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Website error messages aren't always accurate. For example, the Windows 95/98/ME forum at Bleeping Computer will not load using RetroZilla's default User Agent indicating JavaScript is required, it's not. Using the User Agent Switcher extension change the default user agent selection to something remotely more modern, such as built-in Opera 9.2 (Windows Vista), and the page will load. This doesn't always work but worth a try.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/f/9/windows-9598me/

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Just sharing a little CSS tweak for Retrozilla, K-Meleon1.5.4 and probably other browsers too, if you prefer to keep javascript disabled:

Without javascript, certain websites are either completely empty or crucial page elements are hidden. That can be done in different ways of course. One method is an SVG-trick for hiding content.
Examples:
https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2019/05/europe/finland-fake-news-intl/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/jsminnpp/files/Uni/
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/downloads/

I suppose such pages will show up when javascript is enabled...

Without JS, they only show up when disabling inline-styles.
Retrozilla: View > Use Style > None
Retrozilla-Firefox2: View > Page Style > No Style
K-Meleon: Prob, that requires an updated stylekiller macro. Have a working beta,
but not ready yet for posting (another mini-macro grown to monster length, as so often, sigh)

But here's a better workaround, fully automatic and also without JS:
Just add a little css-tweak to your user styles.
Without domain conditions there may possibly be false positives too, but had no probs so far.
This CSS can be added in either
.../profile/chrome/userContent.css or adblock.css
(rename userContent-example.css if not yet done /
In KM adblock preferred since it can be toggled on/off during session, userContent not)
----------
/* NOSCRIPT workaround for some EMPTY pages, or incomplete content, if hidden by SVG-trick:
HTML is inside an invisible SVG-tag, requiring javascript to make visible.
Gray dashed border and ##HIDDEN## lines are OPTIONAL gimmicks, just to see where it applies.
*/
svg[style*="display: none"] , svg[style*="visibility: hidden"] {
display: block !important;
visibility: visible !important;
position: relative !important;
width: auto !important;
height: auto !important;
pointer-events: auto !important;
border: 4px dashed gray !important;
}
svg[style*="display: none"]:before {content: " (####HIDDEN SVG####) _ _ _ _ " ;}
svg[style*="visibility: hidden"]:before {content: " (####HIDDEN SVG####) _ _ _ _ " ;}
----------
Minor catch:
if you do have javascript enabled, this css is unnecessary, but can't add a condition "mark only if javascript is off" ;-) So IF you keep the optional dashed border and marker text, it will show up always, even if unnecessary.

If you want to apply this to SPECIFIC DOMAINS only, wrap this around the code:
----------
@-moz-document domain(example1.com),
domain(example2.com) ,
domain(example3.com) {
.....css code above....
}

Edited by siria
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Thank-you siria for this great global tweak. Worked on the example sites here too. Didn't come across any other sites with recent browsing but no doubt they are out there. The 'Rendering Issues' section of the first post was edited with a simplified variation of your code and a link to your post. The dashed border was reduced to 4px, to me it's less obtrusive yet clearly shows when the tweak makes a difference. Thanks again.

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Great it's added in first post, thanx :-)

Just another example page:
https://www.chip.de/artikel/Pfannen-Test-2020-Bratpfannen-Testsieger-bei-OeKO-TEST_146932113.html
Now noticed that trick is especially helpful for a few pages, like cnn:
this method keeps the graphics and tables readable, unlike complete stylekill.

You're right that 8px red is too massive for general use.
I made it so extreme and with visible ##infotext## since my user css is so chock full with rules (incl. tons of notes 200kB) that they can interfere with each other. For example have cyan borders around all iframes, and lime green borders around all video stuff, and all sorts of red borders for various other stuff too, confusing myself what's what ;-)
Now fiddled and tested some more, and decided to make it just 4px too, like you.
Just not red, instead "gray". That's more intuitive to remember among my other styles (gray=hidden).
First tested 6px dotted gray, which looks best, but on sites where the text is glued to the border the dots are too hard on the eyes. Could add an additional "padding: 12px;" but better not mess too much, so returning to "dashed" again.
border: 4px dashed gray

Side note for tweakers: just learned today those css selectors must match the "computed" version too. For example an original style="display:none" becomes style="display: none;" and "display:none !important" becomes "display: none ! important;"
.

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Hi siria. Thanks again for feedback. Grey looks good, personally like red, maybe aging eyes, best shows off your handiwork :)

Will leave post #1 as is, personal preference and user can decide to change 'red' to 'grey', comment out or delete the line as desired.

/*
* border: 4px dashed red !important;
*/

Edited by Wunderbar98
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CSS COMMENT syntax

Had to look this up now, but the only valid comment syntax in CSS is still /*....*/
Although amazingly a javascript 1 line comment // seemed to work too when I now tested it. That would have been much handier. But after googling around, in CSS this is not treated as comment, but actually as error, and depending on the text content it may break next lines too. Pity!

This page explains it in detail: https://www.xanthir.com/b4U10
To sum up:

// 1-line comments like in JS:
Only SEEMS to work at first, but in fact are treated as errors, and linebreaks are not the end of it.
// => ignores single rules until next semicolon, or if placed before a whole ruleset, ignores it until next "}"
So // can work as lazy hack for RULES (2 chars // instead of 4 /* */), if aware.
But messy with free TEXT comments, still stops only at next ";" or "}"
A text comment could still be ended by typing a semicolon or {}, but that's already 3-4 chars again, no gain

HA! But some commenters on that blog pointed out that this could still be a brilliant hack to get NESTED comments! I often ran into that stupid prob:
a longer css code block with shattered text comments here and there, and then I want to temporarily disable the whole block, BUT: with normal syntax not possible. First had to edit every single comment inside too, a major PITA.
Someone also mentioned that it doesn't matter at all if "//" is used or any other invalid stuff, one uses "@comment"
=> Hehe, will now definitely start using this great trick! :)
Just not quite sure yet which error-chars to use exactly, needs a bit more playing. Doing a page search for double-slashes will find hundreds of hits inside URLs, but "@comment" could simply be put at beginning of a whole block. Hmm, but there's a catch, this breaks syntax-highlighting in NPP, still displayed like active code. Too bad... Or may simply use @@ instead of // to comment out just short single rules like @@border ? Will have to test this awhile... At any rate it's important to REMEMBER such hacks if used. Edited by siria
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Thank-you for clarifying siria and for doing your homework, obviously i did not :)

Should have known better as the chrome example *.css files use the cumbersome comment method even for one liners. The @comment find is interesting. My mistake posted above was edited.

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1 line is enough, that's also usual :)
/* border: 4px dashed red !important; */

Just did some more experimenting, and delighted to find this hack really WORKS to easily disable/break/ignore any amount of stuff in my complicated 200kb css-file, no matter the content! Simply wrapping a whole bunch of code+comment blocks into new Begin/End markers like this:

@@comment{
....CSS to hide....
}

Even half the file or more without any worries about the engine "guessing" wrong End points :)

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  • 3 months later...

Legacy Twitter has been very useful, didn't even require JavaScript. Just saw this on their site today. The Twitter search engine from the RetroZilla Search Engine collection utilizes the legacy version, so this will likely break right away. Goodbye Twitter, nice knowing you.

This is the legacy version of twitter.com. We will be shutting it down on 15 December 2020. Please switch to a supported browser or device. You can see a list of supported browsers in our Help Center. You are on Twitter Mobile because you are using an old version of Firefox.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Thanks for reporting @roytam1 and your contributions to Windows 9x. Been patiently waiting, unfortunately no new build on github based on merged changes. Last official release is still February 2019 and a freshly downloaded installer still has the same md5sum. This RetroZilla build occasionally shows it's age with protocol errors. I will keep monitoring github or eventually just over-zip @roytam1 contributions as described earlier in the thread.

Reference md5sum for February 2019 build:
9ce54791efc6f80e6b41eb3d84b9a970 retrozilla-2.2.en-US.win32.installer.exe

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The RetroZilla Search Engine Collection was updated, linked in the first post. Use whatever search engine(s) you want, easily accessible via F9 key. For day to day use DuckDuckGo-Lite is very good, efficient, nice layout, provides Zero-click info for many queries.

All search engines work with JavaScript disabled though some render results better than others. Note Startpage requires an updated user agent string, install the User Agent Switcher extension and use it's Internet Explorer 7 Windows Vista user agent for example (see RetroZilla Extensions Collection).

Changes:

Removed Twitter legacy search as Twitter no longer provides this accessibility and full-featured Twitter can't be accessed in RetroZilla.

Added Wiby 'Search Engine for the Classic Web', thanks for mentioning @Gansangriff.
https://wiby.me/about/

Removed YouTube search as the site no longer displays in RetroZilla.

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