[Firefox] Extension is broken (the loading wheel keeps spinning)

[chadius-maximus]

Has been unable to use the extension for a while, tried disabling/re-enabling, didn't help. Running the most recent version (21.4.20).

I checked the console, and this is the error I saw.

If I try applying dark mode theme in the extension settings, the dark mode applies properly, but the extension is still broken overall, and none of the actual functionality is present. I checked the dark mode settings just while i was trying to identify the issue. I switched back to non-dark mode. The extension has been broken before I tried the dark mode, and it is still not working for me even afterwards.

What you see below is what I mean when I mention the loading wheel spinning:

[plibither8]

Hi @olfilato, thanks for opening the issue.

I'm unable to reproduce the issue on Firefox 89.0 (Linux Ubuntu 20.04). Could you give me your browser/system details?

Other than that, it would be awesome if you could dig a bit deeper into the console's error An unexpected error occurred:

• Follow the file on linked on the right side of the error message
• pretty print the display (the button is in the shape of two curly braces { } on the bottom bar)
• send me the text/screenshot of the codeblock.

Otherwise, could you enable the extension to run on private mode and test it out there (preferable with other extensions disabled)?

Thanks! :)

[chadius-maximus]

Hi @plibither8 .

I tried digging deeper into the console error before opening the issue, but it just says undefined there instead of the actual path, and clicking on it does nothing (as opposed to taking me to the source file, which is what usually happens when it isn't undefined). My bad for cropping the original screenshot of the console error in the OP, here is the full version:

[chadius-maximus]

I have also just tried private tab with every single extension disabled except Refined HN while not logged in. Exact same thing happened there, the extension is still broken for me. If it helps, my FF version is 89.0b12.

[olejorgenb]

I get the same(?) - spinning wheel with: TypeError: actualTopBar is undefined printed in the console.

FF: 90.0 refined-hackers-news: 21.4.20

I also have hn-friends active

      if (actualTopBar.children.length === 1 && actualTopBar.children[0].tagName === "IMG") {
        actualTopBar = topBarElements[1];
      }

[plibither8]

@olejorgenb Have you tried disabling hn-friends and checking if this fixes the issue?

@olfilato do you still face this issue?

[olejorgenb]

Tried now - disabling hn-friends does not help. But I noticed that the error only happens if I open the comment-page from the front page. If I refresh the comment-page the loading completes.

[vimode]

I have the same issue.

FF109.6 refined-hacker-news 22.12.17

[ian-h-chamberlain]

I haven't noticed a loading circle like that, but on Firefox v109.0 I have been unable to navigate the front page with keyboard shortcuts like I used to be able to. The console displays the same itemlist is null message posted above.

[partofthething]

I'm seeing the forever-spinning wheel in Firefox 112.0.2 (64-bit) on Ubuntu 22.04. Console errors are:

[Kellett]

I get this too

[davidjade]

It's been like this for well over a year for me. Doesn't matter which version of Firefox, which other extensions, etc... Just a perpetual spinning wheel on every HN page.

I see this error:

TypeError: subtext_row.getElementsByClassName is not a function hackernews.js:8:33

[malcook]

I too experience this same problem in Version 22.12.17 with up to date (v 123.0) FireFox :

Is there anything I can additionally report that may help sleuth the cause of this issue?

[davidjade]

Same here. It's been like this for years now.

[qsantos]

Since Refined Hacker News looks like it is unmaintained, I am taking the liberty of linking to my own extension: ViHN, in case it can be useful to some people who encountered this issue like I did before writing ViHN.

It is not a fork of Refined Hacker News, because I wanted to make sure it would not incur any perceptible delay when loading the page. I was mostly interested in keyboard navigation, so it does not support all the features of Refined Hacker News. For instance, ViHN does not do any additional request when the page is loaded, like Refined Hacker News does to find the user's favorite comments, so it does not add the “favorite“ and “flag” links to every comment. However, it does have many key bindings, so some people might find it useful.

I have great respect for the work done on Refined Hacker News, and it served as an inspiration for ViHN. I hope ViHN can be a useful solution for the community.