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British bookseller hides reading list for developers in its website source code

148 points| e15ctr0n | 11 years ago |waterstones.com | reply

35 comments

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[+] jrlocke|11 years ago|reply 

  <!--  Interested in code, web design and web development?  Check out our bestselling books on Web Programming: -->
    <!--  HTML & CSS by Jon Duckett :  https://www.waterstones.com/book/html-and-css/jon-duckett/9781118008188 -->
    <!--  Python in Easy Steps by Mike McGrath : https://www.waterstones.com/book/python-in-easy-steps/mike-mcgrath/9781840785968 -->
    <!--  JavaScript & JQuery by Jon Duckett : https://www.waterstones.com/book/javascript-and-jquery/jon-duckett/9781118531648 -->
    <!--  PHP & MYSQL in Easy Steps by Mike McGrath : https://www.waterstones.com/book/php-and-mysql-in-easy-steps/mike-mcgrath/9781840785371 -->
    <!--  Javascript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford : https://www.waterstones.com/book/javascript-the-good-parts/douglas-crockford/9780596517748 -->
    <!--  Learning Python with Raspberry Pi by Alex Bradbury : https://www.waterstones.com/book/learning-python-with-raspberry-pi/alex-bradbury/ben-everard/9781118717059 -->
    <!--  AngularJS: Up and Running by Shyam Seshadri :  https://www.waterstones.com/book/angularjs-up-and-running/shyam-seshadri/brad-green/9781491901946-->
    <!--  Transcending CSS by Andy Clarke  : https://www.waterstones.com/book/transcending-css/andy-clarke/molly-e-holzschlag/9780321410979 -->
    <!--  Jump Start Responsive Web Design by Craig Sharkie : https://www.waterstones.com/book/jump-start-responsive-web-design/craig-sharkie/andrew-fisher/9780987332165 -->
[+] ChristianBundy|11 years ago|reply
It's in the <head> element.

    <!--  Waterstones E-Commerce Platform Version :  1.0 -->
    <!--  ServerID = 9-->
    <!-- 					    -->
    <!--  Interested in code, web design and web development?  Check out our bestselling books on Web Programming: -->
    <!--  HTML & CSS by Jon Duckett :  https://www.waterstones.com/book/html-and-css/jon-duckett/9781118008188 -->
    <!--  Python in Easy Steps by Mike McGrath : https://www.waterstones.com/book/python-in-easy-steps/mike-mcgrath/9781840785968 -->
    <!--  JavaScript & JQuery by Jon Duckett : https://www.waterstones.com/book/javascript-and-jquery/jon-duckett/9781118531648 -->
    <!--  PHP & MYSQL in Easy Steps by Mike McGrath : https://www.waterstones.com/book/php-and-mysql-in-easy-steps/mike-mcgrath/9781840785371 -->
    <!--  Javascript: The Good Parts by Douglas Crockford : https://www.waterstones.com/book/javascript-the-good-parts/douglas-crockford/9780596517748 -->
    <!--  Learning Python with Raspberry Pi by Alex Bradbury : https://www.waterstones.com/book/learning-python-with-raspberry-pi/alex-bradbury/ben-everard/9781118717059 -->
    <!--  AngularJS: Up and Running by Shyam Seshadri :  https://www.waterstones.com/book/angularjs-up-and-running/shyam-seshadri/brad-green/9781491901946-->
    <!--  Transcending CSS by Andy Clarke  : https://www.waterstones.com/book/transcending-css/andy-clarke/molly-e-holzschlag/9780321410979 -->
    <!--  Jump Start Responsive Web Design by Craig Sharkie : https://www.waterstones.com/book/jump-start-responsive-web-design/craig-sharkie/andrew-fisher/9780987332165 -->
[+] heydanreeves|11 years ago|reply
http://www.qwantz.com/index.php

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[+] Kortaggio|11 years ago|reply
Another gem in there is

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  <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/iesucks.css" />
  <![endif]-->
[+] sirwolfgang|11 years ago|reply
I always like finding stuff like this. Imgur has a really good ascii art job advert that shows up in the JS console.
[+] pdknsk|11 years ago|reply
https://developer.mozilla.org/

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    vVVv    vVVv                 ': |_| |_| |_|\___/___|_|_|_|\__,_| ''

    Hi there, nice to meet you!

    Interested in having a direct impact on hundreds of millions of users? Join
    Mozilla, and become part of a global community that’s helping to build a
    brighter future for the Web.

    Visit https://careers.mozilla.org to learn about our current job openings.
    Visit https://www.mozilla.org/contribute for more ways to get involved and
    help support Mozilla.
[+] e15ctr0n|11 years ago|reply 

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  ========================================
  You opened the console! Know some code,
  do you? Want to work for one of the best
  startups around? http://imgur.com/jobs
  ========================================
  "
[+] magic_beans|11 years ago|reply
As of yesterday the New York Times had a great ascii version of their abbreviated 'T' logo, and the text "All the code that's fit to printf()", along with a "we're hiring!" message.

They must have filled the position, though, because the advert is now gone.

[+] driverdan|11 years ago|reply
I've had the following ASCII art in the source of my personal site (driverdan.com) for a few years. There are a lot of tools to convert images to ASCII so it's pretty easy to do.

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[+] daveloyall|11 years ago|reply
The hidden comments copy-n-pasted into this thread are darkweb content -- by my favorite definition, anyway: that content which is on the public internet but isn't index or linked to: you have to have the address to pull it up.

Take a good long look at some of the comments here before the next time you copy and paste. Those things you found were put there for YOU, nobody else.

[+] vvpan|11 years ago|reply
Here we have content marketing.
[+] macu|11 years ago|reply
Somebody should totally help them make their source code look awesome. Like the first of its kind as a bookstore. Maybe they deserve it :)
[+] geekam|11 years ago|reply
Off topic but similar comment exists in the oatmeal comics page

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[+] yaddayadda|11 years ago|reply
1. If a customer is looking for books, they're probably not going to be looking in the code.

2. If someone is looking in the code, they're probably ready for books beyond "HTML & CSS".

3. The urls aren't hyperlinked, so readers have to copy-paste.

4. The two books I bothered to copy-paste both report, "Not in our warehouse". One of them further reports that "We can order it, but could take up to 3 weeks". The big-A can have it to me in 3 days, two of which are the weekend.

[+] BuildTheRobots|11 years ago|reply
> 3. The urls aren't hyperlinked, so readers have to copy-paste.

Actually you can just highlight the URL and right click, you get an option to open it in various ways... (firefox and chrome)

[+] mistro|11 years ago|reply
Your second point is off the mark - I teach a load of kids (12-16 years old or so) who know all about pressing F12 and looking at source code, but who know next to nothing more about HTML, CSS, Python etc.

Whether or not they'd be interested in reading a book when you can just watch it on Youtube is another matter entirely!

[+] ternaryoperator|11 years ago|reply
>The urls aren't hyperlinked, so readers have to copy-paste.

Is it even possible to have clickable hyperlinks in HTML comments?

[+] arbre|11 years ago|reply
It's because they expect you to extract the urls and open them ! On a mac with chrome :

echo `curl https://www.waterstones.com/` | grep -o 'http[^ "]/book/[^ "]' | xargs open -a Google\ Chrome