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DIY/Open source is cool in that everyone gets to scratch their own itch, but… I wouldn't want to bet my web experience on a browser maintained by a small team

DIY/Open source is cool in that everyone gets to scratch their own itch, but… I wouldn't want to bet my web experience on a browser maintained by a small team of volunteers diverging from a known engine. Seems like it would be easy to end up in a state where modern features are unavailable or security vulnerabilities are unpatched, because some dude on the Internet prioritized his own life over being the maintenance guy for your browser.

knok_off 5y ago
I do agree that most projects end up like this sadly. But the ones that do have some sort of sponsorship or donation or revenue stream. Have financial incentive to actively maintain and develop opensource projects. This of course has its own problems but overall better for the users i think.
dietr1ch 5y ago
I agree. I'm guessing over time we will see the layering of the browsers improve so eventually maintaining the browser engine updates needs low maintenance, mostly just bumping version numbers. Until then these browsers will be just nice toys for random browsing, but dangerous for more sensitive things like banking or buying things online.
- charcircuit 5y ago
  >nice toys for random browsing, but dangerous for more sensitive things like banking or buying things online. Wouldn't it be the other way around? I personally am more afraid of some random site exploiting an vulnerability on me than my banking site exploiting a vulnerability on me.
- nine_k 5y ago
  I think most exploitable vulnerabilities live in the WebKit, so the outer UI matters less in this regard. OTOH a number of sensitive things, such as TLS certificate handling, or custom extensions, is external to WebKit, and may be exploitable. The chances an exploit would be developed especially for a narrow-niche browser like Fifth are pretty slim, though. Some security through utter obscurity.

knok_off 5y ago

I do agree that most projects end up like this sadly. But the ones that do have some sort of sponsorship or donation or revenue stream. Have financial incentive to actively maintain and develop opensource projects. This of course has its own problems but overall better for the users i think.

dietr1ch 5y ago

I agree. I'm guessing over time we will see the layering of the browsers improve so eventually maintaining the browser engine updates needs low maintenance, mostly just bumping version numbers. Until then these browsers will be just nice toys for random browsing, but dangerous for more sensitive things like banking or buying things online.

charcircuit 5y ago
>nice toys for random browsing, but dangerous for more sensitive things like banking or buying things online. Wouldn't it be the other way around? I personally am more afraid of some random site exploiting an vulnerability on me than my banking site exploiting a vulnerability on me.
nine_k 5y ago
I think most exploitable vulnerabilities live in the WebKit, so the outer UI matters less in this regard. OTOH a number of sensitive things, such as TLS certificate handling, or custom extensions, is external to WebKit, and may be exploitable. The chances an exploit would be developed especially for a narrow-niche browser like Fifth are pretty slim, though. Some security through utter obscurity.