I know that software is a very different industry, but Mountain Equipment Co-Op went through this in Canada. The end result is that the new Mountain Equipment Company is a for-profit, US-owned reseller of overseas crap, just like everyone else.
The problem I see is that browsers are still evolving significantly, and I’m worried about what will happen if Mozilla goes T-U. Sure we have the code, but will it continue to be developed after that point?
time will tell if they go further.
Having seen this FAR too often, I have a different view:
Capitalism and greed will determine when they go further.
There is no “if” about it. Mitchell Baker is in it to get rich by destroying the platform, and is sharing enough of the corpse’s leavings with others to make sure they protect her.
Something else that needs to be understood about Mozilla: Money!
The Foundation was formed in 2003. Mitchell Baker, the first CEO, stepped aside in 2008 but stayed on as Chairperson of the foundation.
Think about that for a second. Mozilla’s market share has been struggling, and their financials have been weak; but their lead person pulled in over $26 million dollars over a handful of years.
This entire activity has been a long game to extract ‘maximum shareholder value’ into Baker’s pockets.
The rationalization they have given…
Anything you say after this point is irrelevant. (Nothing personal, though.)
As soon as a company has to rationalise their legal back-pedalling, it is explicit evidence that they are intending to do wrong.
This will not end well.
They removed “We don’t sell your data and we never will” from their FAQ and they added “We may sell your data” to the ToS.
“Never” has a very clear and definite meaning. By undoing “never,” I feel like the Mozilla foundation is inviting a class-action lawsuit.
I found it ironically frustrating that converting from Firefox to LibreWolf is harder than from literally any other browser, because there’s no import mechanism.
It wouldn’t be that hard to make a standalone tool to import bookmarks, passwords, and config settings, and would make LibreWolf a seamless transition for Firefox users. Instead, it’s a frustrating process in re-creating years of tweaks.
Here’s the crux of the problem.
Mozilla went from “explicitly not malicious” to “probably not malicious yet.”
What’s next?
Why do rich people have to be so terrible?
I’m a Canadian who has lived and worked in the US, so I’ve got some familiarity with it.
There is a pervading sense of exceptionalism buried deep in the American zeitgeist. It runs so deep that most people don’t even notice it - even on the outer edges.
Case in point: My closest friends down there were staunch leftists. In a land of gun owners and meat lovers, they were vegetarians and pacifists who marched in protests against the government. Most of the time they were quiet, charming, soft-spoken, but firm in their beliefs. Pretty much the polar opposite of the “loudmouth American tourist abroad” stereotype.
And yet if you asked them if the US was the greatest country on earth, they’d say “well yeah, which is why we have to fight for it.” An admirable sentiment, but the “well yeah” speaks volumes for how the country sees itself.
The protest singers who lived through McCarthy are the same. Woody Guthrie and his son Arlo would probably say that for all of its flaws and horror, the US is still the best nation we’ve got so far.
When you know deep in your soul that you’re the best, it’s hard not to let some subconscious arrogance show through.