The Only Way to Browse Myspace

I said it before, and I’ll say it again. MySpace is the new Geocities. It’s the place where everyone takes their first steps in web design, creating very shitty looking pages. The default layout is a revolting abomination built with few dozen levels of improperly nested tables. I once plugged it into the W3C HTML validator, and I shit you not, it punched me in the face for sending it such mangled code. To add insult to injury the popular thing nowadays is for users to inject malformed CSS into the body of their profile producing the ugliest shit on earth. It seems that chief MySpace design rule is: if you can read the text without highlighting it, it’s not done yet.

For some inexplicable reason most MySpace users absolutely love, ugly, cluttered, unreadable profiles. You can whine and complain but they are not going to listen. Ugly ass myspace pages that hurt your eyes, and provoke cause nausea and are here to stay. But there is a solution. There is a way to browse myspace without subjecting yourself to the shitty layouts and musing. There are two things you need to accomplish this:

  1. Firefox
  2. Greasemonkey

One thing that I hate more than the shitty page layouts is shitty music blaring at me from a page with a shitty layout. Auto-play is fucking inconsiderate, annoying and evil. And of course it is the default for MySpace media player. This is why I use the Automatic MySpace Media Remover script. It disables the flash media player by default, and replaces it with a placeholder. You can bring it back by clicking on it.

Then there is the matter of ugly ass layouts. We can make them go away with greasemonkey as well. Personally, I use the Custom Layout Dis/Enable which actually gives you a button in the upper right corner that you can hit to strip the site out of layout. If you don’t like it, there are several other similar scripts like this one, or even this one.

Now, if I could only have a Stupidity Filter script or plugin, MySpace would actually be a nice website to visit. ;)

[tags]myspace, greasemonkey, custom layout, remove custom myspace layout, remove myspace media[/tags]

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11 Responses to The Only Way to Browse Myspace

  1. Starhawk UNITED STATES Mozilla Ubuntu Linux says:

    Wow I had to try the Custom Layout Dis/Enable script. I figured there was a script for that (too lazy to google) but I have been disabling CSS using the web developer toolbar. that does the trick too, but the layout dis/enable script looks more useful, limiting image sizes and stuff.

    I’ve been using the myspace media remover for a while now. My only criticism is that it only blocks myspace flash players and not players from elsewhere which some people add to their pages or blogs.

    Also useful on myspace is of course Ad block plus. I figure most of your readers know about that tho.

    Since i hate the msplink thing myspace does to links these days I use MSPlink script. This script will reveal the original link so ya have a clue where it leads to.

    Also useful is MySpace – Add Image Links 2 which “Adds a small set of links to the bottom of each [myspace users profile] picture allowing you to do many different things without having to go to the person’s profile.” I like it cause i can comment on profiles without visiting and loading the damn thing. haha Useful for those nuts that gotta put 10 videos and 1000 pictures on there page ;)

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  2. mike CANADA Internet Explorer Windows says:

    and I shit you not, it punched me in the face for sending it such mangled code

    LMAO!!!

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  3. Matt` UNITED KINGDOM Mozilla Firefox Windows Terminalist says:

    In the short space between seeing the title and reading the post I was thinking “with Adblock and NoScript enabled… or in Lynx”

    I’d already seen the Automatic Myspace Media Remover.. haven’t seen the Layout Disabler though :) (not that I would be on a Myspace page by choice.. these things are really just there in case of a once-in-a-year event :wink:)

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  4. ST/op DENMARK Kazehakase Debian GNU/Linux says:

    WTF is Myspace? ;-)


    “If you don’t like it, don’t surf it!”

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  5. Luke Maciak UNITED STATES Mozilla Firefox Windows says:

    @Starhawk – well, I wouldn’t browse any page without adblock – not just myspace. Oh and btw, I haven’t even noticed the link thing. I only pop in and pop out when I have to. :)

    @Matt` – I think Lynx would fail miserably at rendering some of the MySpace pages. Besides, most people go there to see people’s pictures, so Lynx wouldn’t be helpful here.

    @ST/op – well, I don’t like it, but some people I know don’t ever use email. So the only reliable way to send them a message if they are not on IM is via MySpace. :P

    Btw, Kazehakase FTW!

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  6. ST/op DENMARK Kazehakase Debian GNU/Linux says:

    @Luke – (the following being completly off-topic here!) Kazehakase sucks big time on my old Thinkpad 266Mhz (running an heavily modified Xubuntu, now re-centered on Fluxbox + Rox, a few things borrowed from Antix). Besides being unpronounceable, Kazehakase achieves being outperformed by Firefox, Epiphany and Konqueror on this configuration! Not bad for a “lightweight” navigator! Loading the executable is pretty fast, but rendering performance is very, very disappointing. But I do like the concept, and will continue testing it for a while. Maybe it can be fixed…

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  7. Luke Maciak UNITED STATES Mozilla Firefox Windows says:

    It didn’t work that well on my old junker either. Have you tried Hv3? It’s still a bit buggy, but it pretty much fits in the the gap between Kazehakese and Dillo.

    And yeah, the name is 100% unpronounceable. And every single time I try to mention it I have to check how it is spelled. :P

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  8. vacri AUSTRALIA Mozilla Firefox Ubuntu Linux says:

    It seems that chief MySpace design rule is: if you can read the text without highlighting it, it’s not done yet.

    Truer words were never spoken.

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  9. Miloš UNITED STATES Mozilla Firefox Windows says:

    Well said! You have summarized what all of us have been thinking for a while. Just to add to the list of MySpace atrocities is the use of a layout generator of some sorts. When you want to leave their ugly page by clicking on home it takes you to the home page of that ugly generator. MS is poorly developed, but I guess it is a perfect example of the importance of being first (or close to first) to market.

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  10. Luke Maciak UNITED STATES Mozilla Firefox Ubuntu Linux says:

    Actually, those damn layout generators can be used to distribute mallware. People who use them usually don’t have enough know-how to remove the tacky banners and link overlays. In effect, you can end up with dozens if not hundreds of people whose “Pictures” link leads you to a page that xploits some IE security hole and download a whole bucket load of trojans onto your system.

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  11. Amazahzing UNITED STATES Mozilla Firefox Windows says:

    no.. the only way to browse myspace at the minimum is with

    AdBlockPlus
    AdBlockPlus elements
    all three easylists: easylist.adblockplus.org
    NoScript
    stylish
    greasemonkey

    and some styles from userstyles.org ;) … kill custom layouts, or just transparencies without the power consumption of greasemonkey, and make the home page new skin not suck

    MUST MUST use NoScript browsing myspace.. it reduces risks and annoyances

    I also use the mentioned msplinks userscript, add images to links sometimes, fasterfox, and some other tweaks

    until Ie7 has an equivalent function NoScript addon its simply not a choice.. IE7Pro.com is the next best thing

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