A new spam policy for “back button hijacking” (developers.google.com)

Article summary

The article discusses a new policy aimed at preventing 'back button hijacking', a practice where websites manipulate the browser's history to redirect users to unwanted pages or ads. Commenters reveal that this issue has been frustrating users for a long time and has been exploited by spammers. The policy aims to demote websites that engage in this practice in search results. The discussion focuses on the implications of this policy and the legitimacy of modifying browser history for various purposes.

Main themes

• Back button hijacking
• Browser history manipulation
• SEO policy
• Web development practices
• User experience

What commenters say

• Websites should not be allowed to manipulate browser history for any purpose, as it breaks the fundamental expectation of the back button's behavior.
• Some legitimate uses of programmatically adding history entries, such as in single-page applications, are necessary for a good user experience.
• The policy should focus on preventing deceptive or malicious uses of history manipulation, rather than all uses of the practice.
• Browser design should prioritize preventing back button hijacking, rather than relying on policies to address the issue.
• The line between legitimate and malicious uses of history manipulation can be blurry, and intent may not be a reliable criterion for distinguishing between the two.
• Incompetence, rather than malicious intent, may be the cause of some instances of back button hijacking, and this should be taken into account when evaluating websites.
• The web's evolution into a software SDK has led to the exploitation of features like browser history manipulation for user abuse, and a return to simpler web design might be desirable.
• Some commenters argue that the benefits of modern web features outweigh the drawbacks, and that the web is better now than it was in the past.