Ask HN: Why is Firefox losing marketshare and how would you save it?

Post by Melatonic » Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 11:07 PM UTC

eigenrick wrote: post #522

rpnx wrote: post #473

My thoughts on this are that every time I see a news piece about Firefox it's about "social justice", some code of conduct controversy, or something else utterly unimportant to web browser selection. Being "Open Source" does nothing for me when Firefox engages in the same crap as other closed source browsers, like Pocket. Mozilla also allowed social issues to take precedence over retaining good engineers. Whether you…

I think this post assumes that Firefox is an inferior browser, and that the cause is mismanagement. But is Firefox an inferior browser? I think it used to be, but over the last couple years, it has made massive improvements in features and performance. I use it in both desktop and mobile, and I prefer it over Chrome. As a software engineer, I rely heavily on my browser for work. For me, the multi-account containers i…

Post by openfuture » Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 11:07 PM UTC

pavlov wrote: post #567

Reboot the project again, like in 2001. Nobody wanted to use the original open source Mozilla browser because it was a weird groupware suite monstrosity derived from Netscape's code. A few clever people created a standalone browser using the Mozilla engine and called it Phoenix. It was eventually renamed Firefox in 2004. Start another Phoenix that focuses on being a better, slimmer, faster browser than the Chromium o…

Post by twblalock » Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 11:08 PM UTC

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #488

twblalock wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$1m is senior engineering manager compensation in the valley at several companies just a short drive away from Mozilla’s offices. It’s far below CEO compensation. Anyone who is capable of succeeding as the CEO of Mozilla would be giving up millions of dollars they could easily make elsewhere in the valley if they took only $1m as their comp.

which companies are paying 1m to managers?

Post by Melatonic » Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 11:08 PM UTC

bostonsre wrote: post #547

panarky wrote: post #533

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't give a shit how nice the developers who made my web browser are It sounds like you do give a shit that they care about "social justice" and you don't want to use their browser because of that? Or are there specific features / functionality / performance / security issues that prevent you from using Firefox and are somehow caused by the worldview of the developers?

Just interpreting what the OP said and not really sure where I stand on the topic, but I think he means that "social justice" controversies have purged asshole devs that were competent developers producing good features and that firefox as a product is not as good due to that. Taking senior engineers off the roster will usually impact the product whether or not they were assholes.

Post by stjohnswarts » Mon, Feb 14, 2022, 11:09 PM UTC

mitchdoogle wrote: post #392

WJW wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a weird type of logic going on where almost everyone who would be willing to do it for almost free is probably not qualified for the job. Would you really stake the future of your foundation on someone who still needs to build their resume?

$2.5 million per year is in the top 0.1% of income in the United States. No matter how you shake it, whether you want people with management experience, tech experience, browser experience, or some combination thereof, you will find a significantly large number who would be able to do the job, do it well, and make more than their current salary.