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Disqus and other comment boxes no longer appear.

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  • 74 have this problem
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  • Last reply by Tricia_TD

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I upgraded to Firefox 24.0 a few days ago. (At the same time, I also upgraded to the latest java.) I have a Dell laptop running Windows XP.

After I upgraded, Disqus comment boxes (and some others) no longer appear in my browser. And I don't mean fail to load, that's an old Disqus problem (occasionally). They flat out do not appear.

As a result, I've gone back to using Chrome, which shows them just fine. I like Firefox better than Chrome, but if I can't see comments on my usual sites, it's dead to me.

I upgraded to Firefox 24.0 a few days ago. (At the same time, I also upgraded to the latest java.) I have a Dell laptop running Windows XP. After I upgraded, Disqus comment boxes (and some others) no longer appear in my browser. And I don't mean fail to load, that's an old Disqus problem (occasionally). They flat out do not appear. As a result, I've gone back to using Chrome, which shows them just fine. I like Firefox better than Chrome, but if I can't see comments on my usual sites, it's dead to me.

Chosen solution

Yes, that is what I have done.

Everything is working fine now. ~

Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (20)

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P.S. Here is an example of a website that uses Disqus.

http://www.eschatonblog.com/2013/10/the-conservatism-of-obamacare.html

The comment box doesn't even appear. But it does in Chrome. ~

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So...some people at Eschaton have the new firefox, and they can use Disqus.

As far as I know, all of those people use Windows 7.

Is anyone out there able to use disqus sites with Windows XP? ~

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I don't have XP handy (I can find an old laptop at some point, but not immediately).

To see whether the upgrade might conflict with one of your add-ons, could you try the site Firefox's Safe Mode? That's a standard diagnostic tool to bypass interference by extensions (and some custom settings). More info: Diagnose Firefox issues using Troubleshoot Mode.

You can restart Firefox in Safe Mode using

Help > Restart with Add-ons Disabled

In the dialog, click "Start in Safe Mode" (not Reset)

Any difference?

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You can try these steps in case of issues with web pages:

Reload web page(s) and bypass the cache to refresh possibly outdated or corrupted files.

  • Hold down the Shift key and left-click the Reload button
  • Press "Ctrl + F5" or press "Ctrl + Shift + R" (Windows,Linux)
  • Press "Command + Shift + R" (Mac)

Clear the cache and cookies only from websites that cause problems.

"Clear the Cache":

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Advanced > Network > Cached Web Content: "Clear Now"

"Remove Cookies" from sites causing problems:

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies: "Show Cookies"

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How much of the header/form area is missing? Do you have the avatar, or is that entire area missing? Is more than the form missing?

The attached screen shot shows the result of right-click > Inspect Element (Q), although I clicked between the avatar and textbox and then clicked into the postbox in the HTML pane to avoid expanding the postbox by right-clicking on it directly.

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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None of it shows, here'sa screencap.

I tried a screengrab with inspect element, but it's not displaying the element information. ~

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Is there any reason that JavaScript might be disabled on that site? Firefox's internal JavaScript on/off switch is global, so if you have scripts disabled, you will be told that by many sites.

There may be some selective filtering/blocking by extensions -- if you never tried this site in Firefox's Safe Mode, please do that test -- or by external security/privacy software.

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Thanks, people. I don't yet have an answer...but I do have a culprit.

My dad's computer here is also running Windows XP. So I updated it to Firefox 25, and disqus worked fine.

What's different? I have updated java on my laptop, updated to the newest Avast antivirus program, I have Adblock Edge (that was my original suspicion, but messing around with it improved nothing), and I have a screengrab add-on I use a lot.

So the next thing I did on my dad's pc is update Avast. Bang, disqus is gone...just like on my laptop. ~

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I should clarify: The latest Avast seems to be blocking Disqus in Firefox. Disqus comments still work in Chrome on my dad's pc, as they do on my laptop.

~

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Great sleuthing. On the Avast forums, this has been attributed to the Online Security extension.

Does that extension let you approve/trust/exclude certain domains? If so, try approving both:

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Not sure whether this is correct, but according to one thread out on the web, you can turn off avast's blocking of a site in Firefox by adding the site to the Trusted Sites list in Internet Explorer (same as the Internet Options dialog available in the Windows Control Panel). See: avast! Online Security 9.0.2006.53 Add-on for Firefox Blocks All Video Streams.

Modified by jscher2000 - Support Volunteer

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jscher, I tried adding disqus.com, disquscdn.com, and eschaton.com to Settings, Antivirus, Exclusions in avast!, but to no avail.

I also looked at the avast! add-on (avast! Online Security 9.0.2006.53) in Firefox, and tried to disable it. (Firefox - Tools, Add-ons, Extensions.) In spite of the message "avast! Online Security will be disabled after you restart Firefox", it was not disabled. Even after I rebooted the laptop twice.

A new avast! program: 2014.9.0.2008 was released this morning at 5:16 A.M. It still blocks disqus, but I could finally disable that plug-in...and for the first time in weeks, disqus now works in Firefox.

I'd mark this problem as solved (and it is a avast! problem, not a Firefox problem), but I want to try contacting the avast! people first (for instance, I want to know if disabling the plug-in means there is no anti-virus protection when I use Firefox, or is it just some extra layer that they added on top).

Be back when I have an answer, or even if I don't get one...

~

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yes...they all opened  !! how do i open them w/o disabling add-ons ?

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Hi robert5711, since this forum is not threaded, I'm not sure what you tried. Did you restart in Firefox's Safe Mode? I think you only need to disable the avast! Online Security extension. You can do that on the Add-ons page. Either:

  • Ctrl+Shift+a
  • orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Extensions.

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It works fine now!!! Do I leave the avast extention disabled??

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Chosen Solution

Yes, that is what I have done.

Everything is working fine now. ~

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THKS IF!

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If, thank you very much for sharing how to fix this, it was driving me crazy!

Disabling firefox's add for avast will fix disqus issues.

Thanks again, E.

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Have you heard back from Avast about this?

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This happens on XP, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1. Avast is the common factor. And if the choice is keeping Firefox and losing comments or reducing security in this malware laden age? Sorry, Firefox, you lose.

I can't imagine that there isn't a technical solution since other browsers work.

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