&(^[^/]++.mail.) $SET(0=a_rdlink.)
[^/]++.mail.live.com/           $SET(0=a_adscr.a_rdlink.)
[^.]+.hotmail.com/mail/&gfx     $SET(0=a_jsmeth.)$SET(1=adkey_j:0.)

www.bing.com/                   $SET(0=i_timer:0.a_rdlink.)
www.microsofttranslator.com/    $SET(0=i_noscr:2.i_timer:0.i_button_b:0.)
api.microsofttranslator.com/    $SET(0=b_refer.)