3 ms·
I want to focus a comment on Mozilla Firefox generally. I see a lot of hate being expressed here but I do get a sense of entitlement from some comments. Firefox
by iam-TJ 5y ago
I want to focus a comment on Mozilla Firefox generally. I see a lot of hate being expressed here but I do get a sense of entitlement from some comments. Firefox is a free-of-cost product and surely we all know by now that if you don't pay for it you're the product, not the customer.
I don't allow tracking or advertising at all, whether from Internet services or local radio and TV (mostly do not use ad-supported stations), never had a Facebook/Twitter/etc., account, not used Google for the last decade, and so on.
However, in exchange for avoiding tracking and adverts, I actively pay for services I appreciate in whatever way they provide for whether through purchase, subscription, or donation.
I really wish Mozilla Corporation would have a DONATE TO FIREFOX option* to directly support development of the browser (and Thunderbird) and a max-privacy version. This would directly quantify real support from those like me that object to tracking and/or invasive adverts - I suspect the amount raised would be minimal, but it'd put the default search engine funding into perspective.
Not a lot of people realise that donating to the Mozilla Foundation does NOT support Firefox development by Mozilla Corporation.
* I was one of those that paid for Netscape Navigator back in the mid 1990s before Microsoft released Internet Explorer as part of the Windows OS and wiped out the paid-for browser market and forced Netscape Navigator to be released free of charge in order to try to compete - which directly led to Mozilla and Firefox.
- sfink 5y ago(I work for Mozilla) Firefox and Mozilla should be scrutinized to some degree. Firefox may be free of charge, and so I agree Mozilla is not directly beholden to its non-paying users. But it is beholden to its mission statement, and it's fair to criticize Mozilla for anything that might violate that statement. My understanding is that a "donate to Firefox" option is a logistical nightmare, would only be allowed in limited jurisdictions, and is not expected to earn all that much revenue. So in effect, the "donate to Firefox" button would end up mostly supporting the continued existence of the "donate to Firefox" button (lawyers ain't cheap!) Purchasing services even if you don't use them (eg Firefox VPN; I'm not sure what else has been released yet) is the most direct way of donating to Mozilla Corporation and thereby funding Firefox development. The most important component of which is my personal salary. Thanks in advance!
- iam-TJ 5y agoThanks for working on such a great project. I've seriously hacked on the codebase about a decade ago and recall what a minefield it can be! I'm not going to purchase a service I'll never use - I'm also philosophically opposed to centralised 3rd party VPN endpoints no matter who operates them. It's not a "Private" network, it's simply a proxy to side-step (most) ISP level interference or geo-fencing by services. But if Mozilla can re-sell the Mullvad VPN service then sell me a unique personalised copy of Firefox that has my name in the Help>About* dialog! No messing about with donations then :) *actually just read the string from a (possibly downloaded) prefs.js/user.js key.