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Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

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Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#181
post #4
post #2

Apparently, as the article says, the lite version is the recommended one by the author to be used

Recommended for Chrome. I'm not sure why anyone would want this for Firefox.

It's lighter on resources and requires less permissions (so it's more private).

manifest v3 is not as bad idea as some people are saying

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#182
post #53

If I understand the timeline correctly here, it seems that gorhill overreacted, and I say that as someone who is usually harshly critical of everything Mozilla has done in the past 5+ years. It's hardly practical for Mozilla to manually review every add-on revision for safety in a timely manner, so they had the choice between automation and delays that would make add-on development a slog; automation though inevitabl…

Meh, it's perfectly reasonable to decide that you don't want to deal with this kind of bullshit and pull the extension from problematic stores. There's probably a miniscule amount of people using uBO Lite on Firefox anyway.

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#183
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s reasonable to expect that one of Firefox’s most popular extension publishers gets a higher tier of review service. Gorhill (and other top extension devs) are providing real value to Firefox, and have demonstrated good behavior for years. This doesn’t mean they should get to publish whatever they want, but if a reviewer is about to reject a high profile plugin, they should get a second set of eyes on it.…

But this is not about a high profile plugin. The high profile plugin is "uBlock Origin", and this is about "uBlock Origin Lite", which is a big thing for Chrome, but not for Firefox. Why would anyone want to use uBOL, when they have the option to use uBO? Perhaps Mozilla does have a higher tier of review, but it's for specific plugins, not for specific authors.

It’s more efficient which can pay dividends in battery life on android, especially for those who have older phones.

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But this is not about a high profile plugin. The high profile plugin is "uBlock Origin", and this is about "uBlock Origin Lite", which is a big thing for Chrome, but not for Firefox. Why would anyone want to use uBOL, when they have the option to use uBO? Perhaps Mozilla does have a higher tier of review, but it's for specific plugins, not for specific authors.

> But this is not about a high profile plugin. The high profile plugin is "uBlock Origin", and this is about "uBlock Origin Lite", which is a big thing for Chrome, but not for Firefox. Why would anyone want to use uBOL, when they have the option to use uBO? uBlock Origin requires giving the extension full read and write permissions on every site you visit, which is a huge liability, security-wise. uBlock Origin Lite…

To have a reviewer under your employ that doesn’t know what UBO is or it’s dev, makes me feel pretty confident in siding with gorilla on this, but I hope that he does calm down a bit and put the extension back up.

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#185
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That obvious mistakes can happen is itself a problem.

Obvious mistakes are an issue with most software stores. Less a matter of attention being paid, and more a consequence of scale: https://www.pcmag.com/news/beware-theres-a-fake-lastpass-app...

Software management doesn't scale as much as google would like.

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#186
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On desktop Firefox, you can download an extension from anywhere and install it. All they're gatekeeping is their own repository, which I think most of us would like them to do. I think mobile requires using a nightly build to install extensions from outside Mozilla's repository, and that suggests their thinking is becoming contaminated by the rest of the mobile ecosystem.

No, the normal version blocks (at least permanent) installs. You need the developer version to install unsigned extensions.

What release made this change effective?

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#187
post #53

If I understand the timeline correctly here, it seems that gorhill overreacted, and I say that as someone who is usually harshly critical of everything Mozilla has done in the past 5+ years. It's hardly practical for Mozilla to manually review every add-on revision for safety in a timely manner, so they had the choice between automation and delays that would make add-on development a slog; automation though inevitabl…

Exactly. And this is why we need paid browsers. If the ad-supported/donation-supported browsers like Firefox need to apply low-quality automated solutions to approving/rejecting even their most popular addons, then clearly the business model isn't working.

I think not everyone thinks that money solves all things. Look at the $8 blue check “verified” accounts on Twitter that are easily identified as CCP/Russian spam bots. We’ve had free browsers for nearly 30 years, so I’d say we don’t need paid browsers just yet. There are of course some out there for those who like the idea, but overall it’s not a solution. n=1 failure doesn’t mean flushing the whole enterprise down the toilet. There is an easy policy change for this. Fire one high level executive and get 10 more quality reviewers so that the more experienced reviewers can get high traffic items like those from gorhill

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. And this is why we need paid browsers. If the ad-supported/donation-supported browsers like Firefox need to apply low-quality automated solutions to approving/rejecting even their most popular addons, then clearly the business model isn't working.

> their most popular addons It’s the lite version. It’s not popular at all.

However gorhill is quite a high tier extension dev which should get him more attention and at least a second set of eyes on any drastic action like cutting his extensions.

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obvious mistakes are an issue with most software stores. Less a matter of attention being paid, and more a consequence of scale: https://www.pcmag.com/news/beware-theres-a-fake-lastpass-app...

Software management doesn't scale as much as google would like.

Software management doesn't scale at all. It relies on an individual human element that is free to make the wrong choice apropos of nothing. They have no motivation to explain their reasoning and by-and-large are protected by the marketing of a multi-million dollar business.

Kinda why it's a mistake to charge money for a process that is demonstrably incorrect.

Re: Gorhill pulls uBlock Origin Lite from Firefox store

#190

I manage a medium-sized browser extension at work. We also offer(ed) it on Firefox. But I have spent the past year struggling to get back into Mozilla store after a manual review. As far as I can tell, there are maybe two reviewers that are based in Europe (Romania?). The turn around time is long when I am in the US, and it has been rife with this same kind of "simple mistake" that takes 2 weeks to resolve. "You need…

> that's because you didn't follow instructions and are in the wrong directory.

You just need to have a shell script in the root directory that assumes the person running it has 0 clue about your extension.

Also some of this reminds me of Apple. They clear something up, then bring it up again the next time review is needed.

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