[Bug 15380] Define a User-Agent string format subset (liason witth HTTP people etc)

https://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=15380

--- Comment #10 from Leif Halvard Silli <xn--mlform-iua@xn--mlform-iua.no> 2012-01-03 17:59:43 UTC ---
(In reply to comment #9)

> I was suggesting, half seriously, that all browsers have the same User-Agent
> string. It seems the logical the way to put an end to server-side sniffing (and
> browser stats, oops).

Opera would be closer to that goal, if it aligned more with the rest by placing
"Mozilla/5.0" as the first token.

> AFAIU, it's locked at 9.80 because of crummy script that took the first digit
> as the version number and assumed things based on that. The actual version is
> at the end of the string, e.g. Version/12.00. I guess when Opera reaches
> somewhere between 40 and 80 it could be changed back, but by then it's safe to
> assume that scripts will depend on Version/ instead :/

Webkit too uses Version/*. So may be that is fair enough - perhaps they had a
similar problem.

I don't know about that crummy script and how important that issue was or is.
But perhaps it is more serious to be served XML? At any rate: Even Opera/9.80
is not without problems, see the PS below.

> (Note that I'm not representing Opera here, I won't have anything to do with
> testing or implementing any changes to the UA string, I'm just speaking as
> someone with an interest in the topic.)

OK.

(In reply to comment #8)
> Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.6.8; U; de) Presto/2.9.168 Opera/11
> Version/11.52 (compatible: msie 10.00)
> 
>    This too works with that ASP page.
>    Note that this option starts with the more general info
>    and ends with the most specific info.

This perhaps makes more sense, w.r.t. the order of specificity, and adds
another twist on the compat comment:

Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.6.8; U; de) Presto/2.9.168 Opera/1152
(Moz-compat: Firefox/9.0) Version/11.52

PS: Having "Opera/11.52" (or "Opera/9.80") anywhere, does not work, weird
enough, for that ASP solution. Only "Opera/11" or "Opera/1152" works. Thus it
would probably, w.r.t. that ASP solution, be impossible for a competitor to
include a string such as "(Opera-compatible: Opera/11.52)" - one would have to
say  "(Opera-compatible: Opera/1152)". (That appears to, somehow, be directed
at Opera, specifically, even if it makes no real sense since, as told, e.g.
Opera/11 does work.)

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Received on Tuesday, 3 January 2012 17:59:46 UTC