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Generally, I think that decentralization of power is a really important aspect of our society, and we should fight to preserve it. Just like we fight for free s

Generally, I think that decentralization of power is a really important aspect of our society, and we should fight to preserve it. Just like we fight for free speech. This is because power tends to become centralized, unless we intentionally strive to do the opposite.

ekianjo 6y ago
If the code remains open, the opportunity to decentralize power still exists.
- ChrisSD 6y ago
  Not really. There are two problems: 1) Developing and maintaing a modern browser is fantastically expensive and yet does not directly make any money. Few organisations have that kind of money to burn. 2) Chrome's (and Google's) market share gives them effective control of the "standard". You can fork all the code you like but if you ever stop singing Google's tune you've got a problem. Safari is the only browser able to effectively fight back against these two issues, and only in a limited way (mostly by dragging its feet as much as possible). They are only able to do this because the iPhone gives them a captive audience. Other organisations don't have this advantage.
- yuvalr1 6y ago
  However today we have more than just an opportunity. We have a living example for a good competitive browser, and I think we should aspire to maintain it.
- kibwen 6y ago
  It doesn't matter if Chrome's code is open, what matters is that Google controls Chrome's updating mechanism. The ability to fork the code doesn't mean anything if nobody uses your fork, and if you can't prove to site developers that people are going to use your browser then they won't go to the trouble of making their sites work in your browser, which means your fork has achieved no meaningful change.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  I was going to link to a comment of mine that I bring up in response to this comment, when I realized I had made it in response to you. I'm still linking it here, since the comments there (and here) remain the same: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24327219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24327219.
  - ekianjo 6y ago
    And my reply to your comment then still stands. The day a sufficient number of of organizations or companies reject the influence of Google, a viable fork will start to exist. So far no such will exists anywhere so this does not happen but the future is never a linear regression from the present.
    - saagarjha 6y ago
      Yes, but that's not really easy at all. Saying "it's possible" fails to capture the amount of effort that would be required to fork Blink.
deleted 6y ago
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ekianjo 6y ago

If the code remains open, the opportunity to decentralize power still exists.

ChrisSD 6y ago
Not really. There are two problems: 1) Developing and maintaing a modern browser is fantastically expensive and yet does not directly make any money. Few organisations have that kind of money to burn. 2) Chrome's (and Google's) market share gives them effective control of the "standard". You can fork all the code you like but if you ever stop singing Google's tune you've got a problem. Safari is the only browser able to effectively fight back against these two issues, and only in a limited way (mostly by dragging its feet as much as possible). They are only able to do this because the iPhone gives them a captive audience. Other organisations don't have this advantage.
yuvalr1 6y ago
However today we have more than just an opportunity. We have a living example for a good competitive browser, and I think we should aspire to maintain it.
kibwen 6y ago
It doesn't matter if Chrome's code is open, what matters is that Google controls Chrome's updating mechanism. The ability to fork the code doesn't mean anything if nobody uses your fork, and if you can't prove to site developers that people are going to use your browser then they won't go to the trouble of making their sites work in your browser, which means your fork has achieved no meaningful change.
saagarjha 6y ago
I was going to link to a comment of mine that I bring up in response to this comment, when I realized I had made it in response to you. I'm still linking it here, since the comments there (and here) remain the same: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24327219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24327219.
- ekianjo 6y ago
  And my reply to your comment then still stands. The day a sufficient number of of organizations or companies reject the influence of Google, a viable fork will start to exist. So far no such will exists anywhere so this does not happen but the future is never a linear regression from the present.
  - saagarjha 6y ago
    Yes, but that's not really easy at all. Saying "it's possible" fails to capture the amount of effort that would be required to fork Blink.

deleted 6y ago

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