<p>User scripts are best described as lightweight site-specific browser extensions, written entirely in JavaScript and containing a specially formatted block of metadata that tells a User script engine, such as Greasemonkey, on what site to run the script. The script can do anything that originally JavaScript running on a website can do, such as modify the appearance or functionality of the site on the client-side. Some User scripts employ special API functions – provided by the User script engine – to do things that normal client-side JavaScript cannot, like cross-domain xmlhttpRequests. People who write User scripts <em>(script authors)</em> want a place to publish them where other users can download scripts for installation. And users want a place to find scripts that will be useful for them. There existed a de facto user script repository called userscripts.org. The site had many users and contained thousands of User scripts. Unfortunately userscripts.org has been in a state of flux and has been currently offline. Many active User script developers have expressed an interest in improving the site, but it remains closed source. Several members have shown interest in contributing to a competing open source User script repository and that is how the idea for OpenUserJS was born.</p>
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