Mozilla has fired Chief Product Officer Steve Teixeira after cancer diagnosis

It's truly wild how hard of a heel turn mozilla has taken. I'm going to cancel my recurring donations to them, and get off all of their products.

Why would you donate to a company? I assume you are talking about the non profit
People are digging up a bunch of old shit right now
- September 18, 2024 is "old shit"?
- It’s obviously orchestrated
holy shit you donated money to these wackos?
with so many OOS projects out there in need of funding, so many devs roughing it up, you donate to the advertising company Mozilla that has zero cash needs, they give million dollar bonuses to their executives every year.
Literally giving money to wacko rich executives

It's almost like they are intentionally trying to get in trouble.

I feel like the CEO of Mozilla is paid by Google to be as fucking stupid as possible.
- To be fair I believe being as fucking stupid as possible is a prerequisite of being a CEO of anything.
- I hope discovery finds something obvious to this effect, or we're all going to have a bad time in the near future
- Fucking stop with this conspiracy theory already, i'm reading it for the third time this thread. As if CEOs can't make bad decisions and there has to be a "realll11" reason.
deleted by creator

Ok wtf is Moxilla doing? They know their company is built on good community perception, right?

They honestly have a monopoly in the sense that they are the only think not Chrome
I mean they've been pedaling AI crap for a while without negative backlash.
Similarly they tried to ride the Blockchain train back in the crypto scam days and also didn't face any backlash.
They've publicly vouched to become an AI company and an advertising company without backlash.
I think most Firefox users don't care
- I think most Firefox users don’t care
  Oh we care, but there's no alternative besides Chrome and Safari and those companies are even worse (Google definitely is, anyway, Apple is debatable)
  Luckily there's still alternatives like Librewolf that unfortunately still use Mozilla's browser engine.
  I do hope the Servo project will be ready to use in a production browser soon.
- What they mean with AI features is also their offline website translation feature, which is something I've wanted for years. The alternative is online Google website translation.
- Honestly a lot of Firefox users are eyeing forks
- They are a Silicon Valley-based foundation half-heartedly rehashing Silicon Valley's worst trends.
  The truth is, you have to do these sorts of things to attract and retain talent, even if they aren't great ideas.
The users most likely to complain are also the users least likely to stop using their products.

No no, guys Mozilla are the good guys. They never did something nasty like bundling tons of spyware and 3rd party calls with Firefox nor adding unique IDs to every installation. Mozilla also acquired an ad analytics company recently for some reason.

adding unique IDs to every installation.
I wasn't familiar with that so I did a quick search. For anyone else interested here is some info about it:
Each Firefox download has a unique identifier -ghacks, Mar. 2022
"Internet users who download the Firefox web browser from the official Mozilla website get a unique identifier attached to the installer that is submitted to Mozilla on install and first run."
[...]
"Firefox users who prefer to download the browser without the unique identifier may do so in the following two ways:"
Download the Firefox installer from Mozilla's HTTPS repository (formerly the FTP repository).
Download Firefox from third-party download sites that host the installer, e.g., from Softonic.
"The downloaded installers do not have the unique identifier, as they are identical whenever they are downloaded."
In the comments section someone says:
"It seems that getting Firefox from GNU/Linux repos (Debian, etc.), doesn’t come with unique IDs."
- Yeah repositories and FTP don't include that, but it is kind shady that the first way to get it (website) for the majority of regular users (Windows/macOS) has a unique ID - after all this is the company that goes all in for privacy...
- Must be for ad attribution and install tracking. Only something a major portion of their users are specifically trying to avoid when they're choosing Firefox.
Wtf happened in the last month? Everyone used to love and jerk off Mozilla and suddenly we hate them?
- Nothing, not everyone liked it, the only difference is that my comment would result in a shit show of downvotes last week while not people are starting to realize what Mozilla/Firefox really is. Mozilla was never the "all savior" pained them to be and it only took Wireshark and a couple of minutes to see it.
bundling tons of spyware
I couldn't find any info about this with a quick search. Do you have any links to where I can read more about this?
- I have this in user.js:
  
  // settings user-test-programm user_pref("app.shield.optoutstudies.enabled", false); // dont use me as guinea pig user_pref("app.normandy.enabled", false); user_pref("app.normandy.optoutstudies.enabled", false); user_pref("messaging-system.rsexperimentloader.enabled", false); // side-loading of telemetry-extension user_pref("extensions.systemAddon.update.enabled", false); // disable Mozillas new tracking aggragation thingy user_pref("dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled", false,); // almost only for tracking useful user_pref("beacon.enabled", false); // so webpage can send (tracking) data before you close tab user_pref("browser.send_pings", false); // hyperlink auditing (click-tracking)
  Note: the last two are more nuanced.
  Argument for beacon is that webpages will use a more intrusive way with noticeable delay to upload data on tab close. I personally prefer that, as a warning, but never saw one after years.
  Argument for send_pings is, that trackers will use more mean and stealthier ways to track you, if they don't have that interface (same as in private-attribution). I do know however, that companies who track you have high greed and low morale to begin with, and use all they can get to generate more money.
- That is blatantly false. Don't even waste your time.
- Just fire up Wireshark and inspect what Firefox calls, a lot of calling home and even if you change all the settings and config parameters to something sane it will still contact a 3rd party analytics company. Mozilla also acquired an ad analytics company recently for some reason.

Jesus isn't rule number one of an employee suing you is to NOT FIRE THEM?

Seriously Monty Burns did this. Monty fucking burns. A cartoon villain

*Monte Carlo
- Season 2 - Bart gets hit by a car. Bart gets hit by Mr Burns while skateboarding. Homer uses Lionel Hutz to sue his employer, Mr Burns for 1 million dollars. On receiving notice, Mr Burns tells Smithers to fire Homer. Smithers asks "Do you think that's wise, sir? Think of the headlines"

I genuinely believe that the Mozilla board is secretly working for Google. They already get most of their funding from that search engine deal, is a backroom agreement to slowly run the organization into the ground in order to force the last holdouts over to Chrome that hard to believe?

Don't ascribe intention where incompetence is enough.
- It's better to treat incompetence as maliciousness, than to treat maliciousness as incompetence.
  The benefit of the doubt should only apply in the absence of a longstanding pattern of behavior to the contrary.
  IMO Mozilla has run out of goodwill.
- Exactly
  They are just good at burning money and getting nothing done
It's in Google's interest to keep Firefox/Mozilla alive to skirt antitrust laws, so any backdoor deal would be more making Chrome alternatives not look too attractive while keeping them on life support.
I don't think they're working for Google but I'm convinced that they're trying to setup their own advertising business
Trying to get some of that sweet ad revenue money
but Google controls so much of everything that of course they're indirectly funded by Google, so it may look like they're working for Google
In this Tecnofeudalist reality that we live in, we all indirectly work for our feudal lords Google / Meta / Amazon. We are granted their grace and allowed to exist in their server space and use their internet cables. In return we have to work the land and give our data as a tribute.

I just canceled my MDN Plus subscription. Man, Mozilla has been so disappointing recently. I have to wonder if Google infiltrated them or something.

They are just really poorly managed
- Sure, but it’s worth asking why the management is so poor. Many people have theorized that it’s because Google is pulling the strings; It would be in Google’s best interest to keep Firefox around on life support, because it helps them avoid antitrust lawsuits if they can point to Firefox and go “nope not every browser is Chromium based!” But it’s also in Google’s best interest to whittle Firefox’s usage down to near zero, which is what every single recent Mozilla decision has been aiming to do.
  Mozilla was getting paid a lot of money by Google before Google got their hand slapped in an antitrust lawsuit. Many people have theorized that since that lawsuit, Google has pivoted to making deals directly with Mozilla’s management instead.

Are they TRYING to speedrun losing their credibility?

EEO court here we come

If Mozilla really starts to go downhill, what are the chances we get a Linux kernel-style community fork that we can rely on instead? Curious why that hasn't happened before -- perhaps because Mozilla has always toed the line of not-quite-awful enough?

I just hope we can keep an alternative browser engine alive. Would be nice if some rich person would just set up a funding model that can pay a few devs to keep it going indefinitely without ads or spyware.

Because developing and maintaining an entire browser is a huge task. That's why we don't see much competition in browsers (I mean independent browsers). Also Mozilla isn't doing that bad, the browser is still really good. It's not the technical side that is a problem, its mostly marketing and the image of Mozilla.
Librewolf is kind of like that. It pulls a lot from Tor
It’s one thing to tweak a browser that comes in kit form from Mozilla’s code. It’s another thing altogether to continue maintaining it if Firefox ever dies. I don’t know if any of these clones have the kind of teams needed to do all the work Mozilla have done for them.
Funny enough
Though with a target of 2026...
- Its also sadly maintained by transphobic weirdos
- Have you seen the amount of web standards? HTML5 by itself is huge
Don't you like the Ladybird Browser and the browser based in Servo projects as alternatives?
They're literally happening right now, not ready for prime time but with continued development and support they'll become usuable
Check out AlternativeTo
I've been thinking of different browsers as well, but not sure which. Probably LibreWolf.
Def not Chrome or Safari though.
The biggest obstacle to people joining Linux is all the Linux stans who don't shut up about it

Prolonged, multi-level fuckery with dozens of witnesses - and that's just with what they did to this one guy.

deleted by creator
- It's because the devs just don't want to. Not really sure why, would be good to have that kind of interoperability.

Teixeira worked for nearly 14 years at Microsoft in areas including developer tools and technologies, before serving as Facebook’s director of program management and design, and Twitter’s vice president of product.

According to the suit, Teixeira joined Mozilla in August 2022 with the understanding that he would ultimately be positioned to succeed Baker as Mozilla CEO.

[...]

Teixeira, 52, was diagnosed in October 2023 with ocular melanoma, a rare but treatable form of cancer. He took an approved 90-day medical leave through early February under the Family Medical Leave Act, the suit says.

Shortly before Teixeira returned, in early February, Baker stepped down as CEO, returning to the role of executive chairman. Chambers, a Mozilla board member, was named to serve as CEO for the remainder of the year.

So he's basically fine, he just missed his chance to become CEO.

https://www.geekwire.com/2024/mozillas-product-chief-sues-the-firefox-maker-alleging-discrimination-after-cancer-diagnosis/

deleted by creator
- I have met Steve at Ms several times, and he always seemed like a nice and genuinely motivated person. He seemed to like product challenges and even took on hard tasks like leading the core team of Windows 8.1 App enablement ( think of getting Facebook to create a Windows native app). I'd believe him that Mozilla treated him wrongly or asked unfair things of him, otherwise he wouldn't need to take these steps.
In the post OP linked from Teixeira, he claims they terminated his employment.

Remember: Mozilla killed mozilla the app long before it killed Mozilla the company.

Stupid move posting about it publicly while the case is still open.

Yeah I don't know how this is in other countries but over here that can seriously damage your case as the other party can claim your motivation is fame (and hence money), not justice. You generally never do this, and it's one of the things lawyers are very serious and strict about.

Right so what browser should I use now??? 😡

Another org may fork popular software like Firefox, like OpenOffice vs libre office for example.
In the meantime we're going full text interfaces by 2030 to save cycles for the env, https://man.archlinux.org/man/lynx.1.en /s

I am more and more satisfied with my decision to use Brave years ago despite all the haters.

I'm not usually one to do this sort of thing but you're saying the browser created by a guy who got fired from Mozilla in 2014 for donating to orgs against gay marriage is more ethical to use than firefox?
- I'm saying using the browser that aims to put privacy first is better than Firefox, yes. I don't really care about the past personal beliefs of the staff because that doesn't actually make any difference on the product itself, it's just virtue signaling. I'll keep using Brave which values my privacy, you can keep using whatever the hell other browser you want that doesn't. Simple as that.
deleted by creator
So brave.
That's far. I just wish it wasn't chrome