Mozilla has fired Chief Product Officer Steve Teixeira after cancer diagnosis : firefox

[+] [email protected] -31 points 5 months ago (8 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

That's far. I just wish it wasn't chrome

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Wtf happened in the last month? Everyone used to love and jerk off Mozilla and suddenly we hate them?

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[+] [email protected] 15 points 5 months ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (3 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 58 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

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?

[–] [email protected] 40 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Don't ascribe intention where incompetence is enough.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Exactly

They are just good at burning money and getting nothing done

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 months ago (3 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago

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.

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[–] [email protected] 69 points 5 months ago (3 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 21 points 5 months ago

They honestly have a monopoly in the sense that they are the only think not Chrome

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (4 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Honestly a lot of Firefox users are eyeing forks

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago (1 children)

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.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago (3 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

We are stuck with Firefox based browsers for a few years at the minimum as it takes a really long time to develop an engine.

Also Servo is very much not the only thing around. Ladybird exists as well

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Apple is definitely just as fucking terrible.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Compared to Google? Idk. Google doesn't sell any products to the end user so that says a lot about who the customers are.

Apple sells products. Apple users ARE the customers.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

No. Apple's just getting paid from both sides.

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 5 months ago (7 children)

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.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

Librewolf is kind of like that. It pulls a lot from Tor

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Funny enough

Though with a target of 2026...

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (3 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago

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.

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[–] [email protected] 55 points 5 months ago (4 children)

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

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

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

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

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.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

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/

[–] [email protected] 50 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You missed this paragraph, which is curious.

After he returned, the suit says, Teixeira was asked to carry out and falsely take responsibility for a decision to make job cuts that were planned in his absence. He questioned the need for the layoffs and raised concerns about the potential to disproportionately impact women and people of color, the suit says.

Mozilla was trying to use him as a scapegoat, putting profits ahead of people.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

In the post OP linked from Teixeira, he claims they terminated his employment.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yet another thing to add to my growing pile of reasons that Mozilla is enshittifying. I wonder what tomorrow's reasons will be?

Slight sidetrack, I thought Mastodon was federated with Lemmy? Or is it just Boost that can't handle Mastodon links?

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (3 children)

You can read Lemmy threads in Mastodon clients (although it is messy and gross), but not vice versa. I couldn't tell you the reason why.

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