[SOLVED] How does LQ detect users OS?

travis82 · 10-05-2016, 02:10 AM

Of course this is not a problem.
I'm just curious to know how does LQ detect users OS?

I notice lack of consistency regarding this issue:

- Windows detected correctly regardless of browser which I use.
- Ubuntu derivatives detected just when I use firefox to access LQ.
- Slackware and Debian aren't detected at all and tux head is shown as my OS in my posts.
- When I use my old Nokia 6120 to visit LQ by opera mini, a question mark is appeared in my posts.

TenTenths · 10-05-2016, 04:48 AM

Most likely detection is based on the browser "User Agent String" - http://www.useragentstring.com/

If you've a browser that supports modifying / deleting the User Agent String then you can play with it and see

hazel · 10-05-2016, 05:50 AM

Using Firefox under Crux, I see the penguin's head (unspecified Linux). With Firefox under LFS, I often get a question mark (unknown OS). It seems to depend on what I was using when I made the post, not what I am currently using.

jeremy · 10-05-2016, 09:35 AM

This has been covered in depth in the past, and it is indeed User-Agent at the time of each post that it used.

--jeremy