title: A readOnly Equivalent for HTML Select Elements
body: <p>Is there an attribute or technique for HTML select fields that's equivalent to  <code>readOnly="true"</code> for HTML inputs? </p>
  
  <p>I have an form select field I'd like to disable, but still pass on when the form is posted.  If this were an HTML input, I'd do something like this</p>
  
  <pre><code>$('select_id').setAttribute('readOnly', 'true');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>and the browser would render the field as un-editable, but it's value would still be passed to the backend.  I'd like something similar for an HTML select, but doing the following</p>
  
  <pre><code>$('#select_id').setAttribute('readOnly', 'true');
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>doesn't work.  The attribute is successfully added to the DOM, but the browser still renders it as selectable. </p>
  
  <p>I realize I could do the following</p>
  
  <pre><code>$('#input_id').disabled();
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>but when a field is <em>disabled</em> its value isn't passed through to the backend.  </p>
  
  <p>I'd like a way to disable this select field but still pass in on to the backend. </p>
  
  <p>(examples use Prototype JS, but I'm interested in any general solution)</p>