3 ms·

Frankly, Mozilla should be rewriting Thunderbird with a completely clean slate. Focus on privacy (ie detection of email trackers) and integration with the big c

by ttul 7y ago

Frankly, Mozilla should be rewriting Thunderbird with a completely clean slate. Focus on privacy (ie detection of email trackers) and integration with the big clouds (GSuite and O365), perhaps adding in some security features that are today only available in really pricey business offerings. I’d love to see this happen and for the next good email client to remain open and free rather than being acquired and strip-mined.

smacktoward 7y ago
Relevant: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-never-do-part-i/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-...
- ttul 7y ago
  Of course I have read Joel's post and it's accurate. In the late-1990s, Netscape didn't need a full rewrite. But this is not the late-1990s. Thunderbird's current architecture makes it exceptionally difficult to develop on and it's probably time for a reboot of the platform.
anoncake 7y ago
> integration with the big clouds Integration with the big <whatever>s instead of supporting and insisting on open standards is the antitheses to the open web.
- gtirloni 7y ago
  I think that's a false dichotomy. Both can happen.
  - anoncake 7y ago
    Supporting proprietary APIs means promoting them, which harms open alternatives.
- ttul 7y ago
  Mozilla ignores the people at their peril. Many, if not most, small business type customers have already moved to Microsoft Office365 or Google Suite or have a plan to do so. By default, they use the web interface provided by the giants, but both providers also provide excellent APIs along with IMAP support. Mozilla can help the internet stay open by providing an excellent free and open source email client that can run alongside the proprietary ones that are constantly being developed and re-developed. I think an open platform for email client innovation is badly needed.
- deadbunny 7y ago
  Or you know, giving millions of potential users an option. I would love to use providers that support open standards. I don't have that luxury at work and suffer everyday when it comes to emails and calendaring.
jeltz 7y ago
Why would current Thunderbird users be interested in this? Thunderbird is already pretty good at blocking email trackers and a rewrite would just cause development to stall again. I would rather that they worked on the stability of their IMAP code (maybe rewriting that part of the codebase necessary) and fixing performance issues in general.
Kovah 7y ago
I absolutely agree. Recently switched back to Apple Mail because the Thunderbird UI is just a fricking mess. Settings are so bloated and unordered, it's a pain to configure even simple things. The UI itself is cluttered and looks more like 2000 than a modern mail client. Also, I had several issues with mail formatting jumping back and forth. I gave Thunderbird several chances and nothing happened. Now I will not go back anymore until they completely overhauled the interface and user experience.

by ttul 7y ago

smacktoward 7y ago

Relevant: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-never-do-part-i/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2000/04/06/things-you-should-...

ttul 7y ago
Of course I have read Joel's post and it's accurate. In the late-1990s, Netscape didn't need a full rewrite. But this is not the late-1990s. Thunderbird's current architecture makes it exceptionally difficult to develop on and it's probably time for a reboot of the platform.

anoncake 7y ago

> integration with the big clouds Integration with the big <whatever>s instead of supporting and insisting on open standards is the antitheses to the open web.

gtirloni 7y ago
I think that's a false dichotomy. Both can happen.
- anoncake 7y ago
  Supporting proprietary APIs means promoting them, which harms open alternatives.
ttul 7y ago
Mozilla ignores the people at their peril. Many, if not most, small business type customers have already moved to Microsoft Office365 or Google Suite or have a plan to do so. By default, they use the web interface provided by the giants, but both providers also provide excellent APIs along with IMAP support. Mozilla can help the internet stay open by providing an excellent free and open source email client that can run alongside the proprietary ones that are constantly being developed and re-developed. I think an open platform for email client innovation is badly needed.
deadbunny 7y ago
Or you know, giving millions of potential users an option. I would love to use providers that support open standards. I don't have that luxury at work and suffer everyday when it comes to emails and calendaring.

jeltz 7y ago

Why would current Thunderbird users be interested in this? Thunderbird is already pretty good at blocking email trackers and a rewrite would just cause development to stall again. I would rather that they worked on the stability of their IMAP code (maybe rewriting that part of the codebase necessary) and fixing performance issues in general.

Kovah 7y ago

I absolutely agree. Recently switched back to Apple Mail because the Thunderbird UI is just a fricking mess. Settings are so bloated and unordered, it's a pain to configure even simple things. The UI itself is cluttered and looks more like 2000 than a modern mail client. Also, I had several issues with mail formatting jumping back and forth. I gave Thunderbird several chances and nothing happened. Now I will not go back anymore until they completely overhauled the interface and user experience.