Help new users find out why a request was blocked

[gitressa]

If a request has been blocked in Firefox, for example for a file called /matomo.js, it is listed in red under "Network", with "Blocked By uBlock Origin" under "Transferred".

But it is not immediately clear to a new or casual user why, and you need to know where to look.

For a knowledgable user:

1. Open a site in Firefox and see that a script (/matomo.js) is not loaded under Network
2. Open uBlock Origin
3. Click the Logger icon (second last, "Open the logger")
4. Click Reload icon ("Reload the tab content")
5. See /matomo.js$from=~github.com in the list, marked red
6. Click it and see it is defined in the EasyPrivacy list:

   Filter: /matomo.js$from=~github.com
   Filter list: EasyPrivacy (moz-extension://d34daba7-534f-48cc-b83b-c4ba3f8b2d01/asset-viewer.html?url=easyprivacy)

Proposals

1. Expand Network message text?
   Can we expand the "Blocked By uBlock Origin" text under "Network" > "Transferred" to help new users?

   Blocked by uBlock Origin, open Logger and reload for details

   Double-clicking the line in "Network" is probably hard coded in Firefox to open the file, though it would have been nice if it opened the tab in Logger, and then did an automatic reload instead.

2. New uBlock tab in Firefox > Network > Detail pane?
   I guess it would also not be possible to add a "uBlock" file details tab with more info?
   

3. Link to Logger from tab summary?
   But how about linking the "Blocked on this page" text to Logger, with filter "blocked" applied and an automatic reload? That could be a big help:
   

[stephenhawk8054]

Can we expand the "Blocked By uBlock Origin" text under "Network" > "Transferred"

If you mean the Network pane inside the browser devtools, that's browser tool. uBO has no controls over that, and it cannot change the text "Blocked By uBlock Origin" to "Blocked by uBlock Origin, open Logger and reload for details". The browsers are the ones writing those texts.

[gitressa]

Thank you so much for a fast and thorough answer, and for clearing that up. I did do a search for the string "Blocked By", but found nothing ...

New uBlock tab in Firefox > Network > Detail pane?
I guess it would also not be possible to add a "uBlock" file details tab with more info?

Link to Logger from tab summary?
But how about linking the "Blocked on this page" text to Logger, with filter "blocked" applied and an automatic reload? That could be a big help:

[stephenhawk8054]

No, it can't.

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But how about linking the "Blocked on this page" text to Logger, with filter "blocked" applied and an automatic reload?

I don't understand what you mean.

[Yuki2718]

No, it can't.

That might be possible, as AdGuard does with the Elements pane on Chrome. Not sure about the Network pane or on Firefox though (no equivalent on Firefox with AdGuard enabled).

[u-RraaLL]

But how about linking the "Blocked on this page" text to Logger, with filter "blocked" applied and an automatic reload? That could be a big help:

Okay, how would you expect new users to know that clicking there would behave this way?

There's literally link to the logger below this, so there's no reason to add another one.

The difference of the "automatic refresh" can be an issue in itself. You have no idea what a user would be in the process of on the page before opening uBO's popup. Auto refresh like that could lead to loss of input data, etc.
Also, reloading a page doesn't always bear the same results. Some things would load from cache. Not the blocked items, of course, but the results wouldn't be full, while users would likely assume there were.

[gitressa]

Thanks @Yuki2718, it sounds great that it may be possible.

@stephenhawk8054: I mean turn the text "Blocked on this page" into a link, and point it to the Logger page, just as if you had clicked the Logger icon. I tried adding an underline, to signify that it is a link.

[uBlock-user]

You could just learn how to use the logger by reading the wiki like the rest of us.

You posted one suggestion about embedding uBO inside the Network pane, but that is something @gorhill will have to assess.

[gitressa]

This is not about me, but helping new and casual users.

I do not understand why this issue was closed, were we not to wait and see what @gorhill thinks about this?

[gorhill]

see what @gorhill thinks about this?

I prefer to decline, I don't see the need of investing a lot of time and effort when the logger icon button in the popup panel is so easy to reach and use. A lot of the motivation to invest time and effort is when I am myself annoyed at some workflow, and I don't see an actual issue here.

[gitressa]

Thanks for weighing in, and I really appreciate your great work with uBlock Origin. I do understand the need to prioritise, and if it takes a big effort, I agree to not pursue this.

The challenge is that only a minority of users study the manual, so they would not know that the Logger icon is the place to look ... Conversely, super users -- such as yourself and other maintainers -- know uBlock Origin like the back of your hand, and know exactly where to find this information.

[u-RraaLL]

Everybody here started with zero knowledge and learned more gradually.

I agree that docs are not exactly the user friendly tutorials* most laypeople would hope for, but users can search uBO's subreddit for similar questions and ask new ones if they're unable to find an answer.

Search engines do exist. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=ublock+origin+how+to+see+what+is+blocked&ia=web
The 2nd result for me here is link to the Logger's doc page. The third is a reddit question about the same. The user actually deleted their post, but the question remains indexed in DDG and comments are still valid.

This is not about me, but helping new and casual users.

I've already asked in my previous comment - why do think new users would just know to click there in the first place?
Besides, uBO's been around for roughly 12 years now. AFAIK this is the first such suggestion, so it might be less needed than you think.

*Regarding actual tutorials - I had been thinking about making some. I've actually some drafts started and more planned for reddit, but intentions are one thing, and actually finding the free time and energy to follow through is another thing altogether.

[uBlock-user]

but helping new and casual users.

You don't represent new and casual users. If they have issues, they will refer to wiki or they can create a discussion.

only a minority of users study the manual

No solution for lazyness.

[gitressa]

Thank you so much @u-RraaLL for a positive and solution-oriented answer.

I agree that a certain level of knowledge of the program makes sense, to get it set up. And everyone is doing the best they can, and we all have limited time, I totally agree.

From my view point, I made simple and well documented suggestions. How am I supposed to know if it takes five minutes or two months to build? I can't.

I am not a developer, but a casual user who many years ago read and understood the basics to get my desired set up, tweaked it, and forgot about the things I no longer need to use, like Logger.

Initially, my hope was that we simply stated an explanation directly under "Network" > "Transferred" to help new user: "Blocked by uBlock Origin, open Logger and reload for details" which was not possible.

Then I brainstormed for other options, can we double-click it? Can we Link to Logger from tab summary? But it seems now, that the efforts are too big, and I accept that. About knowing if it is clickable -- the universal method on the internet is underlining it with a blue line, which flickers when you hover over it. That could work?

About not hearing about it before (people not understanding why something was blocked) maybe it happened to a lot of users, but they just didn't create an issue? I don't know ...

But your idea about making tutorial sound like a wonderful idea, and I totally support that. Feel free to drop a note here, if or when you have something ready, I will gladly give it a look over for feedback, if you are interested.

From my perspective, more documentation is always a good thing. Have a nice day.

[krystian3w]

https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/The-logger

The mentioned matomo (formerly Piwik) is a system for tracking what the user does on the website, the default configuration blocks it with privacy protection lists against tracking (e.g. EasyPrivacy List).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matomo_(software)

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However, the logger can not read the minds of the list creators.

[gitressa]

Thanks, I do know what it is and why it's blocked. But please don't fixate on Matomo, it's just an example.

In essence, this issue has only one focus:

Make it easier for new and casual users to understand why something is blocked.

This will also serve as an educational tool, to make these users aware of the Logger.

[stephenhawk8054]

Every once in a while, another user wants to add more things to the UI to fit their needs and thinking that "it would be better" while in reality, other users will just come here to complain that those don't fit them either.

Who's gonna maintain the code debts with each suggestion? The ones who suggest or the devs? We are volunteers. We have little free time to help resolving issues from different websites everyday. We don't have time to make it an "educational tool". We have lives outside github.

There's a wiki in uBO project. Anyone can go and read there. Anyone who has questions can come here and ask. Don't ask for more things on the UI and make it more complex to maintain.