3 ms·
How is firefox essential to the open web?
by irishcoffee 2mo ago
How is firefox essential to the open web?
- cgyvbunji 2mo agoHow is firefox not essential to the open web?
- pjmlp 2mo agoIf what is left are Chrome forks, the Web is gone, replaced by Chrome OS Platform.
- JoshTriplett 2mo agoWe've seen what happens when almost everyone uses one browser engine (Internet Explorer): that vendor gets undue influence over the direction of the web, and their proprietary extensions make it difficult for others to compete. We would end up in the same place if everything is based on Blink/WebKit; arguably we're partway there already. Hopefully Servo will provide a competitive browser engine and full browser in the future as well, with the bonus of being great for embedding. But it's not quite there yet. And other potential competitors have their own problems. Firefox is, for the moment, the most popular and only viable browser not based on Blink/WebKit.
- fancyfredbot 2mo agoFirefox provides one of two browser engines. If there's only one browser engine the Web immediately closes up like a giant impenetrable clam. All of humanity will be left outside, doomed to scrape forlornly on the shell with our nails and dream of the pearls within.
- Klonoar 2mo agoBlink and WebKit have diverged enough that there are minimum 3 engines now, not 2.
- hn_submit 2mo agoDon't forget Ladybird. It's coming along nicely too and it's currently being rewritten in Rust, which should give it a leg up on the rest of the bunch. There are a few others, mostly A.I. slop like NorthStar.
- Klonoar 2mo agoI will 100% forget Ladybird until it actually matters. This is a discussion about real browser engines in the wild, not in-development ones.
- laristine 2mo agoMore competition is better than less.
- bryanlarsen 2mo agoWithout pressure from Firefox Chrome would have removed the hooks extensions need for effective ad blocking a long time ago.