[LINK] Why does Firefox send non-URL text in the location bar to Google etc.?

[Robin Whittle]

Hi Karl and others,

Thanks for pointing me to the info on fixing this problem.

I think this is a really bad "feature" - especially to have on by
default.  Doubly so not to have any ordinary user-interface option to
control it.

I think it is extremely unwise of programmers to pander to the
stupidity and laziness of users, even if this means most of their
users - assuming that the project is for the public good, which is the
case for Mozilla software.

People should not be encouraged to fudge the distinction between a URL
and text to be sent to a search engine.

The programmers could have coped with users deliberately or
accidentally typing in non-URL text into the location bar by putting
up a dialogue box explaining that the text was not a URL and providing
the option of pasting it into the search engine bar.  The button to do
this would not be activated by simply pressing enter.  Once the text
was in the search engine bar, the user could click the button next to
that bar.

I don't know where the current behaviour of browsers originated.  If
it was a Microsoft thing, I think it should have been resisted by the
Mozilla team.  Compatibility with other browsers and the expectation
of some or many users is fine, but not if it means the Mozilla browser
behaves in a dangerous manner, or encourages stupid behaviour by users.

Accessing a login page by typing in "facebook login" or "commonwealth
bank login" and using a search engine to find the page is stupid
because it is insecure.   Typing search text into the location bar
instead of the search bar of a browser or into a search engine form,
is stupid and lazy.  Its stupid to fail to distinguish between a URL
and text for a search engine - and this "location bar search" feature
both encourages this stupid behavior and will sometimes cause
perfectly cautious and wise users to send text, by accident, to a
search engine, where there are no real limits on how it could be
copied or otherwise used in ways which are contrary to their intentions.

 - Robin

> http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Location%20bar%20search
> http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Smart%20keywords