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

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.