<https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>

122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.

If the site looks OK to everyone else, I'll just have to set FF back to
its out-of-the-box defaults, which I hate doing because setting
everything back after finishing my taxes would be such a hassle. Think
I'd prefer that to Edge, though. Thanks in advance for any help.

On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 18:59:31 -0600, None wrote:
>
> <https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>
> 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
> off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
> protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
> remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
> from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
> style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
> Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.
>
> If the site looks OK to everyone else, I'll just have to set FF back to
> its out-of-the-box defaults, which I hate doing because setting
> everything back after finishing my taxes would be such a hassle. Think
> I'd prefer that to Edge, though. Thanks in advance for any help.

Though I had to turn off Privacy Badger, UBlock Origin, and NoScript,
it worked fine for me when I did.

It would be nice if you'd been more specific than just "like crap".

--
Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
Shikata ga nai...

On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 18:59:31 -0600, None wrote:

> Any idea why this site looks-and works-like crap?
>
> <https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>
> 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
> off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
> protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
> remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
> from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
> style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
> Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.

Looks to be OK here.
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:122.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/122.0

What _specifically_ is wrong with that site?

> If the site looks OK to everyone else, I'll just have to set FF back to
> its out-of-the-box defaults, which I hate doing because setting
> everything back after finishing my taxes would be such a hassle.

You could always set up a second Firefox profile, instead. That way,
you would not need to set everything back in your original profile.

> Think
> I'd prefer that to Edge, though. Thanks in advance for any help.

--
Kind regards
Ralph Fox
🦊

It's not good praising a ford till a man be over.

None <none@none.none> wrote:

> <https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>
> 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
> off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
> protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
> remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
> from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
> style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
> Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.
>
> If the site looks OK to everyone else, I'll just have to set FF back to
> its out-of-the-box defaults, which I hate doing because setting
> everything back after finishing my taxes would be such a hassle. Think
> I'd prefer that to Edge, though. Thanks in advance for any help.

My setup:
Firefox 122.0 x64
uBlock Origin (only domain blocked was googletagmanager)
Windows 10 22H2 x64

Not sure what "looks and works like crap" means, like what I'm supposed
to do there that doesn't work. The page looks okay; see snapshot at:

https://imgur.com/lOkoWpw

After disabling all add-ons, did you also move out user.js to eliminate
any tweaks you put in there? There might be other config files you can
create and edit to change Firefox's look and behavior. I've never
bothered with that method to customize Firefox.

https://kb.mozillazine.org/User.js_file

Instead of a fresh install of Firefox, reset it. That creates a new
profile without any tweaks in config settings or about:config, and no
add-ons installed in that profile. As close to install-time setup as
you can get. Later you can use the Profile Manager to bounce between
different profiles testing what might've gotten screwed in your old one.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/refresh-firefox-reset-add-ons-and-settings

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/profile-manager-create-remove-switch-firefox-profiles

On 2024-02-02 03:27, Ralph Fox wrote:
> On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 18:59:31 -0600, None wrote:
>
>> Any idea why this site looks-and works-like crap?
>>
>> <https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>>
>> 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
>> off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
>> protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
>> remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
>> from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
>> style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
>> Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.
>
> Looks to be OK here.
> Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:122.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/122.0
>
> What _specifically_ is wrong with that site?

Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser
console for more information).

(too much for pasting in the console)

--
Cheers, Carlos.

"None" <none@none.none> wrote
| | 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
| off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
| protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
| remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
| from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
| style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
| Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.
| | If the site looks OK to everyone else, I'll just have to set FF back to
| its out-of-the-box defaults, which I hate doing because setting
| everything back after finishing my taxes would be such a hassle. Think
| I'd prefer that to Edge, though. Thanks in advance for any help.
|

I see a site with no CSS. If I disable or enable CSS it looks the same.
If I enable script it's still broken. Which is unusual. The IRS usually does
good webpages with no funny business.

The CSS files specced in the code are local, so that shouldn't be a
problem.
But when I try to load them directly to take a look I get a 404. So maybe
someone screwed up the CSS path? But that doesn't explain why the page
works for others.

On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 18:59:31 -0600, None <none@none.none> wrote:

><https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>
>122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10.

Same Ffox version but on Win 11, and it looks fine. AdBlock Plus
kills one element. The *Browse All Trusted Partners* left/right arrow
prompts work as well.

On Fri, 2 Feb 2024 11:51:15 +0100, Carlos E.R. wrote:
> On 2024-02-02 03:27, Ralph Fox wrote:
>> On Thu, 1 Feb 2024 18:59:31 -0600, None wrote:
>>
>>> Any idea why this site looks-and works-like crap?
>>>
>>> <https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>>>
>>> 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
>>> off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
>>> protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
>>> remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
>>> from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
>>> style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
>>> Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.
>>
>> Looks to be OK here.
>> Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:122.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/122.0
>>
>> What _specifically_ is wrong with that site?
>
> Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser
> console for more information).
>
> (too much for pasting in the console)

No 'Application error' here. Nothing like that here at all [1].

It may be something to do with the user's own customized configuration
of Firefox, which many of us will not know how to replicate.

I suggest the user set up a second Firefox profile without the customized
configuration, and try the site in that second profile.

[1] I can see only one message in the Firefox browser console, and that
does not appear to affect the web page.

| Experiment next-generation-accessibility-engine-powering-screen-readers has unknown featureId: accessibilityCache RemoteSettingsExperimentLoader.sys.mjs:596:21
| _validateBranches resource://nimbus/lib/RemoteSettingsExperimentLoader.sys.mjs:596
| checkRecipe resource://nimbus/lib/RemoteSettingsExperimentLoader.sys.mjs:503

--
Kind regards
Ralph Fox
🦊

Secret de Deux secret de Dieu, secret de trois secret de tous.

On 2/1/2024 4:59 PM, None wrote:
> <https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>
> 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
> off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
> protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
> remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
> from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
> style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
> Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.
>
> If the site looks OK to everyone else, I'll just have to set FF back to
> its out-of-the-box defaults, which I hate doing because setting
> everything back after finishing my taxes would be such a hassle. Think
> I'd prefer that to Edge, though. Thanks in advance for any help.
>

Windows 7
SeaMonkey 2.53.18.1

The wite works okay for me. It told me I do not qualify for free
filing, likely because of my income.

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rosde.com/>

Paris mayor quits X platform, calling it a 'gigantic global sewer'.
Others characterize X (previously known as Twitter) as the place
where truth goes to die.

On 02/01/2024 18:59, None wrote:
> <https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/browse-all-offers/>
>
> 122.0 on 64-bit Windows 10. Only add-on is Privacy Badger. Turning it
> off was the first thing I tried. Also turned off enhanced tracking
> protection, changing the referer header option in about:config (don't
> remember offhand its exact name but it lets websites pull a referer)
> from 0 to 1, checking to ensure Page Style under View wasn't set to "No
> style" (the site looks like it is), and as a last resort turned on
> Troubleshooting Mode. Nothing works.

Thanks again, everyone, for your responses. I played a hunch and
created a new profile which works with the page. The only difference I
see is that the current profile doesn't load the page style for that
particular portion of the site (the part under apps.irs.gov) for some
unfathomable reason (to get an idea of what I'm seeing, go to View>Page
Style and choose "No style", although you may not get the overlapping
text I see towards the bottom). When it's working the Page Style menu
shows "MDigital_animationStyle" chosen but in my old profile it shows
only "No style" and "Basic page style;" toggling between them has no
effect. Anyway, if I can't figure out what's causing this I'll just
prepare my return and nuke the profile afterward. Only once a year,
after all.

And for the poster who found he doesn't qualify for free guided
preparation: If it makes you feel any better, neither do I. Check out
the Free File Fillable Forms. More work and you've got to be careful
not to miss anything, but both using and filing with them are free for
everyone.

"None" <none@none.none> wrote

| Thanks again, everyone, for your responses. I played a hunch and
| created a new profile which works with the page. The only difference I
| see is that the current profile doesn't load the page style for that
| particular portion of the site (the part under apps.irs.gov) for some
| unfathomable reason

Interesting, that's also what happens for me. Yet the CSS is
local, so it's not coming from a site that I block. I also can't find
any reason that the CSS shouldn't work. Most of the IRS works
very well. Simple, no nonsense. I do my own taxes and have no
trouble with the forms. They're fillable PDFs and the free PDF
XChange Viewer 2.5 handles them.

None <none@none.none> wrote:

>. . .

>And for the poster who found he doesn't qualify for free guided
>preparation: If it makes you feel any better, neither do I. Check out
>the Free File Fillable Forms. More work and you've got to be careful
>not to miss anything, but both using and filing with them are free for
>everyone.

I've been using those since they were first offered. They're adequate.
They perform minimal calculations but the calculations don't necessarily
flow from one area to the next if something is changed. It doesn't save
a lot of work versus forms that don't calculate at all.

I have to use it together with a spreadsheet, and perform my own
calculations on the spreadsheet.

Your credentials are wiped out of the system from one tax year to the
next, and everything is scrubbed after October 15, the dealine for
timely filing on extension. You MUST save everything locally. IRS
doesn't save anything. The system isn't presumed to be private from one
year to the next.

Also, you have to think about rounding the way IRS thinks about
rounding, which is not mathematically precise. You know how you were
taught that for greater accuracy, you must perform interim calculations
with two additional digits and then with final calculations, report the
result with the right number of digits?

IRS does whole dollar rounding on every reportable line but it ain't the
way you were taught. If the taxpayer doesn't round cents to whole dollars
and reports the cents on lines that show interim calculations, IRS just
drops cents instead of rounding. If on a particular line, 57.66 is the
result, if the taxpayer first performed whole dollar rounding, he'd have to
report $58, but if IRS sees 57.66, the cents are dropped and 57 is entered.

Dealing with those "We changed your tax return" letters is time
consuming because they don't make it obvious why they changed something.
Really, it takes as much time to deal with their correspondence if it's
a difference of a few dollars versus a few thousand dollars.

Perform calculations using cents, then perform whole dollar rounding at
every interim point at which the calculation is to be entered into the
tax return. In your spreadsheet, use the whole dollar rounded amount.
There is a setting to change in certain cells in the spreadsheet to save
the number as the number of decimal points as rounded in display,
dropping the extra decimal points the spreadsheet doesn't display but
still uses for calculation. Then use this amount already rounded to
whole dollars for additional calculations.

It's less precise but it's the only way to do it so IRS's calculations
match yours, given the way they round and given the way that they
perform interim calculations using numbers already rounded to whole dollars.

The thing people doing their own taxes may ignore is the need to do
bookkeeping prior to doing taxes. It's not necessary to calculate net
worth and all expenses because so much personal spending isn't reported
on the tax return, but it is necessary to create partial books for
categories that do get reported. And most income is reportable.

You may do some reportable spending in various ways -- on the credit
card, from the checkbook, ACH, even in cash -- that has to be added up
first.

If you sit down with monthly statements, bank statements, statements
from investment accounts, credit card statements, and enter into your
personal books reportable income and expenses, you'll be so far ahead at
year end as to where you were last year that tax preparation work can be
minimized.

Trying to categorize a year's worth of receipts tossed into a shoebox
into reportable expenses isn't going to lead to a happy outcome.