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Firefox on the brink?

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Re: Firefox on the brink?

#751

Post by creatonez »

culi wrote: post #344
kemotep wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Despite all this nonsense about the board, Firefox remains the best browser in my experience. It isn’t cramming an AI chatbot and coupon codes during checkout into my browser experience or working to eliminate ad blocking.

They also don't ban and lie about anti-tracking extensions like AdNausium (a data poisoning adblocker[0]). Chrome banned it from their store. As well as other extensions like Bypass Paywalls Clean. Ultimately the Firefox addon ecosystem is simply freer [0] https://adnauseam.io/

AdNauseum situation was funny, you had Firefox endorsing it as a high quality ad blocker in a Mozilla press release, then Google bans it because they consider it malware.

Folks have raised concerns about Mozilla's funding from Google Search, but it's pretty clear from their past actions that they see supporting ad blocking as non-negotiable. Their diverging implementation of Manifest v3, while still incomplete (it's rapidly improving in 120, most of the remaining issues are related to Fenix support and Chrome parity), is thoughtfully designed to continue to provide familiar APIs for ad blocking.

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#752

Post by shiroiuma »

rozap wrote: post #541
hs86 wrote: post #117

I switched over after the Manifest v3 debacle, and after a couple of months, I wonder if the implications of using a browser with a lower market share are overblown. I haven't encountered any site that misbehaves, and the only missing feature so far is within the Google Drive web app because it uses a Chrome-only extension [1]. Maybe the ongoing standardization of the web shows its effects here, and using a standard-…

I agree it seems overblown. I haven't encountered a site that doesn't work. Even google meet and zoom's web client work great. Not sure what all the fuss is about. It's a great browser. Chrome got very, very aggravating and I've had no problems since switching maybe 4 years ago. Even FF mobile works well.

One problem I have is that screen-sharing doesn't work in Messenger video chat. I have to switch to Chromium for that to work, so I have to remember to start the chat in Chromium instead of FF where I have a Messenger tab pinned.

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#753

Post by fragmede »

creatonez wrote: post #749
fifteen1506 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Firefox no longer has memory leaks. I just which they'd follow Brave's BAT idea, or something along those lines. Brave's BAT, while feeling kludgeful, is the only innovative idea in terms of funding sites nowadays. Micropayments => dead Coil => dead (sorry, on a open stewardship) Flattr => unknown, guessing dead So I want to block ads but I ain't depriving the websites of a way of earning money. If they want…

I want there to be a proper micropayments system (hopefully something supporting fiat money instead of just cryptocurrency) but this functionality doesn't belong in the base browser, browser extensions are a much more appropriate place to put this functionality.

Unfortunately the Visa/MC duopoly isn't incentivized to create a micropayments system, so using a third party technology aka cryptocurrency seems to be the only way forwards for now.

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#754

Post by eviks »

encom wrote: post #291
jdlyga wrote: post #90

Firefox needs to focus all their effort on making a good web browser first . If the browser is slow, has a clunky interface, or lags behind on features, then people won't use it. Mozilla focus way too much of their attention on privacy and non-browser related projects. Look at how much attention that The Browser Company has gotten for their Arc browser on Mac. Their primary focus is great UI and making an excellent b…

In my opinion, Firefox has been at war with its own users for years. I finally had enough a few years ago, and switched to Vivaldi. Every Firefox upgrade was a gamble on what feature or functionality they'd remove or change this time, or what bone-headed UI design change they'd make. And every time there'd be a Bugzilla bug with a of horde users who just had their favorite feature removed, and every time, without fai…

Indeed, the level of customization in Vivaldi is awesome and what Firefox should've done instead of going the other way (that would counter the lame excuse you link to elsewhere that "view image" makes the menu too long - just make the menu editable, duh!), even though their UI is unfortunately not very petformant

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#755

Post by rdm_blackhole »

jampekka wrote: post #642
rdm_blackhole wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would be a no from me. Considering the recent headlines from the EU wanting to scan every private message on the phones of it's citizens in order to "protect the children".

Private corporations do the same without you knowing, without any pretence and without even illusion of accountability. Non-profit is better than gov but private is way worse than even gov.

I don't think this is what being argued here. We know that privacy is an after thought of most companies even in the EU.

But to think that the EU would be the guarantor of everyone's privacy on the web, is completely ridiculous.

Also your argument is not valid. When Google detects that you break their rules they ban your account. When the government has this kind power, then they have the power to do worse things to you, like imprisonment, fines, putting you on a blacklist and much more...

Those two things are not comparable.

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#756

Post by eviks »

antiframe wrote: post #76
franczesko wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Firefox would need to win mobile. This is where action takes place.

Well there isn't much browser action on iOS, so nobody but Apple can win that.

They still have a browser there, and its UI was worse, so there is that

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#757

Post by insanitybit »

flagrant_taco wrote: post #733
insanitybit wrote: post #637

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's clearly not about what is needed, it's about what is tested . And spending resources on a browser that appears to have 2% of the market is not going to be a high priority.

"appears to have 2%" is doing a lot of work he. If the earlier comments are accurate, the government stats are based on Google Analytics data that is specifically blocked or obscured by Firefox. That 2% kind be breached, but the data doesn't accurately represent usage if Firefix is blocking GA in any meaningful numbers.

Yeah I used the word "appears" exactly to emphasize that the appearance is sufficient. The government is working with the data they have.

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#758

Post by insanitybit »

hedora wrote: post #724
riversflow wrote: post #659

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No browser deserves special treatment here. Completely disagree. Privacy is a 4th ammendment right, so the government has a duty to support privacy first browsers. How am I "secure in my ... papers and effects" if I must use a privacy destroying browser to interact with the Government? If anything, chrome support is what should be questionable.

The supreme court ruled there is no right to privacy in the same ruling that overturned roe v wade.

I don't think that's true. They just ruled that the constitutional right to privacy is not sufficient for the Roe v Wade ruling.

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#759

Post by croes »

taylodl wrote: post #632
croes wrote: post #599

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Safari is a niche and is missing features. And Brave and Vivaldi are based on Chromium, so they help Google that Chromium sets the standards for the web. You already shot yourself, just didn't recognize yet. Why do you support a crooked company like Google?

> Why do you support a crooked company like Google? Get back with me when the Mozilla Foundation has done a fraction of what Google has done in furthering our knowledge of computer science. Other companies making significant contributions to our knowledge of computer science are AT&T, IBM, and Microsoft. Would you prefer them to Google? Also, the Firefox against the world meme is juvenile.

It's not about Firefox against the world, it's we against Google and at the moment Firefox is all we have.

>Get back with me when the Mozilla Foundation has done a fraction of what Google has done in furthering our knowledge of computer science.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/

Re: Firefox on the brink?

#760

Post by nbittich »

I have switched to Firefox in 2022 as I was tired of Google acting like assholes. I didnt see a single broken website since then. I believe more and more people will do that in the future, maybe not switching to firefox but something less ad-focused and more privacy focused. I'd rather use netscape communicator and only be able to visit 0.000000001% websites than going back to google products.
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