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> Creating a "custom" collection of Add-Ons on addons.mozilla.org can be done using a disposable email address. I seriously don't get it. Why do I have to crea

> Creating a "custom" collection of Add-Ons on addons.mozilla.org can be done using a disposable email address. I seriously don't get it. Why do I have to create a "custom collection" with an email address to install an extension. Why can't it work like it does on PC ?

hexo 3y ago
[flagged]
- andyjohnson0 3y ago
  > Because of stage 2.5 - i.e. User abuse by company. Not everything fits into the framework of enshitification. This is about the transition to ff/android supporting the full range of extensions. Its a transitional measure.
  - bgdam 3y ago
    But Firefox for Android originally did support the entire breadth of the addon ecosystem. When Mozilla made the quantum update they removed support for addons, and then brought back a very tiny subset. How is that not enshittification?
    - majewsky 3y ago
      Enshittification is entrenching your monopoly position as a platform or marketmaker in order to claw back all profits for yourself. Neither part of the definition applies: Firefox is not a platform dominating any market (they neither have the market share, nor can Mozilla force users into using Firefox through monopolies in other areas). And the users are not deprived of anything. (If you wanted, you could sideload the old Firefox for Android that supported extensions. The fact that this is a stupid idea because of security concerns is not relevant for this argument.)
  - hexo 3y ago
    OK. And how does requiring user account to install extension fit into this transition? Why? Do they bake me my own APK with batteries included and send it to me via email?
Sabinus 3y ago
Because this is just for devs to install and test their extension code before the feature is turned on officially.
input_sh 3y ago
Because extension support wasn't considered ready for normal (non-developer) usage up until now, and this announcement you're commenting on literally starts with saying it's gonna be ready by the end of the year.
- Springtime 3y ago
  The irony is addons were natively supported by the regular version of Firefox for Android up until they made the Quantum update, when they removed them and only later with Nightly allowing them to return. I used to have a number of addons installed at that time, including Stylish (prior to the hostile changes), uBlock Origin and UnMHT.
  - smarnach 3y ago
    The Quantum update was an update to the Desktop version of Firefox that happened in 2017. Mozilla did not remove access to any mobile add-ons at that time. You probably mean the Firefox Daylight release that happened in August 2020. Firefox Daylight or Fenix was a completely new browser, not an update. That completely new browser did not fully support add-ons at the time it was released, which is why Mozilla introduced the restricted list of "supported" add-ons. I'm not quite sure how this is ironic. You seem to think that Mozilla somehow did this to get one over on their users, but I can assure you that this isn't the case.
    - Springtime 3y ago
      > The Quantum update was an update to the Desktop version of Firefox that happened in 2017. Mozilla did not remove access to any mobile add-ons at that time. Legacy addon support was removed from Firefox for Android at that point, too. Wikipedia confirms that in 2017 v56 of the Android version was the last to support them[1][2] and according to the official Android release notes the update was also called Quantum. You're apparently correct that it didn't technically remove support for WebExtension addons though the addons I used became incompatible with the switch (which unfortunately caused me to switch to another browser after a faithful period of sticking with Firefox), including most that never became re-compatible on either desktop or Android again, including the exceptional UnMHT and sadly Firefox since has lacked MHTML support to this day. It seems the dropping of legacy addons similarly caused others in this thread to recollect FF for Android as having dropped addon support during that period, given the impact in functionality. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_for_Android#Release_history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_for_Android#Release_hi... [2] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/android/57.0/releasenotes/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/android/57.0/releaseno...

hexo 3y ago

[flagged]

andyjohnson0 3y ago
> Because of stage 2.5 - i.e. User abuse by company. Not everything fits into the framework of enshitification. This is about the transition to ff/android supporting the full range of extensions. Its a transitional measure.
- bgdam 3y ago
  But Firefox for Android originally did support the entire breadth of the addon ecosystem. When Mozilla made the quantum update they removed support for addons, and then brought back a very tiny subset. How is that not enshittification?
  - majewsky 3y ago
    Enshittification is entrenching your monopoly position as a platform or marketmaker in order to claw back all profits for yourself. Neither part of the definition applies: Firefox is not a platform dominating any market (they neither have the market share, nor can Mozilla force users into using Firefox through monopolies in other areas). And the users are not deprived of anything. (If you wanted, you could sideload the old Firefox for Android that supported extensions. The fact that this is a stupid idea because of security concerns is not relevant for this argument.)
- hexo 3y ago
  OK. And how does requiring user account to install extension fit into this transition? Why? Do they bake me my own APK with batteries included and send it to me via email?

Sabinus 3y ago

Because this is just for devs to install and test their extension code before the feature is turned on officially.

input_sh 3y ago

Because extension support wasn't considered ready for normal (non-developer) usage up until now, and this announcement you're commenting on literally starts with saying it's gonna be ready by the end of the year.

Springtime 3y ago
The irony is addons were natively supported by the regular version of Firefox for Android up until they made the Quantum update, when they removed them and only later with Nightly allowing them to return. I used to have a number of addons installed at that time, including Stylish (prior to the hostile changes), uBlock Origin and UnMHT.
- smarnach 3y ago
  The Quantum update was an update to the Desktop version of Firefox that happened in 2017. Mozilla did not remove access to any mobile add-ons at that time. You probably mean the Firefox Daylight release that happened in August 2020. Firefox Daylight or Fenix was a completely new browser, not an update. That completely new browser did not fully support add-ons at the time it was released, which is why Mozilla introduced the restricted list of "supported" add-ons. I'm not quite sure how this is ironic. You seem to think that Mozilla somehow did this to get one over on their users, but I can assure you that this isn't the case.
  - Springtime 3y ago
    > The Quantum update was an update to the Desktop version of Firefox that happened in 2017. Mozilla did not remove access to any mobile add-ons at that time. Legacy addon support was removed from Firefox for Android at that point, too. Wikipedia confirms that in 2017 v56 of the Android version was the last to support them[1][2] and according to the official Android release notes the update was also called Quantum. You're apparently correct that it didn't technically remove support for WebExtension addons though the addons I used became incompatible with the switch (which unfortunately caused me to switch to another browser after a faithful period of sticking with Firefox), including most that never became re-compatible on either desktop or Android again, including the exceptional UnMHT and sadly Firefox since has lacked MHTML support to this day. It seems the dropping of legacy addons similarly caused others in this thread to recollect FF for Android as having dropped addon support during that period, given the impact in functionality. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_for_Android#Release_history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_for_Android#Release_hi... [2] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/android/57.0/releasenotes/ https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/android/57.0/releaseno...