I really, really do not like pages continually pinging the server.
Can we have a user preferences option to turn this off?
- Why an option? I understand that many people like a real-time chat experience, but not everybody prefers this mode of interaction and, as noted, active content does not come without a performance cost.
- Background: I am one of those folks with lots of things scattered about on my physical and virtual desktops (a type that may be more prevalent among encyclopedists than in the general population). I often leave things open expecting to return to them in a couple minutes, or a couple hours, or a couple days. I often log out from my dial-up connection in the meantime. When I want an update, it is easy enough to refresh a page or check its history. I do not want a page view to spontaneously requisition resources when I did not request an update, and I really do not like the browser interrupting another foreground application to complain about latency or disconnection.
Thank you for considering offering the best of both worlds by making this an option.