Why is Firefox surrendering its individuality?
Growing up, I enjoyed using the Firefox web browser. It was hip. It was the greatest thing since sliced bread to me. It was my own little way of making a statement to the world that I didn't have to use Internet Explorer. Before that, I used the Netscape browser. The browsing was SUPER fast with it compared to IE. I used Firefox b/c it was different. I used it b/c I could even go a step further and install themes on it which would allow me to customize my browser even further. Now every time I open my browser, it looks more and more like Google Chrome. Today I opened it and I saw the compacted most visited sites page. This frustrates me b/c a browser which I once considered as laying the foundation in user customization and expression, has like so many other projects, given into the masses. Themes are no longer themes. They're images that behave as wallpaper. They act as something to hide the fact that underneath, your browser is just like everyone else's. Firefox's original homescreen was awesome. I realize that writing an entire web browser (for several different platforms) must be hard and thousands upon thousands of man hours have went into it. I realize that it may be easier to go with the crowd but anything great, isn't about following the crowd. It's about stepping out and being yourself. The people who use Firefox currently, do so b/c of brandname. The Mozilla name carries it's own individual identity or did. They do so b/c Mozilla has been the browser they've used for years and have come to rely on it's security and it's interface. Little by little, Firefox has given up on this interface, on this individuality. They've made movies and ad compaigns about what they stand for but in the end, they keep going in the same direction as their competition. When two companies offer the exact same service, guess which company gets the sale. . . the company with the biggest brandname. The customers no longer recognize that they have an alternative. To them, everything looks exactly the same. When two companies offer two different services, guess which one gets the sale. . . they both do. However, the products are purchased because of their quality, not their uses. Please consider bringing back Firefox's individuality. I, like many, use your browser b/c of it's history. I use it b/c of the brandname that's associated with it. However, this is slowly fading when Google Chrome's features outweigh yours. It's slowly fading when you undermine your own layout by compromising with Google and saying that theirs is better. I don't care about flashy asthetics. I don't care about a UI that's just like everyone else's. I want something that says this is MY browser and they take care of ME. They don't tie all my services together into one big bundle and then use that to spy on me. One of the many things Firefox could work on would be their pop-up problem. I have Linux and Firefox doesn't do squat to block pop-ups. I have to install adblock every time I get a new installation of Firefox. Could you also please please please bring back themes. I know the younger generation will have no clue what they are but they really allow a user's browsing experience to POP! :) Your browser is awesome but you've allowed the crowd's usage statistics to override actually getting in touch with your users. You've allowed every little whim of "we're losing users" to dictate and send you in unguided directions. Google Chrome is beating you guys b/c you're allowing it to. You're surrendering every bit of what makes Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Firefox for a few extra users at a time. Sure, you're climbing up the hill but that hill has a down slope on the other side. When your browser is JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE's, the only browser that wins in that situation is the one with the most exposure. I've written this entire thing to ask Mozilla to PLEASE consider going back to the point where you allowed users to embrace their own individuality. Go back to focusing on addons and themes. Start fixing that internal flaws and not the external ones. Provide us (the users) with quality again. Forget about quantity. If people don't like your product, forget them. Thanks for your time and even though I'm pretty sure this message will get no where, I had to write this b/c I love the history of this browser. I love where it comes from. I love the ideologies it springs forth from. It has a history. That's the only thing Google doesn't have. Yet Firefox seems to just be handing that history over on a platter. Sorry if any of this was perceived as rough but it's something I feel I had to say.
All Replies (4)
Firstly I want to say that I really appreciate your effort in posting such a massive post. It's true that things have changed a lot since the beginning of Firefox, luckily there have also been a lot of improvements. Although you might not like to install a seperate add-on, the Classic Theme Restorer is an add-on that aims to make Firefox look the way it previously did.
I agree that the old themes were a little bit better, but I still feel like Firefox gives you a lot of freedom in comparison with Chrome, especially when it comes to add-ons.
While Chrome also added so called 'Google Apps' which is slowly growing to something bigger, Firefox still seems to have better add-ons when it comes to customization and manipulating traffic which is very useful for Firefox developers because it offers more freedom in creating good add-ons.
Also, although not recommended, Firefox allows you to change a lot of it's functionality with better accessability to different settings.
Back to the add-ons and Firefox in general, Mozilla seems to have a better aim for privacy than Google it's big empire often does and Firefox is often recommended for better privacy and therefore is also used by the Tor browser bundle for a good reason, while Tor might be usable on Chrome, again I trust Mozilla a lot more when it comes to privacy and I'm also not aware of scary experiments like those google sometimes does.
Of course this is all just part my opinion, but I think Mozilla is still standing out on some points although the new UI might lead to different impressions.
Hopefully this has helped you to feel like your browser is still special in comparison to some other ones.
"Firstly I want to say that I really appreciate your effort in posting such a massive post."
It's the Internet. It's meant to be composed of massive amounts of texts. That's been the intent since the beginning when there was only text. <poke, poke> :)
"It's true that things have changed a lot since the beginning of Firefox, luckily there have also been a lot of improvements. Although you might not like to install a seperate add-on, the Classic Theme Restorer is an add-on that aims to make Firefox look the way it previously did."
That's not the point I'm trying to make. I understand where you're going with this and it's true that I could install the addon. Let me produce another perspective. Linux is a kernel. There is software placed on top of that kernel which makes most distros. The distros themselves don't usually make the software. They collect it and compose their distro into a compilation of software which best suites their users. Therefore, the distro isn't about what can be done. It's about intended use. Mozilla's intended use is no longer about allowing the user to cusomize their experience while on the web. The driving force behind Mozilla has gone from "the browser is yours" to "the browser is making us money." Mozilla no longer takes the perspective that the browser belongs to the users which download and use that browser. Though it's true that Firefox is "open source" and therefore you can customize it all you want, any ideology can be undermined by assumption that that ideology isn't underminable. What I mean to say is, unless the browser belongs to the users in the smallest detail, it doesn't belong to the users in the largest. Most users aren't programmers. Most programmers can't sort through the millions of lines of code that is Firefox. Firefox itself has to belong to the users both in customization and in practice.
"While Chrome also added so called 'Google Apps' which is slowly growing to something bigger, Firefox still seems to have better add-ons when it comes to customization and manipulating traffic which is very useful for Firefox developers because it offers more freedom in creating good add-ons."
Customization, like Greasemonkey? Chrome has that. What good is having the ability to build "good" add-ons when no one wants to do it? What about the other numerous sets of users that Firefox is trying to appeal to? By what you're saying, Firefox add-ons are a niche. They only appeal to a certain group of people.
"Also, although not recommended, Firefox allows you to change a lot of it's functionality with better accessability to different settings."
The original idea I got from Firefox when I first started was to get messy and get my hands dirty. Now that's not recommended? Who wants to play on the safe side?
"Mozilla seems to have a better aim for privacy than Google it's big empire often does and Firefox is often recommended for better privacy and therefore is also used by the Tor browser bundle for a good reason"
I agree with you there. It's one of the only reasons I'm still using Mozilla. They're security conscience. That again goes into brandname. The usibility though is still compromised in my opinion.
Though I recognize your arguments and technically they're accurate, there is a big difference between being technically correct and perceived intent. Technical accuracy means that you can do whatever you want as long as everyone else can do whatever they want. Computers are this way by nature. Any software developed on them can be re-engineered. Perceived intent is how people perceive what you're doing with your software. My original perceptions of Firefox were that of "I can do what I want to make this browser mine." Now, they're more like, "This browser has been setup for me. I can change the background and add a few buttons but the browser is pretty much set in stone."
All of this is my opinion and it's not meant to be taken as degrading as much as positive criticism. It's just an observation I've made during the last few releases of Firefox.
I understand your concerns but the discussion of development issues and decisions is not the purpose of this forum.
This thread will probably be closed soon as being off topic and outside the scope of the forum.
I suggest you watch the thread
- What is the best way to communicate my displeasure with new features? /questions/1011942
I have escalated that thread so that paid help desk staff will see it and hopefully respond. I recognise that fact that Firefox users need somewhere to discuss this sort of topic, and currently Mozilla does not seem to provide anywhere.
Modified by John99
Note that the majority of Extensions and Themes (complete and lightweight) hosted at addons.mozilla.org are by third-party authors.