3 ms·

A bit off-topic but why does the Mozilla Foundation have researchers looking at this sort of data (I've been donating assuming I was supporting Firefox which fr

by smoyer 5y ago

A bit off-topic but why does the Mozilla Foundation have researchers looking at this sort of data (I've been donating assuming I was supporting Firefox which frankly is the only thing I care about from Mozilla).

comrh 5y ago
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/
daqhris 5y ago
Well, I believe that there are many other endeavours under the umbrella of Mozilla Foundation. Another project (personally I'm more familiar with this) that's not very notorious but has a whole team of researchers is Common Voice, i.e. open-source datasets for training voice tech systems. From their website : "Mozilla is a global non-profit dedicated to putting you in control of your online experience and shaping the future of the web for the public good." -> https://foundation.mozilla.org/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/
jeroenhd 5y ago
Mozilla funds a lot more than just Firefox. I consider it an activist organisation that happens to also build a browser, because that seems to be what they're focusing on themselves. For example Mozilla Foundation has a special program for projects in countries with low internet penetration[1]. They also sponsor education and culture in some poorer countries like Brazil and Kenya [2]. On a technical front, Mozilla also funds some open projects that intend to be an alternative to Google's services, like their open voice recognition program or their open location service (which helps devices resolve your location based on cell towers, like Google and other companies (Apple?) do). Mozilla has chosen not to allow the public to directly fund development of Firefox, instead leveraging the foundation to fund both their activism and browser development from the same pool of money. Perhaps they wouldn't be able to maintain their activism without the income from the donations intended for Firefox, or maybe they only do this to simplify their accounting; I'm not that familiar with their plans or finances. According to this article [3] software development made up about 61% of the Foundation's expenses, but this information can probably be considered outdated because since a large part of the Rust/Servo team have been fired. [1]: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/fellows-for-open-internet-engineering/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/f... [2]: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/fellows-for-tech-and-society/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/f... [3]: https://www.zdnet.com/article/endangered-firefox-the-state-of-mozilla/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/endangered-firefox-the-state-o...
- steveklabnik 5y ago
  (The Foundation never paid for Rust or Servo developers, they lived in the Corporation. And even then the number of folks there was tiny compared to say, Firefox; you wouldn't really see a noticeable difference there, which played a part into why people were so upset about it.)

by smoyer 5y ago

comrh 5y ago

https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/

daqhris 5y ago

Well, I believe that there are many other endeavours under the umbrella of Mozilla Foundation. Another project (personally I'm more familiar with this) that's not very notorious but has a whole team of researchers is Common Voice, i.e. open-source datasets for training voice tech systems. From their website : "Mozilla is a global non-profit dedicated to putting you in control of your online experience and shaping the future of the web for the public good." -> https://foundation.mozilla.org/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/

jeroenhd 5y ago

Mozilla funds a lot more than just Firefox. I consider it an activist organisation that happens to also build a browser, because that seems to be what they're focusing on themselves. For example Mozilla Foundation has a special program for projects in countries with low internet penetration[1]. They also sponsor education and culture in some poorer countries like Brazil and Kenya [2]. On a technical front, Mozilla also funds some open projects that intend to be an alternative to Google's services, like their open voice recognition program or their open location service (which helps devices resolve your location based on cell towers, like Google and other companies (Apple?) do). Mozilla has chosen not to allow the public to directly fund development of Firefox, instead leveraging the foundation to fund both their activism and browser development from the same pool of money. Perhaps they wouldn't be able to maintain their activism without the income from the donations intended for Firefox, or maybe they only do this to simplify their accounting; I'm not that familiar with their plans or finances. According to this article [3] software development made up about 61% of the Foundation's expenses, but this information can probably be considered outdated because since a large part of the Rust/Servo team have been fired. [1]: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/fellows-for-open-internet-engineering/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/f... [2]: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/fellows-for-tech-and-society/ https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/what-we-fund/fellowships/f... [3]: https://www.zdnet.com/article/endangered-firefox-the-state-of-mozilla/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/endangered-firefox-the-state-o...

steveklabnik 5y ago
(The Foundation never paid for Rust or Servo developers, they lived in the Corporation. And even then the number of folks there was tiny compared to say, Firefox; you wouldn't really see a noticeable difference there, which played a part into why people were so upset about it.)