Web Idiots Award
This award goes to Bureau van Dijk for messing up a perfectly workable user interface with flaky Javascript in an attempt to protect their MINT business information system.
Despite the fact that this is an (expensive) paid product, and one can actually export large amounts of information from within the web application, BvD have decided to disable all forms of copy and pasting, and right-clicking anywhere on their company report screens.
This is totally petty and breaks web ussability standards. “View Source” is not the only item on the usual contextual ‘right-click’ menu.
It makes copying small pieces of information, such as addresses or names, nearly impossible. The site employs useful javascript elsewhere, so simply turning it off to circumvent the petty little JavaScript “KeyListener” (yes, I have read your source code despite you trying to protect it) is pointless.
Congratulations BvD, you’ve just lost any respect I had for your system. I’d suggest you remove clunky JavaScript from your already over-clogged pages, and help improve user efficiency and experience.
Then you can concentrate on stabilising your web server.
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October 26th, 2005 at 2:26 pm
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November 8th, 2005 at 5:25 pm
Dear mr Merrett,
The simplest solution to your ‘problem’ is to contact your local account manager at Bureau van Dijk office and he/she will turn of the right click pop-up for you.
Kind regards,
Patrick Oosterling
Bureau van Dijk Amsterdam The Netherlands
November 8th, 2005 at 6:09 pm
Dear Patrick,
Please don’t put the word “problem” in quotes – that makes no sense. Are you attempting sarcasm? If so, it doesn’t work, because it is a real problem.
You already have an overpriced, bloated product that only works in the world’s least standards-compliant browser (Internet Explorer), and not content with this you decide after the product has been released to add the ridiculous and petty ‘no right click’ code.
I thought most decent web programmers had realised that this type of Javascript use is not really a deterrent at all, and simply frustrates regular users.
In fact, it seems that someone has contacted their account manager, because the ‘feature’ (quotes are necessary because a feature is something that should enhance a product) has since been removed.
Perhaps you are trying to tell me that I shouldn’t write about companies and software that I find irritating? If so, perhaps you would be kind enough to be explicit. You are obviously keeping a track on who writes about your company.
November 9th, 2005 at 3:49 pm
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