Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions • Hacker News Board

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#131

Post by toyg » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:05 AM UTC

boomboomsubban wrote: post #113

57844743385 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. So a company with 750 employees should be run at discount rates by someone sitting in a bathrobe in their kitchen .

And I'm sure that person will do an excellent job negotiating the next default search contract worth several hundred million dollars.

Considering that contract was originally negotiated when exec salaries were much lower... likely yes, s/he would do a better job. It's very plain that Baker and her friends have lost the ideological hunger and now are just in it for the money they can make before it all goes bust.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#132

Post by Levitz » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:06 AM UTC

57844743385 wrote: post #43

Kototama wrote: post #29

If their CEO salary was not paid in millions dollars maybe the users would be more keen to donate money? I never saw a fundraising like the ones from Wikipedia.

What’s wrong with paying market rates for a CEO? Do you think they should find a CEO below market rates? Have you donated money to Mozilla or Wikipedia?

Many don't donate to either Mozilla or Wikimedia for the same reason.

Both companies are known for their big products, Firefox and Wikipedia, and both suffer from a chronic insistence on funding projects their userbases don't support.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#133

Post by roca » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:06 AM UTC

mrtesthah wrote: post #64

toyg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because all the browsers you mention are controlled by megacorps who want to own the web for their own gain. As mismanaged as Mozilla is, they are in it to make the web a decent place for users. This said, of course, I hate this "feature" and I'll make sure I disable it.

> As mismanaged as Mozilla is, they are in it to make the web a decent place for users. Placing ads in the search bar and datamining everything you search for is failing at this mission.

"No new data is collected, stored, or shared to make these new recommendations."

"When contextual suggestions are enabled, Mozilla receives your search queries. When you see or click on a Firefox Suggest result, Mozilla collects and sends your search queries and the result you click on to our partners through a Mozilla-owned proxy service. The data we share with partners does not include personally identifying information and is only shared when you see or click on a suggestion."

Doesn't sound like "datamining everything you search for".

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#134

Post by bluefox » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:06 AM UTC

Good thing I stopped updating Firefox a long time ago. "But, but, security!" I hear you scream inside. Well, JS disabled by default pretty much covers it. "But, but, security!" I hear you whisper to your fingers, ready to take down my HN comment. Well, I'd rather live "dangerously" than be a MozillaCorp hostage. If security is the only reason to update, no wonder bugs, security updates, and alarmist propaganda are pushed to users in full force.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#135

Post by Hendrikto » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:06 AM UTC

leodriesch wrote: post #107

Adrig wrote: post #34

Meh, the feature is easily deactivable, the settings are clear and extensive. As far as ads go, it's one of the best implementations. Firefox still has no alternative in the privacy / user-centric space (don't mention Brave, I'm gonna get mad). Mozilla has done a lot for the web, I can give them some slack for exploring different revenue models. Still, I'm going to keep on eye for this kind of practices in the future…

This just makes me worry a little bit that Firefox will take a similar route to Brave and introduce multiple streams of revenue into the browser, disguised as features that the user would want. E.g. Brave Rewards, Brave VPN, Sponsored Wallpapers. These just clog up the interface and make it feel sketchy. I just want a normal FOSS browser, but I also understand the whole financing issue.

Financing is only an issue because they make it one.

Mozilla has tons of money, but they just

1. spend too much of it, 2. on the wrong things, 3. and always want more.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#136

Post by _wolfie_ » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:06 AM UTC

samizdis wrote: post #128

eCa wrote: post #4

As someone who has used Firefox since v0.* I really, really, really dislike the language they have used lately. > relevant suggestions from our trusted partners The suggestions are not relevant to, and the partners not trusted by, me.

> I really, really, really dislike the language they have used lately. That is exactly the problem I have with it - weasel words and euphemisms; FF is scoring an own-goal here and eroding trust. Why not just tell it like it is. "We need funding and are lining up deals with third parties to display their ads/messaging in the address bar search. We vet these third parties by holding them contractually to these standard…

> We need funding

Yeah, I guess Baker needs a raise.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#137

Post by bserge » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:07 AM UTC

datenarsch wrote: post #104

Certhas wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A browser is expensive. Currently Firefox is funded (though not controlled) by Google's Ad business. I am all for them reducing their reliance on Google's Ad business. In this sense this is a step _towards_ what you want. I really really dislike them double speaking about this though.

Why is a browser expensive ? There are many great and big open source projects out there that are maintained and developed mainly by volunteers. Why can't Firefox be like this?

It's very hard for designers and developers to come up with regular updates that stay on the fine line between still useable but somehow worse than the previous version. Firefox has been excelling at this.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#138

Post by wodenokoto » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:07 AM UTC

Everybody gets pissed off when firefox tries to move advertisement away from Google for some reason.

Firefox recieves 100s of millions in advertisement revenue via Google yearly through the search bar.

Firefox is practically 100% advertisement financed.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#139

Post by ajkdhcb2 » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:09 AM UTC

squarefoot wrote: post #54

As a Firefox user, and after having donated to the foundation, I was outraged by reading this. https://calpaterson.com/mozilla.html If they need money, they already know where to find it without polluting the experience with ads.

Very discouraging. Few people seem to realise the importance of the direction of browser development, setting standards of the web etc. The situation is very bad.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#140

Post by zh3 » Thu, Oct 07, 2021, 9:09 AM UTC

dmitrij wrote: post #17

rich_sasha wrote: post #6

It’s sucky and I particularly hate ads percolating to every part if my life, BUT how are they meant to support Firefox and other software without a revenue stream? Mozilla seems to attract criticism for how they run the whole operation, I can’t tell how correct it is, but even if they run it perfectly they still need revenue.

Let me pay for Firefox, please!

There's always Palemoon [0] (for anyone who likes the classic firefox interface). I've been using it for years (and have donated), plus I like the fact it can be installed just by unpacking a tarball/zip file (as well as the more usual methods).

[0] http://www.palemoon.org/