When one has enough of websites discriminating Opera

When one has enough of websites discriminating Opera

Hi,

I guess we all here know the frustrating moments when you realize how much time you waste convincing people to not violate standards. Yesterday, I had enough and blogged about one of the sites I hate. The way I see it, problem is that stupidity in society meanwhile seems to be crosslinked by software-promoted mind control, Microsoft- or user interfaces then treating people as if they need special guidance. Which then changes the way society sees the individual, as the convenience-factor of following advises justifies nearly everything.

In that kind of mood I wrote a blog entry. If you like such -> enjoy the text (and feel free to discuss). :)
http://my.opera.com/js27/blog/show.dml/4444545

J.

With the understanding that this is about
"German Federal Labour Office: Opera not worthy to be supported," and "The agency site has been coded completely "in-house" as they say (IT is a sub-company of the authority), and the decision to keep Opera out was an internal one several years ago."

It looks like a bureaucrat has left the agencies code dependent on one programmer, If this programmer gets hit by a bus or quits in a fit, the government agency is out of luck, the site will have to be rebuilt from scratch. This programmer can have his way, by virtue of coding "in house", the programmer can hold his supervisors in check.

Keeping in mind that bureaucrats like extending their turf and spending money. The best way to fix this is to find someone above the agency who wants to find an earmark for a programming project to replace the "in house" code.

Like your comment. Actually, I've been rather surprised they had coded that in-house; several years ago the authority had given the realization to an external company, and someone seems to have messed up defining the duties or controlling the process. It was a desaster facing public criticism, and perhaps the reason for the realization by a sub-company.

By the way, which makes the measures also look a bit funny: The database content to huge percentages is crap. Customer support seems not allowed to kick illegal job offers, and much of the stuff looks like that, or outdated. But in the statistics nearly half a million jobs which in reality are not there in that quantity of course sound nicer. So that's kind of strange: There isn't much to protect anyways, and I'd bet most of the callcenter companies in the gray zone trying to attract potential employees through their database entries would prefer lesser security measures (so that private companies could easier spider and mirror the site = the chance to get some people willing to do those shorttime burnout-jobs would be greater). However, if you sit at these strange Firefox-terminals in the authority with steel keyboards and trackballs, the searching people around you make lots of jokes about the entries' quality. So alltogether to me it also looks like someone indeed distinguished himself with unneccessary security means from the frameless popup times.

Such things like unfair competition always tend to come with more unpleasant side effects and stuff which leaks. The federal unemployment agency right now is in a big data protection act affair. I don't want to go in detail (because this has to be a technical thread), but show the systematic aspects which despite some frustration justify efforts to campaign for user's free decision what software to choose.

In Germany, we had 10 years of severe fights against the mix-up of regional and federal agency instances with local politics, up to the constitutional court which recently found some of the structures a violation. Private human resources representatives at the moment critizise a new version of the central agency database system, which allows the access of authorities (as well as likely outsiders) to sensitive data like known addictions of unemployed people, debt, and family backgrounds. Bureaucratic use of software, favorizing certain huge corporations, accumulation of power, and politics in Germany lie very close to each other from their very nature. Transparent access to information, so people get to know what they are viewing, the parts of it and how it works, can be very influential on their mind. If you limit their freedom to use central functions like e.g. the browser navigation or (which likely comes along with that) accessing tabs or viewing the page source to surf in text mode using e.g. Lynx, you force an uncritical way the public blindly relies on information under the pretext of security, then.

For those who want more information, here's a search on German Google news: http://news.google.de/news/search?aq=f&pz=1&cf=all&ned=de&hl=de&q=bundesagentur+datenschutz

have another one -> http://my.opera.com/js27/blog/show.dml/8371581 :

Ebay Germany advises to buy Microsoft Windows and visit their site with Internet Explorer

Opera is not a supported browser, since according to their own analysis "only 1%" of the surfers currently visit this site with the HTML standard compliant application (they don't support Opera, so what to do they expect? 1% is the number of people who try first time, then as to the restrictions give up and start Internet Explorer/Firefox).

This argument REALLY annoys me whenever I see it. OF COURSE people aren't going to be visiting your site (in a particular browser) if you lock them out either on purpose or by coding badly. It's even more stupid if masking does work.

I keep that some programmer who once received his degree never made an effort to keep up with change and now wants the world to stand still until he is ready to collect his pension and his behavior is protected by some union. All the people who need to access his site be dammed, for all he cares.

Have you tried contacting the programmer to see if he can correct the issue?

There is (more than) something rotten in the state of Germany...

it is a state of retirees reigned by retirees

And the ARGE is hopefully one of the institutions which are closed down at first when someone with faith and gumption gets the chance to reign this rotten state.

They meanwhile just lump situations wanted for office and other positions together with <EM>callcenters</EM>, because there are told to be some jobs to get people into. I didn't know before last week about this kind of spamming when I got this job refusal of a potential time work employer. After a first interview they'd shortlisted me for a quite different marketing position, and I was sure to get it. - Receiving another application by the same job candidate (sent automatically without authorization) for a callcenter job they also offer. Due to callcenters frequently spamming the website's users, my cover letter says "no callcenter-jobs!" - that was too much for them so they disconsidered me, though I tried to safe the situation explaining what had happened. But you know how human ressource people react, they just say "this is chaos" and you're out.

Without laid off people knowing, they kind of spam potential outsourcing employers with your data to get you in a job, by their naive expection that due to official German ideology, callcenters are the innovative solution for everything. That's not so different from how they take position when it comes to software. -> Just choose a big name and if that doesn't add up, it has to be because you didn't do it <EM>consequently enough</EM>, which sounds so profiling conservative... . - For the user, best choice is to cancel the account just to be sure that they don't thwart your efforts to get a job.

Sometimes, companies try to keep their websites compatible, but oversee that there are different operation systems, too. Then advise to enable Cookies/JavaScript, or e.g. install the very same browser visitors already got, in quite entertaining ways...

Browser_1281793847868.png
https://myadecco.adecco.de/browser.aspx (scripts/cookies allowed, tested in Opera 9.27+Firefox 3.6.8 under Ubuntu 9.04) which is the error page of one of these sites where job candidates have to fill in all of their CV data in order to apply for a position.

English translation/Google:

Reference
Information on the current browser compatibility

Dear Sir (s) candidate (in)

at this time supports our online application portal (ORS) for technical reasons only the following Internet browsers:

- Internet Explorer Version 6.x
- Mozilla Firefox version 2.x
- Safari version 3.x
- Netscape Communicator version 7.x
- Opera 9.x

Our system also requires Javascript and cookies.

We have determined that either JavaScript or cookies are disabled in your browser. Please enable these settings in your browser and then refresh your browser again.

Instructions for Browser Download

In the meantime, we ask you
- To use Internet Explorer, Download: Internet Explorer
- Use the Mozilla Firefox browser, download Mozilla Firefox
- To use the Safari browser, Download: Safari
- To use the Netscape Communicator browser, Download: Netscape Communicator
- To use the Opera browser Download: Opera
- Find or contact directly one of our subsidiaries establishment

Instructions to activate Javascript

This guide will allow you to enable JavaScript in your browser to configure Sun

Internet Explorer:
Tools -> Internet Options -> Security -> Custom Level -> Scripting -> Active Scripting -> Enable

Firefox:
Tools -> Settings - Atkivieren> Content -> Javascript

Mozilla:
Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Scripts & Plug-ins -> Enable JavaScript for "Navigator"

Safari:
Edit -> Preferences -> Security -> Enable Web content -> JavaScript

Opera:
Tools -> Settings -> Enable Advanced -> Content -> JavaScript

Netscape Communicator
Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> Scripts & Plugins -> Enable JavaScript for "Navigator"

Guide to Cookies Activation

This guide will allow you to enable cookies in your browser to configure Sun

Internet Explorer:
Tools -> Internet Options -> Privacy.
Default is "Medium", which means that your browser accepts cookies. If something else is selected, you can change the setting by moving the slider to Medium.

Firefox:
Tools -> Options -> Privacy -> Accept Cookies

Mozilla:
Edit -> Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Accept all cookies

Safari:
Edit -> Preferences -> Security accept -> Cookies -> Always or Only from sites that I visit

Opera:
Tools -> Options -> Advanced -> Cookies -> Allow cookies

Netscape Communicator
Edit -> Preferences -> Privacy & Security -> Cookies -> Accept all cookies

Please refer to the compatibility of the selected browser with the operating system.

For questions and suggestions about our online application portal, please contact us at the following hotline: Telephone (...) (€ 0.06 per call) or you can reach us by e-mail: (...).

We ask for your understanding

Your Support Team (...)

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