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Blue Dot Bouncing From Side To Side

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Firefox Version 57.

When a tab is open and a webpage is opening, there is a blue dot that bounces from side to side on the left side of the tab as a webpage is loading and it changes to the webpage icon once loaded.

Is this 'bouncing blue dot' new to version 57 or have I just not noticed it before?

Firefox Version 57. When a tab is open and a webpage is opening, there is a blue dot that bounces from side to side on the left side of the tab as a webpage is loading and it changes to the webpage icon once loaded. Is this 'bouncing blue dot' new to version 57 or have I just not noticed it before?

All Replies (20)

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Hi, yes it's new in 57, and replaces the spinning ball throbber.

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Scribe:

Thanks for confirming the obvious-I could have sworn that I had not seen it before so it must be a new feature!

Also, what does it mean when I visit a webpage and it has to be 'validated' first-Is the webpage being validated 'by' Firefox or is the webpage validating Firefox?

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Is it a Cloudflare Validation and black balls bounce sideways back and forth on the screen after connecting or while still connecting to the website.? If so is a website validation checking you are not about to do a DDos attack. Some other sites have it also but Clouflare states checking DDos.

Modified by Shadow110

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Pkshadow:

a) Yes, black balls bounce sideways back and forth on the screen while connecting-Are you saying that the website I am visiting is doing a Cloudflare validation by checking DDos in order to ensure that I am not about to do a DDos attack?

b) If so, would this Cloudflare validation occur only with Firefox or on any browser visiting that specific website?

c) What is a DDos?

Modified by Buddy2014

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Hi, you can use a custom style rule to override the new "throbber" design and show the old one instead. This requires creating a userChrome.css file, so set aside 5-10 minutes to get it all set up.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FirefoxCSS/comments/71vbds/revert_the_tab_throbber_in_firefox_57/

Let me know if you run into any snags.

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The bouncing dot has replaced the rotating throbber that show that the tab is busy and that Firefox is loading the page.

Add code to the userChrome.css file below the default @namespace line.


@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* only needed once */

/* tab throbber - rotating */
 .tab-throbber[busy]::before {
    background-image: url("chrome://global/skin/icons/loading.png") !important;
    animation: unset !important;
}

/* tab throbber - set color */
/*.tab-throbber[busy]:not([progress])::before {filter: grayscale(100%)} */
.tab-throbber[busy]:not([progress])::before {filter: hue-rotate(150deg) !important}
.tab-throbber[busy]:[progress]::before {filter: hue-rotate(90deg) !important}


You can use the button on the "Help -> Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page.

  • create the chrome folder (lowercase) in the <xxxxxxxx>.default profile folder if this folder doesn't exist
  • use a plain text editor (Windows: Notepad; Mac: Textedit) to create a (new) userChrome.css file in the chrome folder (file name is case sensitive)
  • paste the code in the userChrome.css file in the editor window
  • make sure that the userChrome.css file starts with the default @namespace line
  • make sure that you select "All files" and not "Text files" when you save the file via "Save file as" in the text editor as userChrome.css.
    otherwise Windows may add a hidden .txt file extension and you end up with a not working userChrome.css.txt file
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Thanks for the info everyone.

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this blue bouncing dot is slowing down web pages. Get rid of it. I do not understand anything from the above posts.

It is just another over kill annoyance!

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Hi rlmrlm, I don't think the dot slows down the loading of pages, but maybe it makes you notice the slowness more.

You could take a look at: Quick fixes if your Firefox slows down

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I have been a Firefox user from the beginning. Version 57 is noticeably slower (time comparison with Chrome) and the bouncing blue dot is more than annoying. I have tried the reset and disabled all add-ons. I am only running Avast as a Firewall.

I have spent way too much time trying to find a solution. It appears my fix is going to be to move to Chrome.

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Hi waltgodsil, in case you decide to use Firefox again, some other suggestions related to performance are as follows:

(1) Disable Accessibility Services from accessing Firefox on the Options/Preferences page.

  • Windows: "3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options
  • Mac: "3-bar" menu button (or Firefox menu) > Preferences
  • Linux: "3-bar" menu button (or Edit menu) > Preferences
  • Any system: type or paste about:preferences into the address bar and press Enter/Return to load it

In the search box at the top of the page type access and after Firefox filters the list, check the box for "Prevent accessibility services from accessing your browser" (Firefox will prompt you to restart).

(2) Experiment with reducing the number of content processes. See: Firefox's performance settings.

(3) Block unnecessary content using ad and tracking blockers. Many options.

(4) Check the article: Quick fixes if your Firefox slows down.

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I don't enjoy migraines. Can I use 57 without the migraines? I turned off the cosmetic animation in about:config, but that doesn't turn off the cosmetic animation here.

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Hi MarjaE, as noted earlier in this thread, you need to use a custom style rule in a userChrome.css file to change or hide the "tab throbber".

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I noticed that your other thread about resizing images on hover didn't get a response.

I wasn't able to track down what JavaScript and CSS causes this animation on that Amazon web page, so I didn't answer in that thread. There is an onmouse event that sets a hovered attribute. That was as far as I got.

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PLEASE give us a simple standard solution that simply ELIMINATES the damn blue dot... IN THE PRODUCT. (Or that disables the damn dot BY DEFAULT.)

Sadly, can't even revert to Chrome - because they have it too.

I expect Firefox to be SUPERIOR to Chrome and IE. Time to revisit the Mozilla Manifesto??

Modified by BillM

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Hi BillM, for now, you need to use a custom style rule in a userChrome.css file. There really isn't another way. I'll repeat the steps for that:

This take about 10 minutes so when you have time to take it slowly and carefully:

(1) Set up your chrome folder and userChrome.css file following the five steps in this article:

https://www.userchrome.org/how-create-userchrome-css.html

I have a boring video there if you like demonstrations.

(2) This is the code to paste into the file; it will completely hide the dots. If you want some progress indicator, we could suggest alternatives. You can edit the file using Notepad or a better editor. Make sure to keep it in a plain text format with a .css file extension (not .css.txt).

/* 
   Hide "tab throbber" while page is loading
*/
.tab-throbber[busy]::before {
  visibility: collapse !important;
}

(3) Firefox should read the file at its next startup and apply the change to your tabs.

Success?

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Thanks for trying, but... NOT ACCEPTABLE. Computers are supposed to SAVE human time and energy - not DRAIN it. Where are Mozilla's core values??

Modified by BillM

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Hi BillM, support volunteers are not issued magic wands. If you weren't here to ask for help with the Firefox we have today, and instead you want a site to give feedback on a possible future version, here are some options:

And here are the core values: https://www.mozilla.org/mission/

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I use the custom rule, but it doesn't work while Firefox starts.

A bug report is probably the best place to address these pain-infliction issues:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=throbber

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