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> As champions of a healthy Internet, we at Mozilla have been increasingly concerned about the current advertisement-centric web content ecosystem. I don't und

by avaer 8y ago

> As champions of a healthy Internet, we at Mozilla have been increasingly concerned about the current advertisement-centric web content ecosystem. I don't understand this. Isn't Mozilla's funding reliant on search engine royalties, generated via "the current advertisement-centric web content ecosystem"?

manigandham 8y ago
Yes, it is. Advertising is easy to complain about (and most are really just talking about the implementation) but there aren't any other options yet for the same scale.
- egeozcan 8y ago
  So starting a conversation about alternatives is the right thing to do, as far as I can tell.
  - manigandham 8y ago
    These conversations have started decades ago and are still in progress, but there has been no alternative solution yet. The current hype cycle is around blockchains for microtransactions and direct patronage but it remains to be seen. On a personal side note, I find "start a conversation" to be one of the most cliched and overused ways to really say "someone somewhere should do something".
jjeaff 8y ago
But they aren't directly taking ad money. It's concievable that if we moved away from the "advertising centric" way of doing things, Google and others could use other methods monetization. There is no reason to believe that they wouldn't exist at all were it not for ads.
inimino 8y ago
What's the conflict? The point of a non-profit is to pursue its mission, regardless of how or by whom it is funded.
Buetol 8y ago
It’s very relevant and I don’t understand the downvotes, Google is the biggest behavior tracking entity out there by a large margin
textmode 8y ago
Perhaps they are concerned because the patterns of abuse (of popular web browser Javascript engines) may ultimately threaten Mozilla's source of funding (advertising). If for example this abuse is reaching a tipping point. According to the blog they wish to study these patterns but are opting to outsource the work. As users should we be concerned about Mozilla's role in the current advertisement-centric web content ecosystem. For example the popular web browser as an instrument for pre-determining "default web search", a service provided by commercial websites that are wholly-dependent on advertising. What sort of relationship should authors of browsers have with authors of particular webpages, if any. For example unless I am mistaken early (non-commercial) www browsers had no such relationships. The blog post asks for researchers who can think outside the box. Can we also think outside of "the current advertising-centric web" box?
onion2k 8y ago
If all your income comes from a single product then being concerned about it is very sensible. If the advertising market collapses Mozilla's funding would be decimated. Even ignoring the moral side of their stance it makes a lot of sense for them to argue for more diversification in internet business models.

by avaer 8y ago

manigandham 8y ago

Yes, it is. Advertising is easy to complain about (and most are really just talking about the implementation) but there aren't any other options yet for the same scale.

egeozcan 8y ago
So starting a conversation about alternatives is the right thing to do, as far as I can tell.
- manigandham 8y ago
  These conversations have started decades ago and are still in progress, but there has been no alternative solution yet. The current hype cycle is around blockchains for microtransactions and direct patronage but it remains to be seen. On a personal side note, I find "start a conversation" to be one of the most cliched and overused ways to really say "someone somewhere should do something".

jjeaff 8y ago

But they aren't directly taking ad money. It's concievable that if we moved away from the "advertising centric" way of doing things, Google and others could use other methods monetization. There is no reason to believe that they wouldn't exist at all were it not for ads.

inimino 8y ago

What's the conflict? The point of a non-profit is to pursue its mission, regardless of how or by whom it is funded.

Buetol 8y ago

It’s very relevant and I don’t understand the downvotes, Google is the biggest behavior tracking entity out there by a large margin

textmode 8y ago

Perhaps they are concerned because the patterns of abuse (of popular web browser Javascript engines) may ultimately threaten Mozilla's source of funding (advertising). If for example this abuse is reaching a tipping point. According to the blog they wish to study these patterns but are opting to outsource the work. As users should we be concerned about Mozilla's role in the current advertisement-centric web content ecosystem. For example the popular web browser as an instrument for pre-determining "default web search", a service provided by commercial websites that are wholly-dependent on advertising. What sort of relationship should authors of browsers have with authors of particular webpages, if any. For example unless I am mistaken early (non-commercial) www browsers had no such relationships. The blog post asks for researchers who can think outside the box. Can we also think outside of "the current advertising-centric web" box?

onion2k 8y ago

If all your income comes from a single product then being concerned about it is very sensible. If the advertising market collapses Mozilla's funding would be decimated. Even ignoring the moral side of their stance it makes a lot of sense for them to argue for more diversification in internet business models.