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The subtitle of the question was "What would you do if you were in charge of Mozilla? How would you save Firefox?" My answer is an attempt at addressing these

The subtitle of the question was "What would you do if you were in charge of Mozilla? How would you save Firefox?" My answer is an attempt at addressing these two questions. My goal wasn't to make Mozilla more profitable, but to ensure that it's focused on what should be its core mission, rather than the mire of sideshows that they engage in at the moment. Also, I don't care how Mozilla the amorphous blob of a corporation is doing. I care about how Mozilla the vehicle for the survival, promotion and development of Firefox is doing, and that one seems to be on the brink of death if nothing is done to change the current course.

paxys 5y ago
As a regular end user why do I care about what Mozilla's mission is? Apple makes shiny devices, Google gives me great free services, and in return I use their (perfectly great) browsers. What is one single reason to use Firefox? As long as these large companies continue to put effort into their browsers (which Microsoft didn't do with IE), users are simply never going to switch, the same way no one is using desktop Linux or LibreOffice or DuckDuckGo.
- selfhoster11 5y ago
  LibreOffice is the dominant OpenOffice fork and the main alternative to Microsoft Office, unless you count Google Docs. LO seems much healthier when compared to Firefox, if anything.
- kristov 5y ago
  I use Firefox because I believe its important for there to be more than one browser implementation (rendering engine) in the world. If you believe the same, go and download and use Firefox, even if it inconveniences you to do so. Now, about Skia...
- brnt 5y ago
  > Google gives me great free services 2005 called, they want their Google-enthusiasm back.
  - hammyhavoc 5y ago
    If Google is the new Microsoft, what's Microsoft now?
    - selfhoster11 5y ago
      IBM, I think. They still have an iron grip on the office ecosystem.
- joseph8th 5y ago
  Uhhh... I use all of those things. And Firefox. It's less demanding on resources, and the containers are game-changing. Why choose Chrome? I can't think of a single reason to prefer it over FF, but have just provided 2 reasons to prefer the opposite
- azinman2 5y ago
  This is exactly right, and as you’ll see from the long tail of answers, there isn’t one that actually applies to normal people. It used to be that IE etc was actually quite bad, and Firefox was substantially faster while adding important features like tabs. That’s when the nerds installed Firefox on their parents computers. Then FF languished, Chrome came out and was much faster and used less resources. So the nerds replaced everyone’s browsers with Chrome. Now everyone is using their default browser from their phones, or apps, or inline system browsers in apps. All the browsers are roughly equivalent now, so the nerds don’t have a lot of reason to go around and change their parents browsers. Plus you don’t have any real advantage to changing the mobile browser from Chrome (Android) or Safari (iOS). Thus the market has shifted away from desktops, FF lost there, hasn’t regained, and has made almost no inroads on mobile. They need a reason for the nerds en masse to go and change everything, while inertia and incompatible built-in password managers will make this painful.
- pmoriarty 5y ago
  "What is one single reason to use Firefox?" Better ad blocking.
  - stjohnswarts 5y ago
    Better plugin capabilities in general. Also better privacy.
  - paxys 5y ago
    Is it better than Chrome + uBlock Origin/Privacy Badger/Ghostery?
    - II2II 5y ago
      On mobile, definitely. I realize that many people like to complain about the mobile version of Firefox, but it offers extensions when their competition does not.
    - beiller 5y ago
      Can you install it on android chrome? I may be behind the times, last I checked you can't.
    - stjohnswarts 5y ago
      about the same but soon chrome is going to be handicapping adblocking and ublock origin dev said he'd probably have to back away from it since they are crippling the interface he used primarily (basically taking it away in the name of "security").
    - jasondclinton 5y ago
      Yes, because Firefox allows uBlock on Android. Browsing the mobile web with ad-block is such a huge quality improvement.
      - cglong 5y ago
        You could also use Brave or (Kiwi + uBlock Origin) on Android, both of which are Chromium derivatives.
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago
  >What is one single reason to use Firefox? I want to use a browser that does not sabotage my ability to make it work how I want in order to protect the main business of its parent corporation. Not a snazzy headline I know.
  - grey_earthling 5y ago
    And IMO this is where Firefox is getting worse. Firefox used to be much less user-hostile. Now it draws too much attention to itself, like it's trying to be a lifestyle brand. Using Firefox feels like walking through a busy shopping mall, and I worry that the folks making Firefox don't know any other way that life can be. Post-update pages (if they must exist in the first place) should look like: > You're using the latest version of Firefox! (Need a VPN? Try ours!) > You're using the latest version of Firefox! (Discover the best of the web with Pocket from Firefox) …but instead it feels more like: > YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED SIGNING IN TO POCKET YET! SIGN IN NOW! (btw firefox updated) > Buy our VPN Buy our VPN Buy our VPN Buy our VPN Buy our VPN (btw firefox updated) I wish Firefox would focus on being a useful tool (like the rest of the software I use). Compare Firefox's first-run experience with that of GNOME Web: Firefox is obnoxious; GNOME Web just gets out of the way. I believe in Mozilla's mission circa 2004, but I'm not convinced that Firefox does any more.
    - dTal 5y ago
      The other day I opened up Firefox to discover that the theme had automatically changed to some garish pink monstrosity, overlaid by a popup that asked if I wanted to keep the new "colorway". Oddly, I did not.
    - prmoustache 5y ago
      Did you actually took the time to setup firefox to your liking once? From the above post it looks like you didn't. Pocket is pretty much invisible, especially if you remove the button from the toolbar. The only time I see mentions of the mozilla VPN is when I go to the configuration of an existing container and I see the option to integrate it to mozilla VPN.
- anothernewdude 5y ago
  > the same way no one is using desktop Linux or LibreOffice or DuckDuckGo. Have you seen how bad Google results are these days?
- bradyo 5y ago
  With enough investment, Firefox could also innovate and introduce features that aren't in Chrome or Safari to actually win users back
  - paxys 5y ago
    The problem with building a web browser is that if you introduce too many new features then you are breaking with web standards. The most you can do is add some user conveniences like sync, themes and extensions, but those don't go far enough to make enough users consider switching. A browser can, by definition, never have a "killer app".
    - account42 5y ago
      There is so much more a browser can add beyond just rendering websites "correctly" - and even that does not mean always rendering them the way the designer wants. Just a few things that could win over power users: - Better tab organization. Vertical, tree-style tabs are an improvement possible with extensions, but surely we can do even better, especially if with direct support from the browser. - Better bookmarking. All bookmarks should take a snapshot of the website in case it disappears or changes and should have fast full-text search. And those are only the obvious parts that are missing. - Integrated ad-blocking and user scripts/styles to enhance and fix user-hostile websites. Make it easy to share these with non-technical users. Really anything that puts the user in control. This includes the Browser UI too - firefox has been going backwards con customizability. - Ability to keep up with websites directly through the browser. Aka bring back RSS support and actually make it useful. - Anything that works against the centralization of the web. Allow users to comment and share websites with their friends or community right from the browser in a way that is resistant to censorship. And this is just what I could think of right away.
  - panta 5y ago
    It's not user-facing features that move users from one browser to another, it's the number of websites they use that don't break with one or the other.
- throwawaynay 5y ago
  Once Google have a total monopoly there is nothing stopping them from making adblocking impossible and add even more user tracking/data gathering. It's a stance. And tbh I don't see much difference with Firefox when using Chrome (besides all the data that I can see leaving my computer to go to google servers even when I'm not on any website)
- kevwil 5y ago
  | What is one single reason to use Firefox? Because f*ck monopolies?
- senko 5y ago
  > What is one single reason to use Firefox? I have many reasons for using Firefox. However the one reason that instantly pops into my mind is containers. I can easily have multiple "accounts" without mucking around with multiple browser profiles. This alone is worth it switching from Chrome to Firefox for me.
- smolder 5y ago
  I actually do use duck duck go. There doesn't seem to be any advantage to using G search anymore, the web has reached a critical mass of trash that just overwhelms unspecific searches.
  - autoexec 5y ago
    Yeah, DDG can even give better results at time than google does. Google search has gone from being exceptional to becoming ad filled trash. Every other major search engine (directly or indirectly) gets their results in part from Google, but since most spammers are focused on Google the father from google you get the better results can be.
    - sgc 5y ago
      I recently switched to try out ddg (again). Local search is terrible. Other searches have at least been ok. Nothing so far seems worlds better, but there does seem to be a bit less spam in the results.
- autoexec 5y ago
  > What is one single reason to use Firefox? Security, privacy, and customization are why I use it. It takes a lot of work to do it, but you can lock down firefox very effectively and you have more freedom to decide what your browser is and isn't allowed to do with firefox than anyone else. In the end, what we're missing in browsers is a browser that works for you instead of exploiting you to make money. Out of the box, firefox doesn't hit that mark today, but at least it can be beaten into submission. No other browser gives users that kind of control.

paxys 5y ago

As a regular end user why do I care about what Mozilla's mission is? Apple makes shiny devices, Google gives me great free services, and in return I use their (perfectly great) browsers. What is one single reason to use Firefox? As long as these large companies continue to put effort into their browsers (which Microsoft didn't do with IE), users are simply never going to switch, the same way no one is using desktop Linux or LibreOffice or DuckDuckGo.

selfhoster11 5y ago
LibreOffice is the dominant OpenOffice fork and the main alternative to Microsoft Office, unless you count Google Docs. LO seems much healthier when compared to Firefox, if anything.
kristov 5y ago
I use Firefox because I believe its important for there to be more than one browser implementation (rendering engine) in the world. If you believe the same, go and download and use Firefox, even if it inconveniences you to do so. Now, about Skia...
brnt 5y ago
> Google gives me great free services 2005 called, they want their Google-enthusiasm back.
- hammyhavoc 5y ago
  If Google is the new Microsoft, what's Microsoft now?
  - selfhoster11 5y ago
    IBM, I think. They still have an iron grip on the office ecosystem.
joseph8th 5y ago
Uhhh... I use all of those things. And Firefox. It's less demanding on resources, and the containers are game-changing. Why choose Chrome? I can't think of a single reason to prefer it over FF, but have just provided 2 reasons to prefer the opposite
azinman2 5y ago
This is exactly right, and as you’ll see from the long tail of answers, there isn’t one that actually applies to normal people. It used to be that IE etc was actually quite bad, and Firefox was substantially faster while adding important features like tabs. That’s when the nerds installed Firefox on their parents computers. Then FF languished, Chrome came out and was much faster and used less resources. So the nerds replaced everyone’s browsers with Chrome. Now everyone is using their default browser from their phones, or apps, or inline system browsers in apps. All the browsers are roughly equivalent now, so the nerds don’t have a lot of reason to go around and change their parents browsers. Plus you don’t have any real advantage to changing the mobile browser from Chrome (Android) or Safari (iOS). Thus the market has shifted away from desktops, FF lost there, hasn’t regained, and has made almost no inroads on mobile. They need a reason for the nerds en masse to go and change everything, while inertia and incompatible built-in password managers will make this painful.
pmoriarty 5y ago
"What is one single reason to use Firefox?" Better ad blocking.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago
  Better plugin capabilities in general. Also better privacy.
- paxys 5y ago
  Is it better than Chrome + uBlock Origin/Privacy Badger/Ghostery?
  - II2II 5y ago
    On mobile, definitely. I realize that many people like to complain about the mobile version of Firefox, but it offers extensions when their competition does not.
  - beiller 5y ago
    Can you install it on android chrome? I may be behind the times, last I checked you can't.
  - stjohnswarts 5y ago
    about the same but soon chrome is going to be handicapping adblocking and ublock origin dev said he'd probably have to back away from it since they are crippling the interface he used primarily (basically taking it away in the name of "security").
  - jasondclinton 5y ago
    Yes, because Firefox allows uBlock on Android. Browsing the mobile web with ad-block is such a huge quality improvement.
    - cglong 5y ago
      You could also use Brave or (Kiwi + uBlock Origin) on Android, both of which are Chromium derivatives.
bryanrasmussen 5y ago
>What is one single reason to use Firefox? I want to use a browser that does not sabotage my ability to make it work how I want in order to protect the main business of its parent corporation. Not a snazzy headline I know.
- grey_earthling 5y ago
  And IMO this is where Firefox is getting worse. Firefox used to be much less user-hostile. Now it draws too much attention to itself, like it's trying to be a lifestyle brand. Using Firefox feels like walking through a busy shopping mall, and I worry that the folks making Firefox don't know any other way that life can be. Post-update pages (if they must exist in the first place) should look like: > You're using the latest version of Firefox! (Need a VPN? Try ours!) > You're using the latest version of Firefox! (Discover the best of the web with Pocket from Firefox) …but instead it feels more like: > YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED SIGNING IN TO POCKET YET! SIGN IN NOW! (btw firefox updated) > Buy our VPN Buy our VPN Buy our VPN Buy our VPN Buy our VPN (btw firefox updated) I wish Firefox would focus on being a useful tool (like the rest of the software I use). Compare Firefox's first-run experience with that of GNOME Web: Firefox is obnoxious; GNOME Web just gets out of the way. I believe in Mozilla's mission circa 2004, but I'm not convinced that Firefox does any more.
  - dTal 5y ago
    The other day I opened up Firefox to discover that the theme had automatically changed to some garish pink monstrosity, overlaid by a popup that asked if I wanted to keep the new "colorway". Oddly, I did not.
  - prmoustache 5y ago
    Did you actually took the time to setup firefox to your liking once? From the above post it looks like you didn't. Pocket is pretty much invisible, especially if you remove the button from the toolbar. The only time I see mentions of the mozilla VPN is when I go to the configuration of an existing container and I see the option to integrate it to mozilla VPN.
anothernewdude 5y ago
> the same way no one is using desktop Linux or LibreOffice or DuckDuckGo. Have you seen how bad Google results are these days?
bradyo 5y ago
With enough investment, Firefox could also innovate and introduce features that aren't in Chrome or Safari to actually win users back
- paxys 5y ago
  The problem with building a web browser is that if you introduce too many new features then you are breaking with web standards. The most you can do is add some user conveniences like sync, themes and extensions, but those don't go far enough to make enough users consider switching. A browser can, by definition, never have a "killer app".
  - account42 5y ago
    There is so much more a browser can add beyond just rendering websites "correctly" - and even that does not mean always rendering them the way the designer wants. Just a few things that could win over power users: - Better tab organization. Vertical, tree-style tabs are an improvement possible with extensions, but surely we can do even better, especially if with direct support from the browser. - Better bookmarking. All bookmarks should take a snapshot of the website in case it disappears or changes and should have fast full-text search. And those are only the obvious parts that are missing. - Integrated ad-blocking and user scripts/styles to enhance and fix user-hostile websites. Make it easy to share these with non-technical users. Really anything that puts the user in control. This includes the Browser UI too - firefox has been going backwards con customizability. - Ability to keep up with websites directly through the browser. Aka bring back RSS support and actually make it useful. - Anything that works against the centralization of the web. Allow users to comment and share websites with their friends or community right from the browser in a way that is resistant to censorship. And this is just what I could think of right away.
- panta 5y ago
  It's not user-facing features that move users from one browser to another, it's the number of websites they use that don't break with one or the other.
throwawaynay 5y ago
Once Google have a total monopoly there is nothing stopping them from making adblocking impossible and add even more user tracking/data gathering. It's a stance. And tbh I don't see much difference with Firefox when using Chrome (besides all the data that I can see leaving my computer to go to google servers even when I'm not on any website)
kevwil 5y ago
| What is one single reason to use Firefox? Because f*ck monopolies?
senko 5y ago
> What is one single reason to use Firefox? I have many reasons for using Firefox. However the one reason that instantly pops into my mind is containers. I can easily have multiple "accounts" without mucking around with multiple browser profiles. This alone is worth it switching from Chrome to Firefox for me.
smolder 5y ago
I actually do use duck duck go. There doesn't seem to be any advantage to using G search anymore, the web has reached a critical mass of trash that just overwhelms unspecific searches.
- autoexec 5y ago
  Yeah, DDG can even give better results at time than google does. Google search has gone from being exceptional to becoming ad filled trash. Every other major search engine (directly or indirectly) gets their results in part from Google, but since most spammers are focused on Google the father from google you get the better results can be.
  - sgc 5y ago
    I recently switched to try out ddg (again). Local search is terrible. Other searches have at least been ok. Nothing so far seems worlds better, but there does seem to be a bit less spam in the results.
autoexec 5y ago
> What is one single reason to use Firefox? Security, privacy, and customization are why I use it. It takes a lot of work to do it, but you can lock down firefox very effectively and you have more freedom to decide what your browser is and isn't allowed to do with firefox than anyone else. In the end, what we're missing in browsers is a browser that works for you instead of exploiting you to make money. Out of the box, firefox doesn't hit that mark today, but at least it can be beaten into submission. No other browser gives users that kind of control.