AlexFeb 14, 2024
ploum

Remember the new @mozilla CEO whose first action was to post a link to her Linkedin profile?

Some said I was harsh that we should let her the benefit of doubt.

So here are the first true actions: firing 60 people working on useless products to focus the company on its true mission.

The useless products?
- Relay (privacy, protection against spam)
- VPN (privacy)
- Mozilla.social (Mastodon)
- Monitor (privacy)

True mission to focus:
- AI (???)

You can’t made that up

https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/13/mozilla-downsizes-as-it-refocuses-on-firefox-and-ai-read-the-memo/

Mozilla downsizes as it refocuses on Firefox and AI: Read the memo | TechCrunch

After installing a new interim CEO earlier this month, Mozilla, the organization behind the Firefox browser, is making some major changes to its product

TechCrunch
Feb 13, 2024 at 10:26pmWeb
Show threadB OFeb 13, 2024
@ploum @mozilla extremely sad news
Show threadZekounetFeb 13, 2024
@ploum @mozilla
Encore quelqu'un qui va gérer d'une main de merde.
#ironeme
Show threadAedius Filmania ⚙️🎮🖊️Feb 13, 2024

@ploum @mozilla

the new CEO is paid by google to kill firefox, thats the only way.

Show threadDelta WyeFeb 13, 2024
@Aedius @ploum @mozilla Ding ding ding
Show threadAedius Filmania ⚙️🎮🖊️Feb 13, 2024

@DeltaWye @ploum @mozilla

firefox is the only way between google and google ads on every website.

Show threadploumFeb 13, 2024
@Aedius : no. She has a MBA. That’s enough, no need for conspiracy.
Show threadO'SchellFeb 13, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] EEE but the HR way...
Show threadMaxi 12x 💉Feb 13, 2024
@s_hentzschel ?
Show threadPixelFeb 13, 2024
@ploum @mozilla I'm not inherently anti-ai, local ai like their local translation that doesn't phone home to google is good. but as someone that pays for their VPN and appreciates the hell out of relay, this is such a discouraging move and shows yet again how out of touch mozilla is. Disappointing.
Show threadDeepBlue V7.XFeb 13, 2024
@ploum @mozilla Wtf, why do they need to always fire people for the stuff I use!
Show threadrubenwardyFeb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla

I despise the term "right-sizing", it's so cold and heartless

Show threadOblomovFeb 14, 2024
@rubenwardy @ploum @mozilla OTOH, it fits. Left-sizing would be making efforts to keep everyone on payroll through good and troubled times.
Show threadMcWabbit🐰 has movedFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] Just by the end of 2023 as people including me were promoting to use Firefox as an alternative to Chromium browsers, we get shit like this. Can't we just have nice things like a safe, private and stable browser that is not enshitefied by clueless upper management and shareholders? 😩
Show threadHypxFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] It's time to admit that Firefox is dead or will be soon. It's also important to remember than Google basically bankrolls Mozilla, likely just to push back against monopoly accusations.
Show threadthe esoteric programmerFeb 14, 2024
@Hypx @ploum @mozilla what alternatives are there then? we can't just give up the fight, can we?
Show threadHypxFeb 14, 2024
@esoteric_programmer @ploum @[email protected] It’s seems unavoidable that some kind of open source browser based on Chromium will replace Firefox. Firefox is just too far behind and Mozilla is too poorly ran to make Firefox more competitive.
Show threadthe esoteric programmerFeb 14, 2024
@Hypx @ploum @mozilla firefox is far behind...on what exactly? I dk, but it seemns to work relatively well in my opinion. Sure, it doesn't have automatic image descriptions or proper translation for a lot of languages, but that's for privacy reasons. I'm more afraid of the current trend mozilla seemns to follow, especially the AI stuff. Sure, AI can be ethical and relatively good, but at the same time, no, I absolutely don't want it in my browser. Also, such open source browsers based on chromium probably already exist, but who knows
Show threadHypxFeb 14, 2024

@esoteric_programmer @ploum @[email protected] It is likely that the Gecko engine is seriously deficient in a lot of ways. Things like lack of security, poor mobile support, inferior extension API, bad/inflexible code, etc., undermine the product in a deep way.

As a result, Firefox is never going to be competitive, especially outside of the desktop. And this is before the "switch to AI." So its likely to only get worse.

Show threadthe esoteric programmerFeb 14, 2024
@Hypx @ploum @mozilla hmm, I'm very curious now. Lack of security, bad decisions regarding extensions, bad mobile support? can you give examples or point me to source code where those deficiencies are apparent? and about mobile support, apple allows nothing but web kit on their app store, and the android version never crashed on my end, so yeah, interesting. Also, yeah, it's possible it could get even worse, and for that we gotta prepair indeed
Show threadHypxFeb 14, 2024

@esoteric_programmer @ploum @[email protected] Much of what I know is based on the decisions by Brave Software, which chose Chromium as their core browser engine over Gecko.

The browser market will probably get worse regardless, since Google dominates this market. But the best option all point to something based on Chromium and not Gecko.

Show threadthe esoteric programmerFeb 14, 2024
@Hypx @ploum @mozilla brave chose chromium more or less because everyone chooses chromium, and that's what people should focus on stopping. Such monopolistic behaviour can't be justified in any way, and even if for that alone, I'll keep using firefox till they'd shuv ai into my browser, at which point, I'd probably switch to a fork, or better still, leave the web and go to gemini or something like that, lol
Show threadHypxFeb 14, 2024

@esoteric_programmer @ploum @[email protected] They explained that going with Gecko would've slowed down development significantly. Likely, they couldn't've survived if they kept with Gecko.

For now, Firefox is still a viable browser (I still use it too). But barring a major shift at Mozilla, it will eventually stop being a credible alternative to Chromium-based browsers.

https://brave.com/the-road-to-brave-one-dot-zero/

The road to Brave 1.0 | Brave

Over the past 4 ½ years I've been helping to build a "big" new startup named Brave. It's been a wild ride, far exceeding anything I could have imagined. The company has grown from a team of 2, to over 100 passionate mission-driven teammates. Our user base has grown to 8.7 million monthly active users. Our users help support over 300,000 registered content creators via micropayments. And our community is growing and thriving more every day.

Brave
Show threadPaul Wermer, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Feb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla yes, that list does suggest the CEO is trend, not quality/needs focused.
Show threadOlle GladsøFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] So, it looks like I may have to abandon Firefox after all these years. I can't imagine them screwing the pooch the way they did. What browser should I choose instead. I am a dyed in the wool GNU/Linux user.
Show threadSir David NielsenFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] @lisamelton and they’ve only just announced Monitor, this insane.
Show threadDerekFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla Ah damn. I love relay.
Show threadZorro Notorious MEB 😡Feb 14, 2024
@ploum Tell me your new CEO doesn't understand market strategy without telling me that your CEO doesn't understand market strategy.
Show threadfaraiweFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] it's past time to reclaim #mozilla back to #foss, really foss, not linkedin oral breather managed corporation.
I've used mozilla since its inception. Never were so many heads up their respective assholes at a body making decisions regarding mozilla as these past few days.
WTF.
Show threadDagnabbit, Pascaline! 💥Feb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla
Firefox down the drain 😭 I have been using it since it first came out. This is so bad.
Show thread🍜Feb 14, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] I uninstalled Firefox so quickly.
Show threadLukefromDCFeb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla I always strip Pocket and the other crapware out of Firefox. I never let anyone's browser connect to the Internet without stripping out monetized shit, and I don't run Chrome at all.
No Pocket, no sponsored links, none of that. All telemetry turned off, and all the Google shit removed. All taken out before first connection to a network, plus the UI rolled back to mate MATE with a real menu bar etc. First site to visit with Firefox is always about:config

There are multiple firefox forks now because of shit like this, unfortunately the arms race between browsers and exploits make any delays in security updates dangerous. Best defense is probably to limit what sites are permitted to run JS and never, ever allow ads as they are a known vector of malware.

We need a fully community maintained desktop browser with up to date security, a minimal feature set to reduce attack surface, antitracking and antifingerprinting code like Firefox uses, first party isolation of cookies, and the functionality of NoScript or Ublock Origin by default. There should be no parties involved whose reason for being there is financial.

Show threadLawler Hix Feb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla Give it a few years for when the (current) AI craze dries up.

We'll see what the grift crowd moves to next.

Show threadMarquise de What 🇨🇦Feb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla Et tu, Mozilla.
Show threadLuna LacteaFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla what the fuck
Show threadGerbrand van DieyenFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla also shutting down hubs, https://hubs.mozilla.com/ a mozilla product that sounds Intriguing but I never heard of until now.
Hubs - Private, virtual 3D worlds in your browser

Show threadOpticalNail 🇵🇸Feb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla
Haven't used default Firefox in a long time. @librewolf will hopefully keep the necessary features without any #AI, although it's not very easy to do so..
A separate build at least would be lovely :)

#enshittification

Show threadMarkFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla A lot of that sounds smart. Like everyone is offering a VPN these days, and why are they ploughing money into a mastodon instance as opposed to just having one?
Show threadDragon-sided DFeb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla How about we do the boring but really hard engineering job of making a fast secure privacy-respecting open-source standards-based browser?

I give money every month because I want *that*

Thank you

Show threadMatija ŠukljeFeb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla ,

Out of curiosity I asked the interwebs whether rightsizing ever led to more employment.

The answer was ”no”. (it’s just an euphemism of an euphemism for layoffs)

Show threadVictor Morel - ummonFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla @f00wl @eole666
Show threadFrancesco P Lovergine Feb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla

Maybe it's me, but why should a non-profit organization be interested in making money and need an ordinary CEO with an MBA to focus on that? I'm a f*cking passed idealist, probably.

🤔

Show thread❄️ freezr ❄️Feb 14, 2024

@gisgeek @ploum @mozilla

You forgot the geographical location... 

Show threadBrendan JonesFeb 14, 2024

@ploum @Herman @mozilla This makes me sad. I’m a happy, paying customer of Relay and VPN, they’re both great.

I hope if they’re laying off workers then the CEO also took a pay cut?

Does anybody have recommendations for Relay replacements, in case they actually shut it down?

I was hoping Proton might have such an email-forwarding service because I’ve been meaning to move my email over there anyway (time to de-Google!), but it doesn’t look like it. Pity!

Show threadBrendan JonesFeb 14, 2024

@ploum @Herman @mozilla And they’re focusing on Pocket?! Argh! The one product of theirs I’ve never found useful and regard as bloatware.

It better be making them loads of money, in which case I understand keeping it, even if I don’t like them pushing it in Firefox.

And AI? I *really* hope that means more useful, on-device services like their translation (which is great), and not some LLM chatbot integration or something equally stupid and costly.

Show threadLillian VioletFeb 14, 2024
@Brendanjones
They do have an associated service that does that, for free with a premium account, detailed here:
https://proton.me/support/create-simplelogin-account-proton-account
How to create a SimpleLogin account using a Proton Account | Proton

SimpleLogin is part of the Proton encrypted ecosystem. Find out how to set up SimpleLogin using your Proton Account.

Proton
Show threadBrendan JonesFeb 14, 2024
@GLaDTheresCake oooh thank you for the heads up! They hide it away a bit; it's certainly not listed as one of their products on the main website (hence why I didn't see it).
Show threadToran ShawFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla I'm hoping that we'll have the first viable @servo based browser soon, to break the duopoly of the current system!
Show threadLance, Enjoying Copious PollenFeb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla I've been using Firefox since the early days, ~20 years ago. This is really disheartening news.

Looks like I may be jumping ship soon if they proceed with this strategy.

Show threadBenoît B.Feb 14, 2024

@ploum @mozilla

F*ck, f*ck, f*ck…

Not what we were expecting…

Show threadLinux and praxis: part of the resistance 🇵🇸 ☮️Feb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla Looks like I'll be using LibreWolf if it junks the add-ons of Firefox. Or I cd just use Tor all the time.
Show thread[realhackhistory@home]#Feb 14, 2024
@mozilla @ploum so much money and (actual and human mental) energy wasted on jamming ‘AI’ into everywhere possible with a crowbar.
Show threadHenrik PauliFeb 14, 2024
@ploum @[email protected] What an amazing upgrade from the previous one. Oh wait.
Show thread🏳️‍⚧️PepperTheVixen🦯Feb 14, 2024
@ploum @mozilla Gotta use all that AI to uh... do... privacy stuff. Yeah! AI will solve all our problems and nothing will ever go wrong ever again!
Show threadBerslFeb 14, 2024
@ploum CEO carries out the will of the board who elected them.
Show threadWildRikkuFeb 15, 2024
@ploum Well, except their Mastodon instance (and there are a lot of other instances), products I never heard of. They kept Firefox (and Thunderbird I guess?), so let's figure out what AI means...
Show threadMiroslav KravecFeb 17, 2024

@ploum @mozilla companies need money to sustain. AI brings money.

This is what capitalism does to FOSS and great software. It shifts focus from what's best for people to what's in the best financial interest of owners.