8kun Bread Launcher v1b

Release notes for v1b (October 5, 2020)

• Fixed some performance issues and a potential crash issue. Working fine with Google Chrome, Brave, Opera and Firefox (recommended). Waterfox, a fork of Firefox, still does not work even though I fixed some code that it complained about.
• In general, web browsers do not like what this app is doing. That is unfortunate since I am doing what the browser makers have always wanted. I am using the browser as a development platform but I keep getting hammered by stupid design choices (their choices, not mine, since I follow the standards which they often do not).
• Fixed a problem with extracting image links. This affects webm videos and some boards.
• Added the ability to globally track reply links that have been visited and replies that have been seen. I'm not going to explain how it all works. Just watch for the colour codings and you'll understand as you go along. It works pretty good but I would like to have an ability to automatically track long or convoluted reply chains. In my experience, this might not be important. Reply chains have a tendency to degenerate into a series of pointless one-liners which are probably not worth reading anyway (amirite?).
• Tweaked the CSS to improve the look and feel. If you don't like my colour choices then fix the damn CSS yourself.
• Modified the retention strategy for thread caching. The retention period is now 4 hours (up from 2) but only a maximum of 15 threads will be cached at one time. This strategy may or may not be ideal for you but the point (obviously) is to limit the memory usage.

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The 8kun Bread Launcher is an app for reading threads on the free speech web site 8kun.top without the speed drawbacks of the site's normal client. Improved handling of images, headers and text makes for a sharper and more customizable appearance. The term "bread" is not a synonym for "thread" but I like the sound of "Bread Launcher" so I'm using my creative license.

This app, while it is quick, gets most of its speed advantage by allowing you to retrieve an individual post and its replies instead of the entire thread (which is a capability not supported by the current 8kun client). Threads also remain in cache (memory) for up to 2 hours to reduce the need to access the site. There is no mouse hover functionality so reply links must be clicked on and viewed in a new tab.

To access 8kun, you need a URL with or without the domain name. Examples are below. If you wish to see a specific post then append "#" and the post number. To view a thread beginning at a certain post then append "?" and the post number. Note: do not close the launcher while daughter tabs are still open (they link to the code inside the launcher).

Full URL: https://8kun.top/alleycat/res/10.html   Partial URL: /alleycat/res/10.html

If you are not familiar with the need for a proxy server then please refer to the Alleycat Player installation instructions here for an explanation. The most reliable way to use this app is to install the Local Proxy Server. The second best way is to install a CORS bypass extension.

DDOS Mitigation (bot blocker)

8kun was recently subjected to intense denial-of-service attacks and VanwaNet put up a DDOS Mitigation wall (which I call a bot blocker) in order to help alleviate the situation. I have encountered this before with CloudFlare and Sucuri in the process of hacking sites for Alleycat Player. A bot blocker consists of obfuscated Javascript code which must be executed by the web browser in order to obtain an authorization string or a cookie. This is a puzzle to unravel and it has been solved for the VanwaNet blocker.

Fair warning: the Local Proxy Server must be used to bypass the bot blocker. It cannot be done otherwise. The blocker is not in place at the time of this writing but, if it returns, you will be unable to use this app if you are relying on a remote proxy or CORS extension for access. Make sure that you have copied the file "vanwanet.js" to your proxy folder. This file contains the decryption code to unlock the bot blocker.

Video Player

A special feature is available for viewing embedded Youtube videos. If you click on the bar below the thumbnail, the video will open with Alleycat Player or, rather, a subset of the Alleycat code. This includes the DASH capability which requires the Local Proxy Server which is available with the installation of Alleycat Player. Some videos (especially music videos) will not work with a remote proxy. This is due to an IP address restriction applied by Youtube.

Autoplay may be blocked by your web browser. Chrome-based browsers have this issue but not Firefox. This problem is solved if you are using the Local Proxy Server. A small stub file (called _video_.htm) will be saved to your proxy (Alleycat) folder which will then be loaded into the video player tab to force Chrome to recognize the proper domain name (localhost instead of about:blank). As long as you have given autoplay permission to "localhost" then it will work fine.

For non-embedded videos, copy the Youtube URL or just the 11-character ID to the URL input line and press "Play Video". If you copy the full URL, make sure that the video ID is at the end of the input line. Support for other video sites (such as Bitchute) is planned.

Not all formats are available. The non-DASH formats are: mp4-360p, mp4-720p, webm-360p. To save a non-DASH video, right-click on the video and choose the "Save Video" option.

Special note about Youtube livestreams

It takes three to four hours for Youtube to move a finished livestream to VOD (video on demand) status. Until that happens, only the last minute of an ended livestream will be viewable. This is a known issue with Alleycat Player.

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