Munchkin Link Click Delay

[Clancy_Clarke]

We've recently seen that Marketo's tracking script, Munchkin is inserting a click delay on every link click.

We understand that this delay is designed so that Munchkin can track link clicks (i.e enough time for the JS to fire before the next page loads).

We currently have Munchkin set to disable this link click delay using a parameter "disableclickdelay", however it appears this has stopped working. We're now seeing a 350ms delay on all link clicks introduced by Munchkin (the default delay).

We've been in touch with Marketo support, but they've said there is no issue with the tracking script or this parameter that should have stopped it working - Note it used to work and we never had a delay.

We're seeing this across two of our brands:

https://www.designcrowd.com

https://www.brandcrowd.com

We're also seeing it on another third party site that runs Marketo and has the same Munchkin set up.

https://www.siteminder.com

I've attached three screen grabs of the network profile for these sites showing the link click delay.

Interested to know if anyone else has seen this happening - our current next step on this is to set the clickTime parameter in Munchkin and set this to 0ms. As an side, using the class="mchNoDecorate" to disable the link click tracking is not an option.

[SanfordWhiteman · Accepted solution]

That parameter -- actually capitalized disableClickDelay FWIW, though I see you have it spelled correctly on your page -- hasn't been supported for a couple of years, AFAIK. You must have been using an old, self-hosted version of Munchkin (strong reason to not self-host as it takes you out of the upgrade cycle).

Unfortunately, the Munchkin config docs still include some removed options -- and, just as confusing, include planned options that have not yet been implemented successfully and those that could never be implemented successfully.

[Clancy_Clarke]

Yup - syntax is correct in the code. Just a bit lazy on the post.

Thanks for the flag re support - that appears to be a bit of an oversight on a script that is most likely used by a huge part of the Marketo customer base.

We've been in touch with their support team and not once has it been mentioned that the disableClickDelay parameter is unsupported. Additionally, the support person was apparently in contact with the internal engineering team who also state no changes have been made to this functionality.

In any case, looks like the only solution for now is to test the clickTime at 0ms and see how we go.

[Will_Etling]

Please let me know what you end up with as a solution here, I actually thought this delay was a bug and had no idea it was a feature of Munchkin.

[SanfordWhiteman]

It's not a bug, and it's not solving a Marketo-specific problem.

The only way, in a cross-browser fashion, to track exit clicks accurately is to:

• issue a synchronous XHR (deprecated)
• issue an asynchronous XHR, but freeze during beforeunload for an arbitrary amount of delay

Sync XHR is a more self-documenting solution than the "fake async" of the second solution, but sync XHR throws a console warning.

You can adapt Munchkin to use a 3rd method in certain browsers that avoids the click delay completely. You can search my posts from 2-3 years ago for advice on that.

[Will_Etling]

Is there any guidelines or documentation about what kind of loss of accuracy one might see when decreasing the clickTime? For example, if using 100ms instead of 350ms.

[SanfordWhiteman]

The only safe bet is to assume you lose everything you're currently getting.

The only way to know what your end users are experiencing in terms of latency to the mktoresp.com servers is to measure from all your clients over an extended period of time. That includes, notably, mobile clients.

IME 100ms is not acceptable in even the best cases. You might as well turn off click tracking.

[SanfordWhiteman]

Thanks for the flag re support - that appears to be a bit of an oversight on a script that is most likely used by a huge part of the Marketo customer base.

Yes, essentially everyone uses Munchkin, and give-or-take no one is using a version that still supports it. You must have downloaded an old (very old by analytics lib standards) version. It would obvs. be better if each option had the list of compatible versions next to it!

Additionally, the support person was apparently in contact with the internal engineering team who also state no changes have been made to this functionality.

No comment.