The discussion revolves around allowing arbitrary HTML in posts. miko_matsumura initiated the conversation, seeking to include a form in a post. However, sam warned that implementing this feature would require a whitelist to prevent XSS attacks.
tobiaseigen suggested allowing arbitrary HTML for trusted users (TL4), but elberet and Mittineague disagreed, stating that only full admins should have this ability due to the potential risks of site crashes and data loss.
miko_matsumura accepted the full admin requirement, but sam clarified that this is a proposal, not an existing feature. sam further emphasized the complexity and risks of implementing this feature, ultimately closing the discussion as “highly not recommended” due to the difficulties in ensuring safety.
I would like to put arbitrary HTML in posts… I know this is probably a bit crazy. But I want to do it. How should I be thinking about this requirement?
To include arbitrary HTML it needs to be whitelisted, trouble is that you do not want a global whitelist of everything cause you open yourself quite wide to arbitrary XSS attacks.
Can you work backwards, what are some examples of problems you are trying to solve?
Having the ability to post arbitrary HTML is equivalent to full admin rights… so no, neither TL4 users nor mods should have that ability, only full admins.