Re: trunk r118293: url-http.el: introduce url-user-agent

Re: trunk r118293: url-http.el: introduce url-user-agent

[Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen]

Teodor Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com> writes:

> +(defcustom url-user-agent (format "User-Agent: %sURL/%s\r\n"
> +				  (if url-package-name
> +				      (concat url-package-name "/"
> +					      url-package-version " ")
> +				    "") url-version)

Last time this was suggested, the discussion concluded with the decision
not to add this, since this is information leakage that helps track
users.

I think.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Re: trunk r118293: url-http.el: introduce url-user-agent

[Ted Zlatanov]

On Wed, 05 Nov 2014 17:23:12 +0100 Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org> wrote: 

LMI> Teodor Zlatanov <tzz@lifelogs.com> writes:
>> +(defcustom url-user-agent (format "User-Agent: %sURL/%s\r\n"
>> +				  (if url-package-name
>> +				      (concat url-package-name "/"
>> +					      url-package-version " ")
>> +				    "") url-version)

LMI> Last time this was suggested, the discussion concluded with the decision
LMI> not to add this, since this is information leakage that helps track
LMI> users.

This just takes the existing string and makes it a defcustom variable,
without leaking more information than before. See Bug#16498 and the full
patch for details :)

Ted

Re: trunk r118293: url-http.el: introduce url-user-agent

[raman]

Agreed. Also, sending out something like emacs/url is also not useful
(happens at present) in the http user agent header, since many sites
just serve you fallback content. I added a masquerade function in
emacspeak-eww so I can have it spoof today's "supported" set of
browsers. This was alas not how the Web was meant to be, but sadly, it's
what the Web has come to be.