4 ms·

Firefox users, get ready for ads in your browser

14 points by instakill 12y ago

go_prodev 12y ago
If Citrix remote desktop worked properly in Chrome I wouldn't ever use Firefox. This post reminded me to give Chrome another try...
- nb4hnp 12y ago
  Yeah, that'll show them. Get away from ads by running into the arms of an ad company.
Thev00d00 12y ago
I don't see any issue with this, apart from the Clickbait title. As it stands at the moment at first install they would be blank, so they may as well put ads in them until you have surfed around enough to show something useful there.
quesera 12y ago
I hate that Mozilla is doing this. But I concede that they are in a strategically weak position. Google has no competition in the search space, so they don't need Firefox's traffic. Microsoft wants Firefox's traffic, but most Firefox users would (rightly or wrongly) consider a default search engine change to be a downgrade. It's also possible that both Google and Microsoft might decide that, strategically, the web browser landscape would be preferable to them with one less major player, each hopeful that their entry would take up the majority of the gap. So they might non-collusively collude to starve Mozilla. Where else can Mozilla make hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue by throwing a switch? They are at the whim of corporations whose interests are not well-aligned with their mission. So, reluctantly, I get it. Still, the likelihood that Mozilla can turn itself into a major advertising medium seems so remote to me. Sure, they hired the ad biz dude, and no doubt he has minions to sell sell SELL!, but replacing Google revenue is a big hill to climb. Mozilla has an expansive mission. No one else is trying to do what they do. I believe that they deserve our support more than anyone else. They may have expanded well beyond the point of supportability, however. If they lose Google, and Microsoft wants them to starve, even with this adrev move, their revenue would almost certainly drop to 20-30% (at most) of the current $300MM. That's a lot of people and a lot of projects that will be cancelled. It would be a new crisis of the web, honestly. If this advertising move alienates any portion of their userbase, Mozilla's importance to Google declines even more quickly than their potential independent ad revenue. So I'm biting this bullet, hard. I believe in Mozilla, and I recognize an existential threat to their mission, which is even more obviously important today than 18 months ago. Hindsight suggests some helpful defensive moves, but we are here, now. I understand the "ok then, switching to xx browser" reactions, and even sympathize with the "whatevs, as long as I can turn it off" crowd. But we need to give Mozilla the option of a soft landing. Maybe they need to rein in their projects and staff expenditures and focus on a few super important things. But letting them starve would be catastrophic. The Google contract was supposed to expire this month. Do we think Google is now evil enough to try to game their advantage, in the guise of shifting corporate priorities? I sure hope not.
explorigin 12y ago
Mozilla, please listen...let us pay for Firefox. Sure someone can freely donate to the foundation, but giving an option for users to pay would bring it more money from people that don't even know that Mozilla is a non-profit. Make it optional. When users disable the ads, ask them to donate with a link. Something like that. Many of us love Firefox and Mozilla for fighting for freedom and we want to see it well supported. But those of us who see it are not enough to fund it alone.
- scott_karana 12y ago
  Here's an idea: if Mozilla had first-class support for Active Directory Group Policy, my company would almost certainly pay for modest support licenses. As it stands, Chrome for Business and IE have better support.
dkhenry 12y ago
This is such a dishonest and misleading title. There are ads on the new tab screen before you navigate to a page and only until you have enough history to have that displayed. That is the only place you would ever sea browser provided ad. On top of that you can turn if off. This is borderline libel
cJ0th 12y ago
It is unclear to me how those ads will help Firefox. Some people will be disgruntled by this move and stop using Firefox.(Ironically, those will be the people who are most likely to donate money) Those that keep using Firefox probably have the intention to visit an address when they open up a new tab. Why would they stop for a while before typing in the address to look at those ads?

14 points by instakill 12y ago

If Citrix remote desktop worked properly in Chrome I wouldn't ever use Firefox. This post reminded me to give Chrome another try...

nb4hnp 12y ago
Yeah, that'll show them. Get away from ads by running into the arms of an ad company.

Thev00d00 12y ago

I don't see any issue with this, apart from the Clickbait title. As it stands at the moment at first install they would be blank, so they may as well put ads in them until you have surfed around enough to show something useful there.

quesera 12y ago

I hate that Mozilla is doing this. But I concede that they are in a strategically weak position. Google has no competition in the search space, so they don't need Firefox's traffic. Microsoft wants Firefox's traffic, but most Firefox users would (rightly or wrongly) consider a default search engine change to be a downgrade. It's also possible that both Google and Microsoft might decide that, strategically, the web browser landscape would be preferable to them with one less major player, each hopeful that their entry would take up the majority of the gap. So they might non-collusively collude to starve Mozilla. Where else can Mozilla make hundreds of millions of dollars per year in revenue by throwing a switch? They are at the whim of corporations whose interests are not well-aligned with their mission. So, reluctantly, I get it. Still, the likelihood that Mozilla can turn itself into a major advertising medium seems so remote to me. Sure, they hired the ad biz dude, and no doubt he has minions to sell sell SELL!, but replacing Google revenue is a big hill to climb. Mozilla has an expansive mission. No one else is trying to do what they do. I believe that they deserve our support more than anyone else. They may have expanded well beyond the point of supportability, however. If they lose Google, and Microsoft wants them to starve, even with this adrev move, their revenue would almost certainly drop to 20-30% (at most) of the current $300MM. That's a lot of people and a lot of projects that will be cancelled. It would be a new crisis of the web, honestly. If this advertising move alienates any portion of their userbase, Mozilla's importance to Google declines even more quickly than their potential independent ad revenue. So I'm biting this bullet, hard. I believe in Mozilla, and I recognize an existential threat to their mission, which is even more obviously important today than 18 months ago. Hindsight suggests some helpful defensive moves, but we are here, now. I understand the "ok then, switching to xx browser" reactions, and even sympathize with the "whatevs, as long as I can turn it off" crowd. But we need to give Mozilla the option of a soft landing. Maybe they need to rein in their projects and staff expenditures and focus on a few super important things. But letting them starve would be catastrophic. The Google contract was supposed to expire this month. Do we think Google is now evil enough to try to game their advantage, in the guise of shifting corporate priorities? I sure hope not.

explorigin 12y ago

Mozilla, please listen...let us pay for Firefox. Sure someone can freely donate to the foundation, but giving an option for users to pay would bring it more money from people that don't even know that Mozilla is a non-profit. Make it optional. When users disable the ads, ask them to donate with a link. Something like that. Many of us love Firefox and Mozilla for fighting for freedom and we want to see it well supported. But those of us who see it are not enough to fund it alone.

scott_karana 12y ago
Here's an idea: if Mozilla had first-class support for Active Directory Group Policy, my company would almost certainly pay for modest support licenses. As it stands, Chrome for Business and IE have better support.

dkhenry 12y ago

This is such a dishonest and misleading title. There are ads on the new tab screen before you navigate to a page and only until you have enough history to have that displayed. That is the only place you would ever sea browser provided ad. On top of that you can turn if off. This is borderline libel

cJ0th 12y ago

It is unclear to me how those ads will help Firefox. Some people will be disgruntled by this move and stop using Firefox.(Ironically, those will be the people who are most likely to donate money) Those that keep using Firefox probably have the intention to visit an address when they open up a new tab. Why would they stop for a while before typing in the address to look at those ads?