On the state of Firefox

What do I even say concerning the recent news about Firefox's massive layoff and abandonment of many core components? The official announcement came out, my jaw dropped, and I began surfing twitter. It's currently a gigantic mess of talented individuals looking for work and speculative remarks of Mozilla's impending doom.

Firefox is a symbol of what the Internet could be, and amazingly, no one seems to really care that it's all but gone. I've frequently talked to peers about the fact that the open web is a dying myth and that opensource itself is an increasing lie. Like a lot of people who first began their life online in the 90's, I had unlimited potential and connectivity with other peers getting online. It is where I learned to love computers and start making an income for myself.

That is not the norm, however. I suppose the Internet, once it reached the masses, became television all over again.

For television, it was no longer about teaching Latin at home or learning about the world, but monetizing the lowest common denominator and directing your attention to the things those in control wanted you to see. The Internet, while it moved towards Big Tech, saw the same situation happen. I won't go and say that Mozilla didn't run its organization terribly because at many points it did, but I will say that they were fighting an idealistic battle, one that the general public had absolutely no interest in whatsoever.

I do not think it's premature to wish Firefox and everything good about Mozilla goodbye. I remember contributing to the codebase and making extensions. I recall the excitement of seeing someone download my stupid banner theme, even. Those are nice memories, but I'd much rather not have them and know there was still someone fighting an idealistic fight on behalf of the public. Looking at the casualties, I don't see how the organization can bounce back.

I'll be very curiously watching to see if Google will cut a massive check to the Mozilla Foundation again, or if it will die with a whimper a year from now.