Why do some Metafilter features appear in Firefox but not Safari?

March 12, 2005 7:42 AM

I’m a rookie Mac user and pretty new around this site. I’ve noticed while computer hopping that when I use a PC there is a small toolbar in the lower-right corner of the message windows on this site. It’s the one with the Bold, Italic and Link buttons. When I use this site on my iMac, there is no such tool bar. Is this a settings thing or just a “feature” of using a Mac? Also, is this an appropriate use of MetaTalk or should I post things like this in Ask MetaFilter?
posted by Neosamurai85 to MetaFilter-related at 7:42 AM (9 comments total)

it's an appropriate use of meta (certainly not askme!).
i believe it's browser dependent - if you run firefox on a mac you will probably see it; you probably won't see it with safari.
why not? it's probably a combination of what particular browsers support, javascript-wise, and how important matt thinks the feature is.
you can always add these things yourself by writing <b>html</b> directly
posted by andrew cooke at 7:48 AM on March 12, 2005

I just tried it here on OS X. Like Andrew said, it works in Firefox, doesn't work in Safari.
posted by smackfu at 7:50 AM on March 12, 2005

Ah, I was using Safari on the Mac and Firefox on the PC! Thanks! Peace.
posted by Neosamurai85 at 8:08 AM on March 12, 2005

Just to provide additional support for a position:

Yes, this kind of question is pretty much exactly what MetaTalk is for.
posted by Bugbread at 8:40 AM on March 12, 2005

Matt's answer before was that Safari's javascript implementation was screwed up and it would be a huge PITA --if not possible-- to make it work here.

I've gotten over not having those buttons since switching to the Mac... and find my self just typing the html tags even when I'm using my Windows box at the office.

I believe the hope among us Safari fans is the next rev of Safari will fix the glitch. And there are rumors on the internets that will be next month. Then again, the alleged announcement date is April Fools Day. And products are never introduced on Fridays.
posted by birdherder at 9:54 AM on March 12, 2005

Safari doesn't have enough javascript support for it, so the capabilities aren't there. I suggest firefox until Safari updates.
posted by mathowie at 10:35 AM on March 12, 2005

me three Firefox. Try the G4 optimized builds.

(Link created using the widget. Which also works in Movable Type, which is kinda cool if you have GYOB.)
posted by mwhybark at 6:16 PM on March 13, 2005

Also check out these G3 or G5 optimized builds, if you aren't on an iMac G4.
posted by darukaru at 6:10 AM on March 14, 2005

Whoops, those are in German. I just visit that site for the G3 trunk builds, which are in English. :)
posted by darukaru at 6:11 AM on March 14, 2005