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« Container Tabs » doesn’t build trust in user’s mind. You’re always one click away from sending data with the wrong profile. With Chrome, you get a separate wi

« Container Tabs » doesn’t build trust in user’s mind. You’re always one click away from sending data with the wrong profile. With Chrome, you get a separate window, and different skins, and a different data folder on the hard drive, you can at least comfort yourself with the idea that you’ve somewhat isolated your lives. Besides the classic work/home/sysadmin profiles, I also have a profile for browsing websites like /r/MensRights or christian websites: People have been fired for way less, so with such an incentive, Firefox tabs are way below expectations in terms of design.

WorldMaker 8y ago
That's a solvable UX problem. Admittedly, it's a UX problem that Mozilla has struggled with trying to build a UX that is trustworthy for both inexperienced users and power users alike. Most browsers already have highly separated threads/processes for different tabs for performance reasons alone, but also cross-tab security issues. In most cases the technical difference between two tabs in the same window and two tabs in different windows is minimal. Technical differences in profiles such as different data folder on the hard drive is even already a part of Firefox's container tabs. There is definitely an experiential difference, but a lot of the same signifiers (different themes / different "title" bars / etc) can be brought in and applied to multiple tabs in the same window, switching with tabs themselves. Or perhaps new UX signifiers might be developed that work better in a mixed tab space. It was encouraging that Mozilla was experimenting in that space, at least, even if what they built they weren't entirely happy with user studies of it. Again, the fundamental issue should be solvable with enough applied UX. We likely haven't discovered the solution for that yet (especially not one usable by novice users), but its still something interesting to continue to research and something that I hope is continued to be researched. (PS If you are worried about getting fired over your dirty laundry, I'm not sure airing it in cleartext on HN is exactly the right idea either.)
ppseafield 8y ago
You can configure container tabs to always open desired URLs in specified containers. You just click the containers button and check "Always open in <container>". After that when you click a link to that site from a different container, it will prompt you and ask if you want to use the other container or continue with the one you were just using. It will remember your choice.
- Tomte 8y ago
  But it will not leave the container when clicking a link to "outside". One moment of inattention, and you're surfing the whole web for hours in your Facebook container.
  - ppseafield 8y ago
    Fair point, one I had not considered.
  - hcs 8y ago
    I think the Facebook Container add-on does support this, though just for Facebook. There's an issue to add something similar to Multi-Account Containers, not sure what the status is on that: https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/847 https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/8...
asdff 8y ago
> « Container Tabs » doesn’t build trust in user’s mind. You’re always one click away from sending data with the wrong profile. Which users are you referring to, the ones who read HN and use firefox with containers? Most non-technical people would think you told them a conspiracy theory if you said Facebook can track their browsing outside the site, let alone be aware of that possibility enough to install firefox then install and configure containers. People who know about these risks and are installing extensions like containers are already conscious of their exposure on the web and are doing their due diligence not to leave much-identifying information out there, to begin with. The sad truth is we write, and comment, and endlessly debate security best practices here that only get used by people reading this forum or small, highly technical and specific corners of Reddit.

WorldMaker 8y ago

That's a solvable UX problem. Admittedly, it's a UX problem that Mozilla has struggled with trying to build a UX that is trustworthy for both inexperienced users and power users alike. Most browsers already have highly separated threads/processes for different tabs for performance reasons alone, but also cross-tab security issues. In most cases the technical difference between two tabs in the same window and two tabs in different windows is minimal. Technical differences in profiles such as different data folder on the hard drive is even already a part of Firefox's container tabs. There is definitely an experiential difference, but a lot of the same signifiers (different themes / different "title" bars / etc) can be brought in and applied to multiple tabs in the same window, switching with tabs themselves. Or perhaps new UX signifiers might be developed that work better in a mixed tab space. It was encouraging that Mozilla was experimenting in that space, at least, even if what they built they weren't entirely happy with user studies of it. Again, the fundamental issue should be solvable with enough applied UX. We likely haven't discovered the solution for that yet (especially not one usable by novice users), but its still something interesting to continue to research and something that I hope is continued to be researched. (PS If you are worried about getting fired over your dirty laundry, I'm not sure airing it in cleartext on HN is exactly the right idea either.)

ppseafield 8y ago

You can configure container tabs to always open desired URLs in specified containers. You just click the containers button and check "Always open in <container>". After that when you click a link to that site from a different container, it will prompt you and ask if you want to use the other container or continue with the one you were just using. It will remember your choice.

Tomte 8y ago
But it will not leave the container when clicking a link to "outside". One moment of inattention, and you're surfing the whole web for hours in your Facebook container.
- ppseafield 8y ago
  Fair point, one I had not considered.
- hcs 8y ago
  I think the Facebook Container add-on does support this, though just for Facebook. There's an issue to add something similar to Multi-Account Containers, not sure what the status is on that: https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/847 https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers/issues/8...

asdff 8y ago

> « Container Tabs » doesn’t build trust in user’s mind. You’re always one click away from sending data with the wrong profile. Which users are you referring to, the ones who read HN and use firefox with containers? Most non-technical people would think you told them a conspiracy theory if you said Facebook can track their browsing outside the site, let alone be aware of that possibility enough to install firefox then install and configure containers. People who know about these risks and are installing extensions like containers are already conscious of their exposure on the web and are doing their due diligence not to leave much-identifying information out there, to begin with. The sad truth is we write, and comment, and endlessly debate security best practices here that only get used by people reading this forum or small, highly technical and specific corners of Reddit.