Sigh... so falls another bastion...
Apr. 1st, 2014 06:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pheloniusfriarIt looks like I have to aggressively distance myself from Firefox now (fyi, Chrome isn't really an option for me either for mostly different reasons, I will have to ponder this for a while before making my decision...).
First, and what prompted me to go "oh, no...":
OKCupid seeks to block Mozilla Firefox over gay rights
What?
In following the threads of this story, it turns out that the brand new CEO, Brendan Eich, of the Mozilla Foundation (the organization that owns Firefox) donated $1000 to the effort that got Proposition 8 adopted in California (before it was ultimately overturned by the US Supreme Court). Employees are blogging and twittering their serious upset. Three board members have resigned, nominally because this guy got chosen instead of the person who had a huge amount of experience with mobile platforms — which is where they see the future, whereas Eich represents the past of browser technology. Eich was the key developer, amongst other things, of "Javascript" which is one of the core technologies of the "dynamic" world wide web, so he has had a huge impact on the technical side of how the world works now. He is certainly allowed his opinion (I have heard nothing to indicate he has engaged in any sort of hate speech or has done anything to compromise the rights of LGBTQ+ folk working at Mozilla), but taking the helm of an organization like Mozilla is something quite different in character and past politics make much more difference in that role.
From the article: Mozilla's head of education, Christie Koehler, who is gay, wrote on her blog: "It's hard for me to think of a scenario where someone could donate to that campaign without feeling that queer folks are less deserving of basic rights." However, she added that while she was personally disappointed, she said she did not think it would affect her work at Mozilla..
To Ms. Koehler, I have the following quote: "What I particularly admire in him is the firm stand he has taken, not only against the oppressors of his countrymen, but also against those opportunists who are always ready to compromise with the Devil. He perceives very clearly that the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it. — Albert Einstein's tribute to Casals (30 March 1953), in "Conversations with Casals" (1957), by Josep Maria Corredor, translated from "Conversations avec Pablo Casals : souvenirs et opinions d'un musicien" (1955).
Then, while researching that story, I found this entire thread that I had apparently missed...
Mozilla to deliver ads in its Firefox browser
Between the two, I think I need to reconsider my choice of browsers and of the viability of an independent browser market with Firefox as a key player for the freedom of the web. In retrospect, it seems as though a bunch of features it introduced as being user privacy features have actually paved the way to allow Mozilla to have exclusive access to advertising space in the Firefox browser.
Double sigh... looks like the beancounters and professional corporate types have gotten a hold of the place and are going to run it into the ground while filling their pockets as it goes down, just like they do everywhere it seems these days.
First, and what prompted me to go "oh, no...":
OKCupid seeks to block Mozilla Firefox over gay rights
What?
In following the threads of this story, it turns out that the brand new CEO, Brendan Eich, of the Mozilla Foundation (the organization that owns Firefox) donated $1000 to the effort that got Proposition 8 adopted in California (before it was ultimately overturned by the US Supreme Court). Employees are blogging and twittering their serious upset. Three board members have resigned, nominally because this guy got chosen instead of the person who had a huge amount of experience with mobile platforms — which is where they see the future, whereas Eich represents the past of browser technology. Eich was the key developer, amongst other things, of "Javascript" which is one of the core technologies of the "dynamic" world wide web, so he has had a huge impact on the technical side of how the world works now. He is certainly allowed his opinion (I have heard nothing to indicate he has engaged in any sort of hate speech or has done anything to compromise the rights of LGBTQ+ folk working at Mozilla), but taking the helm of an organization like Mozilla is something quite different in character and past politics make much more difference in that role.
From the article: Mozilla's head of education, Christie Koehler, who is gay, wrote on her blog: "It's hard for me to think of a scenario where someone could donate to that campaign without feeling that queer folks are less deserving of basic rights." However, she added that while she was personally disappointed, she said she did not think it would affect her work at Mozilla..
To Ms. Koehler, I have the following quote: "What I particularly admire in him is the firm stand he has taken, not only against the oppressors of his countrymen, but also against those opportunists who are always ready to compromise with the Devil. He perceives very clearly that the world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it. — Albert Einstein's tribute to Casals (30 March 1953), in "Conversations with Casals" (1957), by Josep Maria Corredor, translated from "Conversations avec Pablo Casals : souvenirs et opinions d'un musicien" (1955).
Then, while researching that story, I found this entire thread that I had apparently missed...
Mozilla to deliver ads in its Firefox browser
Between the two, I think I need to reconsider my choice of browsers and of the viability of an independent browser market with Firefox as a key player for the freedom of the web. In retrospect, it seems as though a bunch of features it introduced as being user privacy features have actually paved the way to allow Mozilla to have exclusive access to advertising space in the Firefox browser.
Double sigh... looks like the beancounters and professional corporate types have gotten a hold of the place and are going to run it into the ground while filling their pockets as it goes down, just like they do everywhere it seems these days.
