Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

support.mozilla.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

381–390 of 721 posts

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#381

Post by southerntofu »

On an economical perspective, i wish we had more choice than between Google, Mozilla and Brave, all of which have shown to be corrupt and care little about users. I'm sure a popular browser could receive tons of donations if it was based on such model and stopped remunerating execs/managers (or did away with those vampires entirely).

On a technical perspective, i'd like a modern document browser, not a webapp engine. I can appreciate a cross-platform app runtime (WASI project sounds good), but running random code from every website i visit has only downsides for me. I feel like the useful aspects of the web are declarative (HTML/CSS) that the browser is free to ignore/override to provide better UX, and i'm sad innovation in declarative web seems to have entirely stopped after HTML5 shipped and (and a few others).

Why can't login/logout, drag & drop, background polling for dynamic content updates, and content "tabs" in page (not based on :checked hack) be part of the HTML spec?

https://foobar/newarticles.rss" schema="https://foobar/template.html">

^ my browser would let me opt-in/opt-out of background updates and/or change the frequency... which i can't control with crappy JS applets that just make tons of background activity and break in the most unhelpful ways when wifi/VPN/tor looses connectivity

All in all, declarative formats empower users, whereas imperative formats (ECMAScript) empower content producers and advertisers. I wish we had a sort of web users union doing R&D on such topics and employing people to work on user-respecting tech.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#382

Post by babuskov »

toyg wrote: post #300
strken wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mozilla takes hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue a year. For decades it hired its engineers from the single most expensive place on earth to hire an engineer, the Bay Area. It boosted CEO pay into the millions shortly before laying off a big chunk of its engineering team. If they had taken the cash they spent on "diversifying their revenue streams" (i.e. getting distracted by side projects while their moneyma…

I'm one of those five, and I'm not switching. Chromium is tainted, Brave is outright corrupt, and IceCat is seriously unpractical (they don't even build Windows binaries, because ideology beats practicality for them). Do I hate the current exec team? Fuck yes. Do I have any serious alternative? Effectively, no. Am I a hostage? Sadly, a bit. I hope people with the power to influence this state of thing will, sooner or…

> Do I have any serious alternative?

Vivaldi?

I'm using Firefox myself and have been using it almost exclusively since it was named Firebird back in the day, but I have considered Vivaldi as an alternative at one point.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#383

Post by morganvachon »

deepstack wrote: post #309
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…

>(don't mention Brave, I'm gonna get mad) Just wonder the reason? Is it because it support the monopoly of google rendering engine? Or other reasons?

Not OP but I've avoided Brave from the beginning because of its reliance on an ad-fueled crypto scam to generate revenue. If you're trying to avoid Mozilla's new ad-based revenue scheme, moving to a browser that is wholly funded by tracking your browsing and showing you ads while pretending to "pay" you with cryptocurrency that they never actually pay out, seems like a step backwards.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#384

Post by bugmen0t »

skywal_l wrote: post #322
callahad wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 pu…

The pur is to further the mission of the nonprofit, i.e., an open interoperable web. All money earned stays within Mozilla.

In contrast to all other browser products, whose main purpose is increasing share holder value.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#385

Post by x14km2d »

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…

> and eroding trust.

This is exactly the point why I left Google Chrome back then and considered FF as a good alternative. I didn't trust Google anymore. But now I face the same problem again, because I don't want these "features and trusted partners". I also don't want to have to justify over and over again why I don't want them. I just want a well-functioning and secure browser that people can trust.

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#386

Post by adar »

nonbirithm wrote: post #308
samizdis wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Having watched The Boys just an hour ago, I couldn't agree more. So much of that show is made up of language that conceals intent and how it is used to preserve one's public image and save face, and you can immediately tell when someone is actually willing to tell the truth instead of skirt around the actual issues. The incentives aren't made clear and you're left with the gaps to fill leading up to how decisions lik…

I'm not quite sure scripted dialogue in a fictional TV show about murderous superheroes is the correct comparison for Mozilla putting ads in search results...

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#388

Post by shakow »

laurent92 wrote: post #208
_wolfie_ wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We need funding Yeah, I guess Baker needs a raise.

Counterpoint, I’d rather NGOs and benevolent societies be attractive for world-class leaders, rather than be the constant underdog. Of course those CEOs have to avoid implementing classic business schemes.

> world-class leaders

‶Firefox usage is down 85% despite Mozilla's top exec pay going up 400%″ -- https://calpaterson.com/mozilla.html

Re: Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions

#389

Post by adar »

babuskov wrote: post #382
toyg wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm one of those five, and I'm not switching. Chromium is tainted, Brave is outright corrupt, and IceCat is seriously unpractical (they don't even build Windows binaries, because ideology beats practicality for them). Do I hate the current exec team? Fuck yes. Do I have any serious alternative? Effectively, no. Am I a hostage? Sadly, a bit. I hope people with the power to influence this state of thing will, sooner or…

> Do I have any serious alternative? Vivaldi? I'm using Firefox myself and have been using it almost exclusively since it was named Firebird back in the day, but I have considered Vivaldi as an alternative at one point.

I like Vivaldi but the issue is that you're still locking yourself into Chromium's Blink rendering engine which just serves to strengthen Google's push to be the de-facto standards enforcer of the web.
Post reply on HN