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In the general case where that's true I expect it mostly comes down to trying to balance features against available resources and the amount/complexity of the c

by jwatt 6y ago

In the general case where that's true I expect it mostly comes down to trying to balance features against available resources and the amount/complexity of the code that needs to be written/maintained. As noted elsewhere in this thread, there were a bunch of layoffs at Mozilla the last year, but even without that it's sometimes necessary to make tough, pragmatic decisions. In the case of the new print preview/workflow, however, I expect it will provide virtually everyone with a better workflow once we've finished polishing any rough edges. The feedback on places like Reddit indicates that it's already a very clear net win for most users, and I think we can address most of the complaints on support.mozilla.org etc. The eventual removal of the `print.tab_modal.enabled` preference and the old code will simply be because having two print preview implementations adds code complexity and is a maintenance burden.

JadeNB 6y ago
Thank you for the reply, which you must get tired of giving but which you nonetheless gave politely. I understand that the needs of any one user, such as me, with a particular idiosyncratic set of needs and preferences are at odds with those of the body of users as a whole, who need an appropriate balance between customiseability and useability, together with, of course, deliverability—it's no good having a product custom-tailored to fit every possible combination of needs if the developers collapse under the maintenance weight. I didn't really mean what I said as anything other than a cri de cœur: it sometimes seems that Firefox rode to its current position on the wave of the love and passion of power users, a group of which I am on the periphery, but now cares more about its numerically larger but less devoted casual user base. This is probably the right decision, but it's still frustrating as one of those long-time users (from back in the Phoenix days!).
- jwatt 6y ago
  No problem, and as a Mozilla user/contributor since the early Mozilla Suite days I sympathize with your cri de cœur. Power users had and will always have an outsized influence on Mozilla's market share and thus relevance and ability to fulfill its mission. At the same time performance, polish and usability need to keep up with the competition to keep the less technical majority. It's a tough balancing act when resource constrained.

by jwatt 6y ago

JadeNB 6y ago

Thank you for the reply, which you must get tired of giving but which you nonetheless gave politely. I understand that the needs of any one user, such as me, with a particular idiosyncratic set of needs and preferences are at odds with those of the body of users as a whole, who need an appropriate balance between customiseability and useability, together with, of course, deliverability—it's no good having a product custom-tailored to fit every possible combination of needs if the developers collapse under the maintenance weight. I didn't really mean what I said as anything other than a cri de cœur: it sometimes seems that Firefox rode to its current position on the wave of the love and passion of power users, a group of which I am on the periphery, but now cares more about its numerically larger but less devoted casual user base. This is probably the right decision, but it's still frustrating as one of those long-time users (from back in the Phoenix days!).

jwatt 6y ago
No problem, and as a Mozilla user/contributor since the early Mozilla Suite days I sympathize with your cri de cœur. Power users had and will always have an outsized influence on Mozilla's market share and thus relevance and ability to fulfill its mission. At the same time performance, polish and usability need to keep up with the competition to keep the less technical majority. It's a tough balancing act when resource constrained.