Hello Firefox makers, users, employees, and management,
I'm a long-time user and supporter—I came to you in 2002 or 2003. I am deeply thankful for what you have accompli… (read more)
Hello Firefox makers, users, employees, and management,
I'm a long-time user and supporter—I came to you in 2002 or 2003. I am deeply thankful for what you have accomplished over the years. Everyone involved has literally made the world a better place by creating and maintaining this browser.
I, like many longtime Firefox users, must now leave Firefox. Your Terms of Use released on February 25th is the latest painful misstep, followed by the update on February 28th where you doubled down on these terms. I want to stress that it is not simply these actions that have brought me to this point—it's misstep after misstep after misstep.
It's incredible to me that there's been no communication since then, considering the amount of discussion this has generated among your most loyal users and contributors. While I have no access to your internal data, anecdotally it seems that a significant portion of your user base (though possibly only your stalwarts and standard-bearers) is leaving over this issue.
It's hard to imagine an internet without Firefox, and I don't regret the years I've spent supporting it—but it's clear that you want to become something I don't want you to be.
I strongly suspect there is nothing you could do at this point to make me (and perhaps users like me) give Firefox another chance, but I'll offer some suggestions that might have worked had you acted more quickly:
A post stating the new Terms of Use had been withdrawn, with an apology for the incompetence with which it was created or for the malicious intent.
A drastic reduction in CEO pay along with a search for new management that better reflects the ideals of Firefox users.
A promise to use the money saved on CEO pay to rehire developers.
A return of the promise not to sell user data.
Removal of references to "nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license."
A clear acknowledgment of these specific issues and others.
But that didn't happen.
This is sad and frustrating for me—and I suspect, many other users.
I'll be deleting my account in the next 24 hours or so -maybe that will delete this post... we'll see.
Lastly, I've seen a few replies from well-meaning contributors saying things like "you're mistaken; see this clarification" and linking to the February 28th update. That's undoubtedly well-intentioned but it's quite offensive to longtime users who are passionate about Firefox and who have some understanding of legal documents and the language used to construct them.
Thank you very much for all the good you have done.
