A couple of days ago I noticed that I couldn't highlight or copy any content from fics on fanfiction.net. At first I thought it was just a bug in Chrome, but this appeared hours ago on the ff.net blog:

This new "feature" stops you from copying text from fanfiction.net's story content. Obviously it becomes much more difficult to provide targeted commentary on specific pieces of text if you can't easily copy/paste them any more.

The source code for the stories is still visible and not at all obfuscated. Also, ff.net is maintaining access for the NVDA screen-reader [open source text-to-voice for the blind].

Chrome v30.0.1599.69 m [ie. up to date]:

• Highlighting is blocked.
• Ctrl-A is blocked on story content, but not the summary at the top.
• I tried disabling javascript, but highlighting was still blocked.

Opera v12.16 [the last Presto version]:

• Highlighting works. There's no evidence of copy protection. Javascript on.

Internet Explorer 10.0.9200:

• Highlighting is blocked.
• If you start highlighting in the Summary section, then you can drag your cursor into the fic text and start highlighting the beginning of the fic. You can do something similar from the bottom of the fic. Not useful for mid-fic highlights.
• Ctrl-A is blocked entirely. Even the story summary isn't highlighted.

Firefox ? - I don't have it, so haven't tested it.

Mobile browsers on Android.

• Opera Mini Next - not blocked
• Opera Mobile Next - Blocked
• Android browser - not blocked

Does anyone know how to circumvent this new feature, or if there's a simple extension I can use? I'm most interested in work arounds for Chrome on PC.

 

If you have Tampermonkey or something similar, there's a little scrip for it. http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/179482

Code:

// ==UserScript==
// @name     Fanfiction.net, make text selectable again
// @include  http://www.fanfiction.net/*
// @include  http://m.fanfiction.net/*
// @grant    none
// ==/UserScript==

$(".nocopy").removeClass ("nocopy");

 

Found a nifty extension for Firefox: RightToClick. It disables this type of java security when invoked. You can set the Options to always invoke on www.fanfiction.net,m.fanfiction.net so you won't need to manually activate it.

The folks on Reddit have a few solutions that are more browser-independent.

 

This bookmarklet should enable all text selection. Put it in your bookmark bar and select it before copying.

 

Huh, I didn't even know they'd put that on the site. I used to highlight text randomly as I read a while back. Guess I broke that habit.

Also, yeah, that really sucks for actually quoting parts of the story in reviews. Not sure I agree completely with the decision, but I rarely do with FF.Net.

 

Thank you. I installed it on Chrome and it works perfectly.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed this. I like to highlight paragraphs as I go along to hold my spot. Someone on irc told me that (in chrome) you right click, inspect element, and delete the part that says no_copy. It works, but only for that page, so something like the above link is good.

 

Relevant

/10char

 

Ugh, they changed something again. mgsaintz on TFF linked a userstyle that works.

Code:

@-moz-document domain(fanfiction.net)
{
    /* This changes the css from their current setting of none to the normal setting of auto. */
    DIV#storytext.storytext.xcontrast_txt.nocopy,.storytextp {
        -webkit-touch-callout: auto !Important;
        -webkit-user-select: auto !Important;
        -khtml-user-select: auto !Important;
        -moz-user-select: auto !Important;
        -ms-user-select: auto !Important;
        user-select: auto !Important;
    }
} 

Edit: The previously linked userscript was updated as well.

Code:

// ==UserScript==
// @name        Fanfiction.net, make text selectable again
// @include     http://www.fanfiction.net/*
// @include     http://m.fanfiction.net/*
// @include     http://www.fictionpress.com/*
// @include     http://m.fictionpress.com/*
// @require     http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8.3/jquery.min.js
// @updateURL   https://userscripts.org/scripts/source/179482.meta.js
// @downloadURL https://userscripts.org/scripts/source/179482.user.js
// @version     2.1
// @grant       GM_addStyle
// ==/UserScript==

$(".nocopy").removeClass ("nocopy");

setInterval (fixInlineStyles, 999);

function fixInlineStyles () {
    $("[style*='user-select']").each ( function () {
        var jThis       = $(this);
        var styleAttr   = jThis.attr ("style");
        styleAttr       = styleAttr.replace (/user-select:\s*none/g, "user-select: text");
        jThis.attr ("style", styleAttr);
    } );
}

GM_addStyle ( "                                 \
    * {                                         \
        -moz-user-select: text !important;      \
        user-select: text !important;           \
        -webkit-user-select: text !important;   \
    }                                           \
" );

 

as of yesterday morning (approx 18 hours ago I think) I haven't been able to highlight anything on my phone, very frustrating.

Hopefully there will be a usable mobile fix soon :/

 

Is this affecting m.fanfiction addresses?

Opera Mini definitely isn't affected yet, and I doubt it ever will be.

If you want to maintain a more comprehensive browser experience, then you need to run userscripts with something like these: TamperMonkey for Android, Greasemonkey for Firefox on Android, OilCan: Greasemonkey on
steroids for Android, Fat Ape, will do the trick.

TamperMonkey and FatApe are complete browsers. OilCan I think runs on top of Android's native browser. Maybe. The site isn't really clear on that. Greasemonkey plugs into FireFox if you're using that already.

Once you can run userscripts, grab ScriptKeeper's neat script which NuitTombee linked to earlier: http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/179482

I think that'd work.

edit: I found a three year old response on Stack Exchange with a better answer:

Solution 1. Use Tampermonkey. Tampermonkey is more popular as an extension for Chrome, but it is also available as a standalone Android app. It functions as a lightweight browser, and allows you to manage and automatically run user scripts. Unfortunately it doesn't have many of the features found on other popular browsers, but it does support the Greasemonkey API.

Solution 2. Use Opera Mobile, which has built-in support for userscripts, but no script management features, and doesn't support the Greasemonkey API. Navigate to the User Prefs section of opera:config, then tick "Always Load User JavaScript" and "User JavaScript". Enter the path to a folder (not a file) in the "User JavaScript File" field (I use /sdcard/userscripts/), then store the settings. Save your userscript in that folder with a .user.js extension. NB this works in OM12, but the OM14 beta doesn't seem to support userscripts at present.

Solution 3. Launch your userscript manually via a bookmarklet or pasting this javascript directly into the browser address bar:

Code:

javascript:(function(){var a=document.createElement("script");a.src="http://path.to/myscript.user.js";document.head.appendChild(a);})();

This technique is tedious, but the principle should work in most browsers. You don't get Greasemonkey API support though. The code above should work without modification in the stock Android browser, and can be saved as a bookmarklet. In Chrome Mobile the space in the var a needs escaping, i.e. var%20a=, and bookmarklets don't seem to work, so you have to paste manually every time.
src.: http://android.stackexchange.com/qu...s-greasemonkey-scripts-on-the-android-browser

 

Figured I wouldn't bother making a new thread as it's (kind of) related, but am I the only one getting a small box saying 'story content' popping up wherever the cursor is? It's annoying the hell out of me because it's pretty distracting when I'm trying to read.

I tried disabling any add ons I had that could cause this and it's still there so I'm assuming it's some new "feature" of FF.net. Does anyone know how to get rid of this?

 

It's not just you.

 

Just try throwing this into greasemonkey and it should take care of it.

Only for DLP would I venture into the hole that is javascript. I've successfully avoided having to write any for years now. I hope you're happy.

 

Thanks TSoS. That was a cinch to throw into Tamper Monkey as a new script.