5 ms·

> why can we not return to purchasing a copy of software? Because your competitors are free and users expect free and we have a culture stuck in a rut of "ever

> why can we not return to purchasing a copy of software? Because your competitors are free and users expect free and we have a culture stuck in a rut of "everything is free" because ads don't have them taking money out of their wallet. Not every software is in a niche where they can flip the switch back into a premium model and have a good outcome. If Firefox did it, most of us would stop using it. Maybe Firefox is at a point where that's a boat worth rocking, but it certainly isn't obvious nor without fatal risk.

soulofmischief 6y ago
Besides, privacy and safety online should be available to all, regardless of financial status.
mrec 6y ago
But, as we lament every time this topic comes up, it's not even possible to donate to Firefox. I don't know whether that would bring in significant cash, but it's frustrating that the option isn't there.
- sfink 6y ago
  It would be possible, but it would involve some major legal wrangling, and there's a good chance that it wouldn't pay for itself and/or would tie Mozilla's hands in problematic ways. The best route still appears to be paying for whatever paid services Mozilla comes out with (VPN, Pocket, ...?) even if you don't use them. I don't know if a "pay what you like" option would be problematic? (Regulators watch pretty closely when you have 100s of millions of dollars of annual income.)
  - mrec 6y ago
    > The best route still appears to be paying for whatever paid services Mozilla comes out with (VPN, Pocket, ...?) Maybe. There still doesn't seem to be any guarantee that money raised this way would go toward Firefox development. With zero pricing signals it's very hard to express the "you have one job" frustration that many of us are feeling about Mozilla these days.
wussboy 6y ago
Huge businesses are built on the freemium model. Firefox would only gain from embracing the same.
- hombre_fatal 6y ago
  Though they have been trying to do that, freemium meaning the core product is free and they try to make ancillary features compelling enough for you to pay for them. Examples: Pocket and their new VPN service.
  - dxdm 6y ago
    > Examples: Pocket Wait, pocket is a Mozilla thing? When that first popped up in Firefox, I just assumed they partnered with some business and sold out a little chunk of my data. Now that I'm reading up on it, I see that it's more complicated. Apparently, Mozilla Corp _bought_ Pocket, which used to be Read It Later. Which I had been using at some point before. Wow. Some better communication around all that from Mozilla's side, and I might have given Pocket a chance when they rolled it out.

soulofmischief 6y ago

Besides, privacy and safety online should be available to all, regardless of financial status.

mrec 6y ago

But, as we lament every time this topic comes up, it's not even possible to donate to Firefox. I don't know whether that would bring in significant cash, but it's frustrating that the option isn't there.

sfink 6y ago
It would be possible, but it would involve some major legal wrangling, and there's a good chance that it wouldn't pay for itself and/or would tie Mozilla's hands in problematic ways. The best route still appears to be paying for whatever paid services Mozilla comes out with (VPN, Pocket, ...?) even if you don't use them. I don't know if a "pay what you like" option would be problematic? (Regulators watch pretty closely when you have 100s of millions of dollars of annual income.)
- mrec 6y ago
  > The best route still appears to be paying for whatever paid services Mozilla comes out with (VPN, Pocket, ...?) Maybe. There still doesn't seem to be any guarantee that money raised this way would go toward Firefox development. With zero pricing signals it's very hard to express the "you have one job" frustration that many of us are feeling about Mozilla these days.

wussboy 6y ago

Huge businesses are built on the freemium model. Firefox would only gain from embracing the same.

hombre_fatal 6y ago
Though they have been trying to do that, freemium meaning the core product is free and they try to make ancillary features compelling enough for you to pay for them. Examples: Pocket and their new VPN service.
- dxdm 6y ago
  > Examples: Pocket Wait, pocket is a Mozilla thing? When that first popped up in Firefox, I just assumed they partnered with some business and sold out a little chunk of my data. Now that I'm reading up on it, I see that it's more complicated. Apparently, Mozilla Corp _bought_ Pocket, which used to be Read It Later. Which I had been using at some point before. Wow. Some better communication around all that from Mozilla's side, and I might have given Pocket a chance when they rolled it out.