Group:JavaScript Developers Task-Force/Reddit JavaScript Analysis - LibrePlanet

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=== Essential Reddit functionality that doesn't work with LibreJS 6.0.5 enabled (as of 11/2014) There may be more, this is just from a preliminary look.

Voting

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Changes that need to be made for reddit's essential functions to work with LibreJS enabledi

The majority of the scripts necessary for Reddit to function properly for the average user are, fortunately, free software. However, not all files are labelled as such. Additional efforts are also needed to ensure that LibreJS recognizes the distributed files as free.

Below, "source file" refers to the unminified source code in the Reddit repository.

Comments Page, et. al.i

reddit-init.en.js

The outer try/catch is added by r2/r2/lib/js.py:425
- Its license is irrelevant because the JavaScript is trivial
lib/json2.js
- It is in the public domain
lib/underscore-1.4.4.js
- Expat
lib/store.js
- Expat
lib/jed.js
- Some modifications made by reddit, as noted within the file
- WTFPL
- *Zak verified that the license is indeed free.*
base.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
preload.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX:Add license to source file
logging.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
uibase.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
i18n.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
utils.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
analytics.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
jquery.reddit.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
reddit.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
spotlight.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
adzerk
- This code is not included in the repository; it is also proprietary
- FIX: This should be loaded in a separate JavaScript file, or delimited in such a way that LibreJS will be able to disable it effectively.
- Tools like NoScript can be used to prevent scripts from loading on the adzerk domain, but NoScript cannot prevent the proprietary JS contained within the minified file itself from loading (unless the entire minified file is disallowed).
- Loads from:
  - az.turbobytes.net if https
  - otherwise static.adzerk.net
  - Creates an iframe that loads additional content:
    - - In the case of non-https: http://static.adzerk.net/reddit/ads-load.html?bust2
        
        Includes jQuery
        
        Includes http://secure.adzerk.net/ados.js?q=43
        
        No license; presumably proprietary.
      - http://static.adzerk.net/reddit/ads.html?sr=linux&bust2#http://www.reddit.com
  - Sets up messaging hooks for cross-origin communication
    - See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window.postMessage if unfamiliar
  - All the above also ends up in these being loaded:
    - http://static.adzrk.net/Extensions/adFeedback.js

reddit.en.js

Similar to above; ordered concatenation and subsequent minification:

templates.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
ui.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
login.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
flair.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
interestbar.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
visited.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
wiki.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
apps.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
gold.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
multi.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
recommender.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
JSON generated from r2/r2/lib/permissions.py
- License irrelevant; it is data. The Python file is under the Common Public Attribution License
Unknown r.config.cursed; not in the repository!
- The JavaScript is small and it looks like it's just intended to be a fun toy
  - It randomly positions elements that you mouse over, it looks like
  - But regardless, it's non-free JS
- FIX: Add to the repository with license information
- Ends with a trivial line that does not appear to be in the repository
  - Simply adds an i18n message; code is 104 chars and would look no different if not minified
  - FIX: Add to the repository with license information

Changes that would be good to make, but which are not necessary for the site's essential functions to work with LibreJS on

This is not comprehensive, but would be an excellent start.

Privacy Policy

policies.js
- Used on http://www.reddit.com/help/useragreement
- The source file contains no license
  - FIX: Add license to source file

Preferencesi

jquery.js
- Used on https://ssl.reddit.com/prefs/
- Already includes this header (just need to make LibreJS-compatible): /*! jQuery v1.7.2 jquery.com | jquery.org/license */
- FIX: Make aforementioned header LibreJS-compatible

ajax.googleapis.com/**/*.js

We obviously cannot add license headers to these files
- FIX: Use a separate page to describe licenses (Web Labels)

Blog

The blog is a particular concern---it uses a great deal of JavaScript, but seems to work fine without JavaScript enabled.

s.ytimg.com/yts/jsbin/*.js

www-embed-player.js
- Proprietary YouTube JavaScript
- Used for embedded video player
- FIX: Perhaps they could use an HTML5 player with free codecs instead, since YouTube serves up HML5-compatible content for many videos

www.youtube.com/embed/*

Used on blog.reddit.com
- FIX: They can provide us with the source code, or commit it to the repository
Various embed stuff for iframes; includes above JS
Contains non-free JavaScript used as configuration for above YouTube include
- That said, it's primarily data; it may be trivial
Loads http://www.google.com/js/bg/J3oN4k55bATX3riG5_bT7XUBXDr4fHU0iSqBW5OwyBU.js
- Some Google anti-spam thing
- Proprietary JS
- FIX: Same as above---use HTML5 video player with free codecs, if possible

https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/postmessageRelay?parent=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogger.com#rpctoken=378573301&forcesecure=1

Loads ssl.gstatic.com/accounts/o/1618667077-postmessagerelay.js
- Proprietary JS
- FIX: Remove.

http://www.google-analytics.com/ga.js

Proprietary JS
FIX: Remove.

www.blogger.com/static/v1

jsbin/3672639782-lbx.js
- 582kB of proprietary JS
widgets/3561504294-widgets.js
- 85kB more proprietary JS
Loads over half a dozen more smaller scripts from apis.google.com on top of that
FIX: Remove.

https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js

The notorious Google+ +1 button!
- Can track users
FIX: Remove; they can always share the link on their own

reddit.com

static/button.js
- Combined, minified file
- lib/jquery.cookie.js
  - Dual Expat/GPL
jquery.reddit.js
- The source file contains no license
- FIX: Add license to source file
- blogbutton.js
  - The source file contains no license
  - FIX: Add license to source file

About

redditstatic.com

about.js; concatenated, minified:
- Custom modernizer configuration
  - See http://modernizr.com/download/
  - Expat license (http://modernizr.com/license)
  - Does not exist in repository!
  - FIX: Add to repository with license information
(minified blob)
- Not in the repository!
- Might be part of Modernizr; looks to modify the Date object for consistency
- No license and might be proprietary
- FIX: Add to repository with license information
(minified blobs)
- Not in the repository!
- Some trivial hooks and stuff, on top of what's listed below (which is non-trivial and extensive)
The following Backbone views/models:
- SlideShowView
  - AboutSlideshowView
- TimelineEvent
- TimelineEventView
- TimelineView
  - AboutTimelineView
- GridView
  - PeopleGridView
- AboutSlideshowView
- TeamRouter
- DropdownView
- TeamMember
- SortableCollection
- PersonDetailsPopup
- PersonView
- Postcard
- PostcardCollection
- PostcardRouter
- PostcardOverlayView
  - PostcardInfoView
  - PostcardRedditView
  - PostcardCloseView
- PostcardZoomView
- PostcardView
- PostcardGridView
No license and is therefore proprietary
FIX: Add to repository with license information

General

Quick License Addition

This simple shell/sed script can be used to add the license header to all source files in one go, assuming that such a header is contained within the file license_header:

$ sed -i '
  1{
    r ./license_header
    h;d
  }
  2{H;g}' r2/r2/public/static/js/*.js

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Group: JavaScript Developers Task-Force/Reddit JavaScript Analysis

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