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>The app is somewhat controversial for breaking existing extensions Have Mozilla broken the extension landscape _again_ or am I misunderstanding?

by retox 6y ago

worble 6y ago
Fenix is pretty much a complete rewrite of firefox on mobile, and they haven't implemented every extension api yet which is why only a subset of extensions are allowed currently. I've read that you can sideload any extension you want (although I've not tried this personally), it'll just be coin flip whether it actually works or not.
- fwn 6y ago
  > ... you can sideload any extension you want ... That's amazing news! Do you have a source on that? I can't seem to find anything on it yet.
  - worble 6y ago
    Sorry, I just remember reading it somewhere and I think it was more likely I got confused with the announcement that web-ext supports Fenix: https://github.com/mozilla/web-ext/releases/tag/4.1.0 https://github.com/mozilla/web-ext/releases/tag/4.1.0 So developers can now test for Fenix but there's no permanent solution yet, unless there was something else and I just can't for the life of me find it anywhere. Sorry for getting your hopes up!
Certhas 6y ago
My understanding: They are not changing the extension model, Firefox Preview simply doesn't have the full extension API of old Firefox implemented yet. Some people are always ready to assume the worst when it comes to Mozilla and threw a hissy fit over the fact that Mozilla is running an open Beta with Firefox Preview [1] that is only slowly coming up to full extension support, hence the 'controversial'.
- Macha 6y ago
  To be fair, their initial roadmap early last year had Firefox Preview replacing the current Firefox for Android early this year with 0 extension support. So it's more than "extension support wasn't ready for beta". I wonder if that would have changed without the complaints...
  - Certhas 6y ago
    Fair, initial communication focused around a fast timeline and didn't mention extensions. Given the history that was clearly a mistake. I still think the reaction was a bit hysterical. Mozilla had very good reasons (conveniently ignored by some people) to break the extension ecosystem when they did, and they communicated that reason. In contrast they didn't say anything about not supporting extensions for future Firefox mobile.
    - Macha 6y ago
      It's easy to say that the reaction was hysterical when the change that users wanted was made (well sort of, there's still a whitelist for extensions with no definite end date). But if people just posted on the first HN thread "I don't like this" and left it at that, I bet they would have followed their original roadmap more closely if there was no outcry of the plan to replace the current browser with no extension support. It's also worth putting into perspective that most of the "hysteria" is people posting their disapproval in HN/Reddit threads or putting thumbs down reactions on github comments. It's not like people were picketing Mozilla HQ. I'm sure you can find examples of crazy people on Twitter, it's a group of over 100 dissatisified people, but that's certainly not the majority.
      - catalogia 6y ago
        > I'm sure you can find examples of crazy people on Twitter, it's a group of over 100 dissatisified people, but that's certainly not the majority. The world is so large, you can find examples of just about anything if you go searching for it.

>The app is somewhat controversial for breaking existing extensions Have Mozilla broken the extension landscape _again_ or am I misunderstanding?

by retox 6y ago

>The app is somewhat controversial for breaking existing extensions Have Mozilla broken the extension landscape _again_ or am I misunderstanding?

worble 6y ago

Fenix is pretty much a complete rewrite of firefox on mobile, and they haven't implemented every extension api yet which is why only a subset of extensions are allowed currently. I've read that you can sideload any extension you want (although I've not tried this personally), it'll just be coin flip whether it actually works or not.

fwn 6y ago
> ... you can sideload any extension you want ... That's amazing news! Do you have a source on that? I can't seem to find anything on it yet.
- worble 6y ago
  Sorry, I just remember reading it somewhere and I think it was more likely I got confused with the announcement that web-ext supports Fenix: https://github.com/mozilla/web-ext/releases/tag/4.1.0 https://github.com/mozilla/web-ext/releases/tag/4.1.0 So developers can now test for Fenix but there's no permanent solution yet, unless there was something else and I just can't for the life of me find it anywhere. Sorry for getting your hopes up!

Certhas 6y ago

My understanding: They are not changing the extension model, Firefox Preview simply doesn't have the full extension API of old Firefox implemented yet. Some people are always ready to assume the worst when it comes to Mozilla and threw a hissy fit over the fact that Mozilla is running an open Beta with Firefox Preview [1] that is only slowly coming up to full extension support, hence the 'controversial'.

Macha 6y ago
To be fair, their initial roadmap early last year had Firefox Preview replacing the current Firefox for Android early this year with 0 extension support. So it's more than "extension support wasn't ready for beta". I wonder if that would have changed without the complaints...
- Certhas 6y ago
  Fair, initial communication focused around a fast timeline and didn't mention extensions. Given the history that was clearly a mistake. I still think the reaction was a bit hysterical. Mozilla had very good reasons (conveniently ignored by some people) to break the extension ecosystem when they did, and they communicated that reason. In contrast they didn't say anything about not supporting extensions for future Firefox mobile.
  - Macha 6y ago
    It's easy to say that the reaction was hysterical when the change that users wanted was made (well sort of, there's still a whitelist for extensions with no definite end date). But if people just posted on the first HN thread "I don't like this" and left it at that, I bet they would have followed their original roadmap more closely if there was no outcry of the plan to replace the current browser with no extension support. It's also worth putting into perspective that most of the "hysteria" is people posting their disapproval in HN/Reddit threads or putting thumbs down reactions on github comments. It's not like people were picketing Mozilla HQ. I'm sure you can find examples of crazy people on Twitter, it's a group of over 100 dissatisified people, but that's certainly not the majority.
    - catalogia 6y ago
      > I'm sure you can find examples of crazy people on Twitter, it's a group of over 100 dissatisified people, but that's certainly not the majority. The world is so large, you can find examples of just about anything if you go searching for it.