I've been using nitter.net to read tweets without javascript.

I just append everything after the twitter.com domain name to https://nitter.net to read the tweet in question.

For example, the tweet this HN post links to could be read without javascript here:

https://nitter.net/zarfeblong/status/1339742840142872577

You can use this [0] browser plugin to automatically redirect to Nitter. You can also choose which instance to redirect to, or to choose an instance randomly every time (for load balancing). Also supports:

YouTube -> Invidio.us

Instagram -> Bibliogram

Google Maps -> OpenStreetMap

reddit.com -> old.reddit.com or i.reddit.com

[0]: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/privacy-redir...

Open Street Map is not a replacement for Google Maps. Not even close. It's a different product with overlapping features. As a detailed map, it's vastly superior. As a way to find locations and information about them, it's not nearly as good.

For reddit, there's also teddit: https://teddit.net/

> Invidio.us

This domain is dead, I currently am using invidious.xyz

The plugin lets you choose between 12 alternatives, or choose randomly every time.

AFAIK the extension HTTPS Everywhere can do this too, but its UI for doing this is kind of haphazard.

+1 for nitter.net. In recent years, Twitter started to block public proxies and Tor aggressively, if an IP address is rate-limited, all accesses are denied. Worse, because of JavaScript, it only denies access after the script has given up after spending 60 seconds. And even when I'm not blocked, the script is still slow, and if you accidentally refreshed the page while in the middle of an endless scrolling, you'll have to try again. Nitter.net solves all the problems at once. I don't use Twitter but I do maintain a list of people in tech, which I check from time to time.

You don't even have to be using Tor to get blocked like this; I get rate limited fairly regularly just following Twitter links on my phone while on mobile data. I suspect it's because my carrier is doing CGNAT and I share an IP with several other users.

Makes it annoying when someone links to Twitter as usually I'll have to sit there refreshing a few times before I can actually see it.

I have no proof but I always assumed they do this to push phone users towards downloading the app.

I run into issues like this running the app on my mobile.

There are a bunch of different instances running the nitter software too, so please consider choosing another one to avoid hugging nitter.net too much. Here's the list: https://github.com/zedeus/nitter/wiki/Instances

nitter is really the way I want to consume tweets (I'm not even on twitter but have my bookmarks to existing topics e.g. twitter lists and users that I tune into still - users that I used to follow when there - I used to follow hundreds but those that keep me coming back aren't more than 5). twitter without an account is twitter without the noise or risk of getting sucked into "contributing" (e.g. riling myself up lol)

Sadly, when you submit links from nitter to HN they get automatically demoted (they won't even have a discuss link and will never see the frontpage).

I don't know the reasoning but I guess the argument could be that

- it violates original content rule (that official sources must be used).

- some engineering just went into HN to show the user-name part of twitter posts in submitted links. (I took that as a reasoning why HN prefers twitter links rather than nitter - suppose that could easily be expanded though).

- potential legal reasons (? I can't think of any but maybe HN respects the claim of twitter that the data belongs to them etc ...)

just speculation but fact is there is no nitter support on HN.

I love Nitter, but I can't help but feel like it's on borrowed time. Eventually Twitter is going to decide it's a problem.

The day Nitter is killed is likely the day I stop using Twitter. Yes, I know you can host your own, but if Twitter decides to actively fight against it the best case scenario is an annoying cat and mouse game that makes the service unreliable.

My favorite part of nitter.net is the RSS feeds. Stick them in your reader of choice, refresh them with an hourly cron job, and you can keep up with all your favorite twatterers with no need for an account.

I also use nitter for the that reason. I was under the impression that nitter screen scrapes so it’s interesting that it’s still working unchanged.

That's not fair. Someone put a lot of time and effort into that spinning wheel animation. By removing the need for JS the tweet now loads too quickly for it to be seen!

By Jove, is this interface snappier and more convenient.

I'm using the privacy redirect extension which does this for all twitter links. It has equivalents for Instagram, maps and reddit too

Does somebody know if something exists for safari on macos ? Or is this with the new web extension framework still not possible ?

TIL! This is great. Thanks for posting.

BTW messenger over mbasic.facebook.com stopped working for me last week and throws errors. Am I the only one? The only web way to use FB messages for me now is the bloated desktop web experience (which takes 10s+ to load)

You are not the only one. I've used other browsers on my android to use facebook over m.facebook.com, but about a week ago Facebook Messenger messages was disabled with an error message and also the alternative mbasic.facebook.com was crippled for me. So anyone messaging me have to wait until I'm at home. Their ordinary web experience since the latest(?) change of UI is horrible, notifications takes forever to render forcing a full page refresh to get back working.

https://mbasic.facebook.com/messages/ works for me in Chrome on Android 11. If it stops working i am done with FB messaging forever.

Thx for data point. Android 11, Chrome 87, "content not found" for me at the same URL.

I'm connecting from France, I'm wondering if it's maybe EU-only thing related to FB's latest rollout of "we disable some stuff for EU users to be GDPR compliant"...

I have been using mbasic on iOS for a long time, I will never install the app. Unfortunately it stopped working about a week ago for me too.

There's Messenger Lite, I think meant for low internet connection speeds and free of a lot of bloat. Hopefully the antitrust lawsuit will keep Zuck from getting too egregious and getting rid of that too, but who knows.

mbasic not working here either. I suspect it's connected to the "Some features are not available" shown on the desktop-browser messages UI. Something to do with complying with European legislation.

We all saw this coming, even my fairly normal friends tell each other to leave facebook at this point though so thankfully I'm not impacted.

Same happens to me too

mbasic.facebook.com still works perfectly fine for me.

The website continues to work, but when you go to "Messages" tab, it shows an error.

Not for me? Seems to work as per normal in my case. I can't tell you exactly why that is though.

Are you based in EU or outside? Perhaps it's an EU-only bug/feature after latest changes to be compliant with EU privacy rules.

I'm currently based outside the EU and US, perhaps it is as you say. I'm not entirely sure why the privacy rules would change so drastically on a HTML based page though...

> Was it really so much to ask for a basic HTML interface to display text and images?

Yes; it allows automated mass aggregation of hard, accurate, and current information, which is not only non-ideal from profit perspective but also for maintaining community active and/or engaging

Guess its time for me to uninstall the app. That is entirely detestable behavior in my eyes. If you want me to use your products dont cripple them.

Can you use chromium cli?

https://www.npmjs.com/package/puppeteer

I don’t think this would really count as CLI, you still load up a full browser.

I remember there was a tui python client for a number of such sites like reddit and stuff.

Twitter doesn't make any money off those people.