Let me address some issues on this thread on the best way I can because I am really tired of all the FUD and attacks. I will first address the stuff mentioned on that changelog about the FDroid build of fennec and then I will talk a bit about Mozilla, Eich and what I think people are doing wrong in here.
Removed: Tests [not sure about that]
Removed: Crashreporter [tracking]
Removed: Healthreporter (UI?)
All that stuff provides telemetry for Mozilla that helps in finding and addressing bugs. People complain about a website not working correctly on Firefox but disable all the reporting stuff and never fill a bug on bugzilla. That kind of thing is useful. The source code for that is available on github, you can check what is sent and decide if it is worth using it or not.
Removed: Mediastreaming (requires non-free library: play-services) [google's binary blobs]
Users want stuff to work. I am not talking about users with a free software mindset that are willing to hop through unfortunate hops to get their system working. I am talking about the average non-technical non-aware-of-foss user which number in the millions world wide (billions?) They want their browser to be able to play multimedia content. If you don't want to use non-free multimedia then don't access mp3 and other patent encumbred content.
Removed: Updater [tracking]
Another piece that you can check the code. Everyone wants an evergreen browser that receives patches, keeps its health in check and is kept up to date. There is no way of updating software without sending some data about the current software. Check the code and see if there is any sensitive information being sent and decide for yourself.
Removed: EME/DRM [adobe's binary blob]
EME is one thing and DRM is another. They work together but they are not a single unity. Before EME/DRM you had proprietary unauditable DRM software running wild on your computing device. Now you have an open source sandbox that can be audited to make sure that the proprietary DRM blob can't escape and fetch personal fingerprint data from your computing device. If you don't believe that the EME/DRM sandbox included in your Firefox is the same as the one from the code, there are mechanisms for building your own and using it. And thats the important part: "If you are against DRM then don't using services that use DRM". Some people want to listen to music, watch movies and other multimedia on services that believe that DRM solves some stuff. EME/DRM solution protects their personal data while giving them the features needed to use such services. If you don't agree with DRM then you don't use those services. The DRM blob is downloaded when you use those services, if you're not using them then the blob is not on your machine and never will be.
The fight against DRM shouldn't happen inside the browser but in the users mindset and towards the service providers. The EME/DRM solution was created as a compromise, give the users what they want while trying the best solution to protect them. Let FSF and other FOSS entitites audit the EME/DRM sandbox. Let researchers try to pick personal data and fingerprints from the machine. Match that against the other solution which is non auditable. If all the effort and action placed into the hate machine against EME/DRM was instead directed at educating users and teaching about non-DRM services then EME/DRM would not be needed.
And that brings us to the topic of action. Mozilla is the only large player in the browser ecosystem that has all its code open, its roadmaps published, its processess available for public perusal and collaboration. You can't influence or be a part of Safari, Opera, IE, Edge and Chrome development. You can't verify, audit, help steer, be a part of what the companies behind those products want for the the web.
THE WEB IS THE ONLY MASS COMMUNICATION MEDIA WHERE EVERYONE HAS A VOICE
Keeping the web free and open, made by everyone for everyone, is the mission of Mozilla. That mission passes through a lot of different efforts which you can help. Millions of people worldwide have no idea how to the web works and don't know how to produce content and make their voice available online.
The Mozilla Webmaker project helps teaching the web through workshops. Instead of spreading FUD and attacking people online, you can direct your energy into positive actions such as educating users on how to make the web their own and how to make their opinion count such as when talking about the DRM situation. The webmaker initiative goes beyond that with workshops and activities to teach about privacy, online rights, net neutrality, information credibility, programming. All that is open and in need of help. Educating users do more about the web than removing EME/DRM API hooks and sandbox.
Firefox is the only browser that has its source code completely open and where you can help steer the project. You can be a part of Mozilla and then join the thousands that are trying to steer the web towards the users. If you don't agree with some practice, then, instead of shouting on Twitter and Hacker News, join the mailing lists and discussions. Be a part of the process. Help.
Firefox OS is the only mobile operating system developed in the open and based on web technologies that are not controlled by a single entity. You can help us create a wonderful mobile system that brings the benefits of the open web in the hands of everybody. Instead of rooting and fighting about isolated closed proprietary islands, you can help steer our little web boat. Our low-cost (and low-specs :-P ) devices are bringing internet access to lots of people in emerging countries, with that there is information sharing, education, and other life transforming opportunities that bring positive social change.
Mozilla is what we make it be. As volunteers, employees, fans and users we can make it more than it ever was. Mozilla is also a project, an idea, that making a good quality software and solutions as a foundation/community we can rival companies and make the ideal of values over profit prevail on the web.
I see a lot of hate for all the decisions Mozilla makes. Apparently it is the fashionable trendy thing on the web to spread FUD instead of taking positive action and helping. The whole situation with Brendan Eich is one of those cases. Brendan is a normal human being like all of us. We all have our flaws, prejudices, qualities, dreams, and bad decisions. Everyone here has some opinion and action taken about such opinion that goes against something that is deeply important to some group. We're humans, we make mistakes. We're products of the zeitgeist of our formative years. We learn and change through time but yet we all make mistakes at the eyes of others and sometimes even to our own. Unlike many here, I've been around Brendan Eich couple times and he was always pleasant, supportive and energetic about the web. That is his passion and fight. A strong problem with the web is the echo chamber. Someone makes a mistake or something we all disagree and consider bad and that person is forever bound to suffer our hate. That kind of action leads us nowhere. Whats helps is education, empathy, showing "the other" why we thing our opinion is important and why we would think another course of action was correct. Dialog and comprehension makes the world a better place, pitchforks don't.
You all here, may you be FUDing/fear mongering or not, can help Mozilla, the Web, Brendan and everyone. You can join the cause of an open web though dialog and positive actions. You can help Mozilla better its code and actions. You can help teach people about the web and let them multiply their opportunities. You can help audit code, translate content, make us see the correct path when we're in the dark. You can help Mozilla fight for a web made of people and not of incompatible features and companies.
Thats what I am asking. Instead of flamewars and fighting Mozilla, join us, help us work, teach and learn with us and we'll all make a much better and interesting web.