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Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

support.mozilla.org

321–330 of 721 posts

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a way to know how the Mozilla Foundation spend its money? They've stopped updating this page[0] in 2019. Maybe a way to rely less on Google and "trusted partners" money is just to spend less. [1] https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/who-we-are/public-records/

They've not stopped updating that page; it just takes longer than you would otherwise expect to get final numbers, prepare the reports, run them past auditors, etc. The 2019 statements were published in October of 2020, so I'd expect the 2020 numbers some time this month. It's also worth noting that there is a strict separation between the Mozilla Foundation (the tax exempt non-profit) and Mozilla Corporation (the wh…

> It's also worth noting that there is a strict separation between the Mozilla Foundation (the tax exempt non-profit) and Mozilla Corporation (the wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary which builds Firefox). The Foundation is not directly involved in the creation of Firefox.

Wow I didn't know that. I always assumed Firefox was developed by a non-profit. So it basically means that Firefox is a commercial product (the purpose of which is to make money). Thanks for that bit of information which was not at all obvious if you don't pay close attention...

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#323
I’m not crazy about this development but if they were going to add any kind of advertising this is just about the least intrusive way to do it. And, importantly, it’s only based on the search terms, not anything about you personally, so it doesn’t seem like it would feed into the surveillance capital machine. I don’t like it, but if it keeps FF viable I’ll roll with it. I just hope it’s the ONLY thing they do and not the start of a slippery slope down

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#325
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…

[deleted]

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#326
post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neutral FYI: VLC on OSX had unremovable sponsored radio/podcasts in its sidebar last time I used it

They have "Jamendo Selections" nowadays, but that service offers independent music under creative commons licences, you can also right click and remove it.

> you can also right click and remove it.

Are you sure? For me, I can only "Disable" it, and it gets promptly re-enabled right after clicking on some other item in the sidebar.

There doesn't seem to be any way to disable it permanently, or, preferably, removing it entirely.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#327
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…

Outsider here: whats wrong with brave? I haven’t touched it but have no reason to distrust it, happy for you to change that for me though

Try just installing base Brave

- "Sponsored" backgrounds (often crypto ads or credit cards!)

- "Cards" with more weird Crypto ads!

- Brave "news"

- Brave "rewards"

Yes I can turn all that of, and I have, but hard to recommend to normal users that dont spend 10min turning all the shit off.

They also did some weird link shit a while back.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#328
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…

> Firefox still has no alternative in the privacy / user-centric space (don't mention Brave, I'm gonna get mad).

Vivaldi perhaps https://vivaldi.com/ ?

It is still a chrome derivative, but it feel less shady and less spyware than Brave. And it's pretty good and configurable.

Firefox remain my first and main browser tho. I never ever used "proper" chrome, not even one day.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#329
post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They had an extremely competent CEO who was more than happy to work for a price below market rates, but he was a conservative, so they sacked him. Now Mozilla has what it deserves.

Being a Conservative is one thing, but he was/is (he hasn't publicly gone back on his stance AFAIK) homophobic. Eich had to go.

Many people misunderstand the meaning of the word "conservative", which is proof of how much the overton window has moved. If you want to progress on social issues, you are not a conservative, but a progressive. Those two things are completely incompatible. If you support gay marriage, you cannot be a conservative. You want to "progress" on social issues, which makes you a progressive. He did not support gay marriage, which makes him a conservative and nothing else.

There also is a big difference between not wanting gays to marry and being homophobic. I don't want people to be able to marry tables, and that does not make me a tablephobic. I'm not disgusted or afraid of tables, but I don't think they should be able to be part of the sacrament of marriage.

>he hasn't publicly gone back on his stance AFAIK

If, as a tech worker, you told me to publicly declarate my stance on a political issue, I would rightly tell you to sod off.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#330
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.

I'd love to be able to pay some monthly subscription to support Firefox. But every time this comes up, someone tells me that there's no way to directly support Firefox itself. I wish they'd do something like Wikipedia does, to ask their users to donate or contribute.

I bet some mozilla devs have their own Github Sponsors or Patreon.
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