HN-Paywall-Archiver
DownloadNet
HN-Paywall-Archiver | DownloadNet | |
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1 | 20 | |
5 | 3,648 | |
- | 1.8% | |
10.0 | 6.1 | |
almost 2 years ago | 10 days ago | |
JavaScript | JavaScript | |
- | GNU General Public License v3.0 or later |
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For example, an activity of 9.0 indicates that a project is amongst the top 10% of the most actively developed projects that we are tracking.
HN-Paywall-Archiver
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Show HN: A userscript that adds archive URLs below the paywalled HN submissions
Source code: https://github.com/MostlyEmre/hn-anti-paywall
Now let me overexplain.
-Why?-
I never liked paywalled articles. I understand where they come from, but I don't like where we cross our paths.
This is why I don't use major news aggregators anymore. Instead, I spend my "catching-up-with-the-world-time" on Hacker News. However, Hacker News (HN) also has its fair-share of paywalled articles. (Around 11.6% according to my short-lived, half-assed attempt at measuring it. See my super old data https://hpa.emre.ca/ I tell the story below.)
-First try-
Around a year ago, when I ran the above experiment, my goal wasn't to run that experiment. It was during my self-teaching & career-changing process, I decided to build a React HN clone. To make it stand-out from the bunch, I added a paywall feature. It would detect paywalled articles and would add an archive URL into the metadata.
The issue with archiving is unless someone archived the link before on the {archiving-project} then the link is most likely not archived. So me sending people to those projects meant nothing. It kinda meant something for me from an ideological standpoint but I assume you are not me.
This rubbed me the wrong way. I decided to build a backend (See https://github.com/MostlyEmre/HN-Paywall-Archiver) that would scan the links and automatically to detect paywalls close to real-time and submit paywalled ones to archive.is for archival. I used Nodejs, Firebase, and React. I was -still am- really proud because I believed it was doing public good in terms of digital preservation. Only 1 person needed to run this script to benefit everyone. As an extra, I was curious on how many paywalled articles were being shared, by whom, at what time. So I also created some analytics functionality to gather the data. And later created a UI to present it.
HN-Paywall-Archiver was great but I stopped running the backend at some point. Because at that point couldn't find a way to continuously run my backend code on some platform for cheap or didn't try hard enough.
P.S. Recently I've been thinking of remaking this version with Cloudflare Workers.
-Hacker News Paywall Archiver Userscript-
After almost a year, I got into userscripts. Super great super awesome concept. People seem to hate javascript unless it is presented as a userscript. So I decided to get my hands dirty to create a simple solution that solves the paywall issue on HN without breaking any hearts.
My solution is not perfect as it had to be simple. But here's the rundown.
Pros:
- Does not beg for attention.
DownloadNet
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ArchiveBox: Open-source self-hosted web archiving
For anyone who uses Chrome and wants to view their archived pages in the browser as if they were still online (URL and everything intact), and also full-text search through their browsing history that was archived (like AB plans to add in future, I think, right nikki?) you can check out DownloadNet: https://github.com/dosyago/DownloadNet
You can have multiple archives, and even use a mode where you only archive pages you bookmark rather than everything.
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Show HN: Rem: Remember Everything (open source)
This does look cool. It reminds me of a recent discovery I made. The other day, while trying to recover some disk space, I found a giant file on my hard disk. It turned out to be a nine-hour screen recording from almost a year ago. I had no idea it existed, so I mustâve accidentally left the screen recording on. Watching it was fascinating; it was like a window into my thought process at that time. You could see how I was researching something online. It was almost like a play-by-play, akin to re-watching a sports performance â very instructive and surprisingly useful.
In a similar vein to what youâve done, but focusing specifically on web browsing, Iâve created a tool called âDownloadNet.â It archives for offline use and fully indexes every page you visit. Additionally, it can be configured to archive only the pages you bookmark, offering another mode of operation. Itâs an open-source tool, so feel free to check it out: https://github.com/dosyago/DownloadNet
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You're Gonna Need a Bigger Browser
Given that I directly work in this space I found the article's synthesis of a range of ideas about browser innovation to be highly relevant.
More generally, the article is actually extremely interesting and examines a bunch of ideas worthy of consideration if you're interested in the future of web browsing.
Perhaps none of the ideas are new in isolation, but it's encouraging that people are doing this foundational conceptual work and imagining where a synthesis of them would go.
Despite being interesting somehow on the page it was not so easy to read. Here's a summary of key ideas:
Stagnation in Browser Evolution: Berjon notes that despite being central to the web's architecture, browsers haven't changed much in their fundamental design for a long time. They have undergone incremental changes but the core concept remains largely the same as it was decades ago.
Reimagining Browsers: He suggests that to increase user agencyâa principle that the web should empower usersâwe need to consider major overhauls to what a browser is and how it operates.
Integration of Search and Social: Berjon challenges the traditional separation of browsers, search engines, and social platforms. He advocates for an integrated approach where the browser encompasses these functions, aligning more closely with users' experiences and expectations.
Shift From Client to Agent: The author proposes rethinking the browser not just as a client for retrieving documents but as an "agent" that provides a variety of services, potentially including server-like functions, to empower users.
User Agency and Personal Data Servers: By incorporating elements such as Personal Data Servers (PDS), users could manage their own data and services like recommendations, identity, and subscriptions, which currently rely on third-party providers.
Tab Management: Berjon critiques the use of tabs, suggesting that they are an ineffective method for organizing and interacting with web content, and advocates for better UI solutions.
Business Models: He delves into the financial aspects of browsers, highlighting the significant profits derived from setting search engine defaults. Berjon argues for reinvestment of these profits into the web as a public good and for developing business models that truly benefit user agency.
Potential for Change: Despite the challenges, Berjon is optimistic about the possibility of change, noting that there is room for product differentiation and that financial incentives can drive innovation in the browser space.
I found the one about User Agency and Personal Data Servers particularly fascinating. I've been exploring the idea of a federated search engine, where a person curates their own search through their browsing history (and ultimately could share it socially), in DownloadNet: https://github.com/dosyago/DownloadNet
And my company has been developing a platform for building extended and customized browsing experiences and delivering them anywhere. It's my hope that BrowserBox will play a part in the future direction of the browser as user agent. It's open source so if you care about the future of the web, get involved: https://github.com/BrowserBox/BrowserBox :)
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Google Chrome pushes browser history-based ad targeting
If you're interested in utilizing your history information for something in your intentional interests, consider saving an archive of pages you browse to make a search engine you can query back through later.
You can save the full content for indexing with full text search, and you can even export archives as tarballs by zipping up the directory. Many people find this a useful way to "mine" their own browser history to create a curated search engine aligned with your interests. Or simply to save the pages they browse for review offline--either to save bandwidth, or just because they're actually "offline"--at a remote site, or on an airplane.
Everything is saved in a fully interactive way. Personally tho, I find search the most useful feature. Also, we're open source so if you want to get involved, please do so!
https://github.com/dosyago/DiskerNet
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Show HN: Linkwarden â An open source collaborative bookmark manager
If you want full-text-search with archiving check out my project, DiskerNet. https://github.com/dosyago/DiskerNet --> also well done on LinkWarden! Looks like a great product! :)
- Show HN: DiskerNet â Browse the Internet from Your Disk, Now Open Source
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Wayback: Self-hosted archiving service integrated with Internet Archive
For archiving, look into https://github.com/dosyago/DiskerNet
It's real next gen thinking on this topic.
As for the featured tool wayback... If HN readers can't figure out what it does after reading docs, its likely the thinking behind it is equally unclear.
- DiskerNet - Save and index web content locally
- Show HN: DiskerNet â save and index web content locally
What are some alternatives?
freeRep - Bypass repubblica.it and lastampa.it paywall
min - A fast, minimal browser that protects your privacy
Archiver - a streaming interface for archive generation
SingleFileZ - Web Extension to save a faithful copy of an entire web page in a self-extracting ZIP file
bypass-paywalls-chrome - Bypass Paywalls web browser extension for Chrome and Firefox.
BackstopJS - Catch CSS curve balls.
SingleFile - Web Extension for saving a faithful copy of a complete web page in a single HTML file
hamsterbase - self-hosted, local-first web archive application.
hn-anti-paywall - A userscript for Hacker News that adds archive links under submissions that include paywalled articles.
ZAP - The ZAP core project
activitywatch - The best free and open-source automated time tracker. Cross-platform, extensible, privacy-focused.