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Why the agent string of Arachne 1.95 does not mention DOS? (Users)

posted by compo011 Homepage, 18.10.2011, 14:25

> > Now the string is "xChaos_Arachne/5.1.95;GPL,387+ (www.glennmcc.org)".
> > Anyone knows why does it not have any DOS mentioning? Like Arachne 1.70
> > had?
> >
> > Arachne loses much of its charisma without the ability to leave a DOS
> > footprint in internet stats.
>
> You can use any useragent string you want.
>
> On the Options/Internet settings setup page
> you can choose to masquerade as any of several existing browers.
>
> Keep Arachne's original User-agent string
> Masquerade User-agent as Links browser on Linux
> Masquerade User-agent as Lynx browser on Linux
> Masquerade User-agent as Mozilla SeaMonkey on Linux
> Masquerade User-agent as Mozilla FireFox on Linux
> Masquerade User-agent as Lynx browser on DOS
> Masquerade User-agent as DosLynx browser by Fred Macall
> Masquerade User-agent as MSIE v7.0
>
> Or make you own custom string by adding the 'UserAgent' line into
> arachne.cfg
>
> UserAgent Xchaos_Arachne (DOS 5.1.95 custom_useragent_string)
First, my personal opinion:

It is great that it is possible to choose a user agent string, but for many reasons it is better to have a preconfigured user agent string mentioning DOS. And after that any user may and can do whatever he/she can and is aware of.

Several explanations why I have this opinion:

Software, social ideas, fashion, etc spread is very much based on partisanship. Partisanship is based very much on the sense of, let us call it, specialness - the specialness of both the phenomenon (software, social ideas, fashion, etc) and the followers. It is one of the foundations of Linux or Apple success. A web browser without a fully authentic and preconfigured user agent string is "sexless" and not special - who is going to know I or whoever used a DOS web browser? And without the capability to leave a special footprint as a proof, much of the fun is dead. No specialness - no partisanship. And more than that, partisanship is social, so if it is only me and those few who know it is possible to choose a string can have user agent string with DOS mentioned, then again - much of the fun is dead.

Nowadays general public encounters DOS and DOS soft mostly either in form of embedded systems or hobbyism. Hobbyists discover a software piece as it is and they are mostly sheer end users - and of after DOS generations. Like me, I discovered Arachne many years ago, but it is only now that I found out it is possible to choose a user agent string. So obviously a safer choice would be to have a preset user agent string with DOS mentioned.

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