#1068355 ITP: badwolf -- A minimalist privacy oriented Webkit browser

#1068355#5
Date:
2024-04-04 04:42:06 UTC
From:
To:
* Package name : badwolf
Version : 1.3.0
Upstream Contact: Haelwenn (lanodan) Monnier contact+badwolf@hacktivis.me
* URL : https://hacktivis.me/projects/badwolf
* License : BSD 3 Clause
Programming Lang: C
Description : A minimalist privacy oriented Webkit browser

A minimalist privacy oriented Webkit browser, with a focus on security,
and customization


It's another alternative browser suited for use on low resource systems.
I plan to maintain it solo, and will need a sponsor. It's been ten years
since my last debian contribution

#1068355#8
Date:
2024-04-06 10:08:23 UTC
From:
To:
We already have so many browsers in Debian, all of which are in dire need of help.
Why do you want to introduce yet another one?

#1068355#13
Date:
2024-04-07 02:29:59 UTC
From:
To:
Hello:

   Bottom line web accessibility, as a user i find that the Mozilla, and
Chromium forks, are not meeting my accessibility needs.. This one works
for some purposes. That's the reason I'm doing it.. This is just one of
the 7 or 8 i use regularly. Don't worry this is the only one i'm
planning on introducing.. A secondary reason is that this browser has a
following among the "sustainable computing" folks. It's in the latest
Damn Small Linux alpha for example. Because of the intersection of
disability and poverty. I have been rather forced in to that interest
group.

   Indeed one could say that making Debian function better for persons
who are multiply disabled/have more obscure accessibility needs. And
also continues to function for low end/older/recycled hardware users is
my primary reason for returning to Debian after my 10 year "vacation"
[1].  Badwolf in main is sort of low hanging fruit, in that regard .

+Pius (Matt)

1. RIP Alioth :)

#1068355#16
Date:
2024-04-07 02:29:59 UTC
From:
To:
Hello:

   Bottom line web accessibility, as a user i find that the Mozilla, and
Chromium forks, are not meeting my accessibility needs.. This one works
for some purposes. That's the reason I'm doing it.. This is just one of
the 7 or 8 i use regularly. Don't worry this is the only one i'm
planning on introducing.. A secondary reason is that this browser has a
following among the "sustainable computing" folks. It's in the latest
Damn Small Linux alpha for example. Because of the intersection of
disability and poverty. I have been rather forced in to that interest
group.

   Indeed one could say that making Debian function better for persons
who are multiply disabled/have more obscure accessibility needs. And
also continues to function for low end/older/recycled hardware users is
my primary reason for returning to Debian after my 10 year "vacation"
[1].  Badwolf in main is sort of low hanging fruit, in that regard .

+Pius (Matt)

1. RIP Alioth :)

#1068355#19
Date:
2024-04-07 10:13:53 UTC
From:
To:
Hi Matt,

Thanks for the additional information. Badwolf is based on webkitgtk. The following browsers are available in Debian
that use the same engine and should therefore need more or less the same computing ressources:

epiphany-browser
luakit
surf

The virtual package www-browser is provided by other, even more lightweight browsers, e.g.

dillo
hv3
netsurf

I cannot speak to their accessibility features but maybe one of them suites your needs.
Can you pinpoint a badwolf feature that the suggestions do not have?
If so, I would like to help you get the browser in.

Thanks,
Bastian

#1068355#24
Date:
2024-04-07 13:32:31 UTC
From:
To:
Hi:

   Just an FYI "Pius" is my preferred name in this context.  I have it
showing as "Matt Arnold" so people who knew me 10 years ago, can still
recognize me. Hopefully, and know i didn't just fall off the turnip
truck yesterday :).

 > The following browsers are available in Debian that use the same
engine and should therefore need more or less the same computing resources:

   I wouldn't assume that at all.. gnome-web aka epiphany-browser.
Supports cross device bookmark sync using the Firefox Sync protocol,
Google Safe Browsing, Tab Sand boxing, PDF.js, and many other full fat
browser features. Which increase it's resource usage quite
substantially. The WebView engine is only half the story when it comes
to browsers...


   It's not that badwolf, has "features", it's more that it lacks,
them... For my sort of disability dumber is often better.. I also like
that you can disable javascript and images with a simple button click,
no extensions needed, no about:config. Just click and poof

   This rules out luakit for example... It's just doing too much
experimental stuff, and the ui is a bit unconventional...

   Surf is suckless software, many people have ethical issues with sl..
Because of upstreams behavior [1]. I don't know how it got packaged in
the first place as upstream is actively hostile to binary packages of
their software.

   Netsurf is HTML 4.01/CSS2 only and has a work in progress javeascript
engine, which is shall we say flaky, rules it out for many websites
these days. Dillo is lovely for reading ebooks, but not much else.

   gnome-web works well, and if people are happy with it fine, but it's
still a bit resource intensive for some people.. Although hopefully the
recent work porting it to HiakuOS will make it behave better in this
respect. Assuming that gets upstreamed

   Not sure about hv3,  but given that the javascript engine on which it
depends was last updated in 2009. And only claims conformity with
Ecmascript 3. . (1999)  I would suggest That it's mostly useless for
browsing today's web.

   Another point.. And this may have changed since 2014, but when i was
last involved software diversity was encouraged in the archive, my
understanding was and still is, that as a project, intending to be the
"universal operating system". Debian, understood that software comes in
as  many different types, as there are different types of people, and
that the mere existence of "another solution in the archive" was not of
itself a reason to exclude a package. If this is no longer true can you
please point me to some documentation of the change in policy. I'm sure
that under such a policy we could get rid of all the vi implementations,
because evil mode + emacs exists, which ought to be good enough for
anyone. 👿.


Thanks for the suggestion i will update the package to declare a
Provides: www-browser

Yours

+Pius (Matt)

1. https://tilde.team/%7Eben/suckmore/

2.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170325154149/http://adaptive-enterprises.com/~d/software/see/

#1068355#27
Date:
2024-04-07 13:32:31 UTC
From:
To:
Hi:

   Just an FYI "Pius" is my preferred name in this context.  I have it
showing as "Matt Arnold" so people who knew me 10 years ago, can still
recognize me. Hopefully, and know i didn't just fall off the turnip
truck yesterday :).

 > The following browsers are available in Debian that use the same
engine and should therefore need more or less the same computing resources:

   I wouldn't assume that at all.. gnome-web aka epiphany-browser.
Supports cross device bookmark sync using the Firefox Sync protocol,
Google Safe Browsing, Tab Sand boxing, PDF.js, and many other full fat
browser features. Which increase it's resource usage quite
substantially. The WebView engine is only half the story when it comes
to browsers...


   It's not that badwolf, has "features", it's more that it lacks,
them... For my sort of disability dumber is often better.. I also like
that you can disable javascript and images with a simple button click,
no extensions needed, no about:config. Just click and poof

   This rules out luakit for example... It's just doing too much
experimental stuff, and the ui is a bit unconventional...

   Surf is suckless software, many people have ethical issues with sl..
Because of upstreams behavior [1]. I don't know how it got packaged in
the first place as upstream is actively hostile to binary packages of
their software.

   Netsurf is HTML 4.01/CSS2 only and has a work in progress javeascript
engine, which is shall we say flaky, rules it out for many websites
these days. Dillo is lovely for reading ebooks, but not much else.

   gnome-web works well, and if people are happy with it fine, but it's
still a bit resource intensive for some people.. Although hopefully the
recent work porting it to HiakuOS will make it behave better in this
respect. Assuming that gets upstreamed

   Not sure about hv3,  but given that the javascript engine on which it
depends was last updated in 2009. And only claims conformity with
Ecmascript 3. . (1999)  I would suggest That it's mostly useless for
browsing today's web.

   Another point.. And this may have changed since 2014, but when i was
last involved software diversity was encouraged in the archive, my
understanding was and still is, that as a project, intending to be the
"universal operating system". Debian, understood that software comes in
as  many different types, as there are different types of people, and
that the mere existence of "another solution in the archive" was not of
itself a reason to exclude a package. If this is no longer true can you
please point me to some documentation of the change in policy. I'm sure
that under such a policy we could get rid of all the vi implementations,
because evil mode + emacs exists, which ought to be good enough for
anyone. 👿.


Thanks for the suggestion i will update the package to declare a
Provides: www-browser

Yours

+Pius (Matt)

1. https://tilde.team/%7Eben/suckmore/

2.
https://web.archive.org/web/20170325154149/http://adaptive-enterprises.com/~d/software/see/