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Really hoping that Mozilla reconsiders: https://www.change.org/p/mozilla-save-mozilla-firefox-s-best-feature https://www.change.org/p/mozilla-save-mozilla-firef

Really hoping that Mozilla reconsiders: https://www.change.org/p/mozilla-save-mozilla-firefox-s-best-feature https://www.change.org/p/mozilla-save-mozilla-firefox-s-best.... The full-stop disabling of legacy extensions will absolutely wreck my current workflow (Tab Groups, Vertical Tabs, Tile Tabs, etc.), to the point where I may need to explore alternatives. I don't like that thought, but I also don't see Mozilla giving power users like me much choice.

moosingin3space 9y ago
They won't. This is a necessary move in the Quantum push. Can't expose the browser's internal API (like XUL extensions) and put it through a big refactor.
DKnoll 9y ago
Use Firefox ESR. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/
- tradesmanhelix 9y ago
  I do, but what to do when ESR hits version 57?
  - moosingin3space 9y ago
    You can start now by filing issues with your favorite extensions, trying to see if WebExtensions is on their radar. If so, they'll lobby Mozilla's WebExtensions group to get the missing features implemented.
Jaepa 9y ago
Tab groups is possible with the WebEx system, Vertical Tabs might work, but yeah Tile Tabs is probably out. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. Vimperator is how is how I use my browser. Vimperator is pretty amazing in terms of functionality, but is also a good illustration why the WebEx migration is needed. Vimperator can reload every tab every 10 seconds, create a temp buffer and open it in vim for textareas, control other extensions, modify headers or content of the HTML, control the chrome, and so on. From a developer or security standpoint having a plugin that can do this is insane. That being said, I don't know what I'm going to do when the legacy stuff is fully deprecated. The plugins I use have become so involved in my workflow that I can't really picture Foxfire without them.
- andrepd 9y ago
  Then disable it by default. Don't show non-WebEx addons in the mozilla website. If a user tries to enable it, put up a big red warning sign saying how dangerous it is and a checkbox saying "I understand". But in the end, let the users do what they want. This way 99% of the users will never use unsafe addons, the 99% who won't even miss them. But power user who understand and want to, let them ultimately have the freedom to do "stupid" things (what you consider as stupid).
  - Animats 9y ago
    The underlying XUL machinery that XUL-type add-ons access is going away. It's never been there in mobile Firefox. That's why they have to go. Whether Firefox add-ons should be restricted to what Google Chrome supports is another issue.
    - yoasif_ 9y ago
      > Whether Firefox add-ons should be restricted to what Google Chrome supports is another issue. It's not, though. See: https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/support-ublock-origin/6746/451 https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/support-ublock-origin/6746/4...
  - kuschku 9y ago
    This is not a security question, but a performance and safety question. Many of the major performance improvements in Chrome were possible because the extensions were decoupled from the browser itself. If Firefox ever wants to improve its performance, it can not keep running XUL extensions anymore.
- yoasif_ 9y ago
  Tile Tabs is available as a WebExtension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tile-tabs-we/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tile-tabs-we/
- slrz 9y ago
  > From a developer or security standpoint having a plugin that can do this is insane. Where do you see the security implications, i.e. what is the threat model here?
bbatha 9y ago
There's a replacement tab groups addon already: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-groups https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-groups Its not quiet as powerful, but provides the basics. There are other replacements for common tab management addons too: - Tree Tabs: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-tabs/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-tabs/ - Tab Center Redux: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/tab-center-redux https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/tab-center-re... The most significant missing feature is the ability to hide the native, horizontal tab strip. That's being tracked in https://bugzil.la/1332447 https://bugzil.la/1332447.
- callahad 9y ago
  You seem to have copied much of my earlier comment verbatim from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14983976 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14983976 Also, the Tab Groups add-on you've linked still uses legacy APIs, and will not work as-is in Firefox 57, though we're actively trying to design an API that will allow it to work in 57 and beyond.
floatingatoll 9y ago
Reconsidering will not happen. You have a variety of options, as a power user of indeterminate nature: 0) Accept the loss, grieve, then move on to 57+. 1) Use ESR until 57+ becomes ESR someday. 2) Fork Firefox, rebasing your patch onto upstream. 3) Write a WebExtension, requesting APIs if necessary. 4) Stop updating Firefox, surf the web unsafely. As a power user, each of these is within your theoretical capabilities. I cannot predict which is the appropriate tradeoff, though.
yborg 9y ago
Seconding Tile Tabs, would be a major advantage of FF if they made it a first-class native feature, and would be far more used than 'WebVR' will ever be. The WebExtension 'version' is really a tiling window manager within the browser and not the same animal at all.

moosingin3space 9y ago

They won't. This is a necessary move in the Quantum push. Can't expose the browser's internal API (like XUL extensions) and put it through a big refactor.

DKnoll 9y ago

Use Firefox ESR. https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/organizations/faq/

tradesmanhelix 9y ago
I do, but what to do when ESR hits version 57?
- moosingin3space 9y ago
  You can start now by filing issues with your favorite extensions, trying to see if WebExtensions is on their radar. If so, they'll lobby Mozilla's WebExtensions group to get the missing features implemented.

Jaepa 9y ago

Tab groups is possible with the WebEx system, Vertical Tabs might work, but yeah Tile Tabs is probably out. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. Vimperator is how is how I use my browser. Vimperator is pretty amazing in terms of functionality, but is also a good illustration why the WebEx migration is needed. Vimperator can reload every tab every 10 seconds, create a temp buffer and open it in vim for textareas, control other extensions, modify headers or content of the HTML, control the chrome, and so on. From a developer or security standpoint having a plugin that can do this is insane. That being said, I don't know what I'm going to do when the legacy stuff is fully deprecated. The plugins I use have become so involved in my workflow that I can't really picture Foxfire without them.

andrepd 9y ago
Then disable it by default. Don't show non-WebEx addons in the mozilla website. If a user tries to enable it, put up a big red warning sign saying how dangerous it is and a checkbox saying "I understand". But in the end, let the users do what they want. This way 99% of the users will never use unsafe addons, the 99% who won't even miss them. But power user who understand and want to, let them ultimately have the freedom to do "stupid" things (what you consider as stupid).
- Animats 9y ago
  The underlying XUL machinery that XUL-type add-ons access is going away. It's never been there in mobile Firefox. That's why they have to go. Whether Firefox add-ons should be restricted to what Google Chrome supports is another issue.
  - yoasif_ 9y ago
    > Whether Firefox add-ons should be restricted to what Google Chrome supports is another issue. It's not, though. See: https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/support-ublock-origin/6746/451 https://discourse.mozilla.org/t/support-ublock-origin/6746/4...
- kuschku 9y ago
  This is not a security question, but a performance and safety question. Many of the major performance improvements in Chrome were possible because the extensions were decoupled from the browser itself. If Firefox ever wants to improve its performance, it can not keep running XUL extensions anymore.
yoasif_ 9y ago
Tile Tabs is available as a WebExtension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tile-tabs-we/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tile-tabs-we/
slrz 9y ago
> From a developer or security standpoint having a plugin that can do this is insane. Where do you see the security implications, i.e. what is the threat model here?

bbatha 9y ago

There's a replacement tab groups addon already: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-groups https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-groups Its not quiet as powerful, but provides the basics. There are other replacements for common tab management addons too: - Tree Tabs: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-tabs/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tree-tabs/ - Tab Center Redux: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/tab-center-redux https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/tab-center-re... The most significant missing feature is the ability to hide the native, horizontal tab strip. That's being tracked in https://bugzil.la/1332447 https://bugzil.la/1332447.

callahad 9y ago
You seem to have copied much of my earlier comment verbatim from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14983976 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14983976 Also, the Tab Groups add-on you've linked still uses legacy APIs, and will not work as-is in Firefox 57, though we're actively trying to design an API that will allow it to work in 57 and beyond.

floatingatoll 9y ago

Reconsidering will not happen. You have a variety of options, as a power user of indeterminate nature: 0) Accept the loss, grieve, then move on to 57+. 1) Use ESR until 57+ becomes ESR someday. 2) Fork Firefox, rebasing your patch onto upstream. 3) Write a WebExtension, requesting APIs if necessary. 4) Stop updating Firefox, surf the web unsafely. As a power user, each of these is within your theoretical capabilities. I cannot predict which is the appropriate tradeoff, though.

yborg 9y ago

Seconding Tile Tabs, would be a major advantage of FF if they made it a first-class native feature, and would be far more used than 'WebVR' will ever be. The WebExtension 'version' is really a tiling window manager within the browser and not the same animal at all.