Despite any missteps it took, Mozilla fought a good fight. In hindsight, the mistakes seem obvious. And leadership poor.
But they pushed the open web forward. Good on them.
However, I don’t think Firefox is important anymore (I’m a loyal user). And I don’t think Mozilla can create something different. We need a movement more than a well funded organization for this next phase.
Wikipedia is in a very similar predicament. Or soon will be.
> However, I don’t think Firefox is important anymore (I’m a loyal user).
As I already wrote in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44659025 (and write often on Hacker News), Firefox is used very actively in Germany; among the desktop browsers it is the 2nd most used one (and German Firefox users are often very vocal about it and love to proselytise users who use Chrome.
That doesn’t warrant the size of the organization and costs to run it in its current form. The trends are not in Firefox’s favor. I say this as someone who uses Firefox on both iPhone and OSX.
I think a slimmer Firefox that’s just community supported would be fine. Forgo monetization and AI and enjoy the niche it can survive in. I’d go for that!
I don't see myself using another browser than Firefox in the present time, it would be extremely sad to see it go if nothing else better/similar shows up to replace it.
I cannot stand Chromium/Chrome, even less after the latest changes to extensions, fuck that; don't like Safari's UX and extensions ecosystem; will never install Edge. The other browsers are mostly re-skins of Chromium, or some stupid AI bullshit.
It will be a very sad day if/when Mozilla goes and takes Firefox with it.
> However, I don’t think Firefox is important anymore (I’m a loyal user).
This sounds defeatist. What is the alternative then? Vendor specific browsers? For me that's not happening because I don't and won't buy MS or Apple products so no safari or edge.
Honestly, web complexity is out of control and browsers are beyond comprehension for mere mortals being. The fact that you need billion dollar companies to prop them up is a telling sign.
I think a different model which does not require the size and complexity of the Mozilla org is a viable option.
It would continue to lose market share and skip new features (cough AI cough). But it could enjoy a smaller steady niche there supported by the community.
But they pushed the open web forward. Good on them.
However, I don’t think Firefox is important anymore (I’m a loyal user). And I don’t think Mozilla can create something different. We need a movement more than a well funded organization for this next phase.
Wikipedia is in a very similar predicament. Or soon will be.