Sarah Jamie Lewis
Mozilla have published an update to this:
> "UPDATE: We’ve seen a little confusion about the language regarding licenses, so we want to clear that up. We need a license to allow us to make some of the basic functionality of Firefox possible. Without it, we couldn’t use information typed into Firefox, for example. It does NOT give us ownership of your data or a right to use it for anything other than what is described in the Privacy Notice."
I want to break this down.
Rich Felker
@sarahjamielewis I don't want them using the information I type in Firefox. And I don't let them.
I want MY COMPUTER using the information to communicate with sites the way it was programmed to do.
Sarah Jamie Lewis
>> "We've seem a little confusion"
There is no confusion, the usage and privacy policy are both incredibly clear and broad in what they say.
>> We need a license to allow us to make some of the basic functionality of Firefox possible.
They do not. This is incredibly condescending. Nothing about the "basic functionality" of a browser demands a "royalty-free, worldwide license". That is absurd.
Sarah Jamie Lewis
>> Without it, we couldn’t use information typed into Firefox, for example. It does NOT give us ownership of your data or a right to use it for anything other than what is described in the Privacy Notice
This part is entirely correct. And I really want you to understand that it is only so because of the end of that statement i.e. "other than what is described in the Privacy Notice"
The Privacy Notice, as outlined in my previous thread is incredibly broad.
Sarah Jamie Lewis
The language is clear, it is being criticised because it is clear. No one is confused about anything. Except maybe Mozilla regarding how this will play out over the long term.
Rich Felker
@sarahjamielewis MOZILLA IS NOT A PARTY TO ANY OF THESE INTERACTIONS AND 🖕 THEM FOR ASSERTING THAT THEY ARE AND THAT THIS ENTITLES THEM TO ANYTHING.
Sarah Jamie Lewis
Over my career I've been involved in hundreds of contract negotiations, many of them including stuff like software licensing. I've done this work for governments, and corporations, for myself, and for non-profits.
Which is to say, I know what words mean. I know what the legal norms are in multiple jurisdictions, and I know when someone is trying to bullshit me.
I have no doubt that Mozilla think they need this license and privacy policy. I'm concerened enough by the "why" to ditch firefox.
Sarah Jamie Lewis
And I need you to understand what that decision means to me. I started using Firefox in the early 2000s - I honestly can't remember when but probably sometime in 2003.
I was one of the few people that had an actual Firefox phone in the early 2010s.
I donated time and money to Firefox and Mozfest and Thunderbird over the last two decades because I really believed in all of those projects.
I think Firefox has been incredibly important to what the web is and could be.
Sarah Jamie Lewis
And that is why I've held on as long as I could have, beyond what I rationally consider the breaking point.
Over the last few years I've been publicly critical of Mozilla while still urging people to use Firefox, but to make their voices heard.
That time is over. I can't agree to these terms, I can no longer condone the destructive path that Mozilla has chosen. This is the point where after more than 2 decades, I had to say enough.
Sarah Jamie Lewis
For those asking what my current plan is, I've outlined it here: https://mastodon.social/@sarahjamielewis/114072460080871754
I'll extend it to say:
- I'm only considering applications that are open source and non-electron based.
- I don't really use a phone, so I can't comment on mobile browsers
- I have a browser engine that I've written, oriented for basic browsing/RSS, I have a plan to extend that for some usecases (but will unlikely be of use generally without additional interest/planning)
Rich Felker
@martybarlow @sarahjamielewis Same one I always use. Firefox the free software compiled by people I trust. Not Firefox the sketchy packages shipped by Mozilla.
Marʇy B�rlow
@dalias @sarahjamielewis what browser are you planning to use now?
Marʇy B�rlow
@dalias @sarahjamielewis maybe the debian esr release may fit the bill.
Rich Felker
@martybarlow @sarahjamielewis Any respectable distro's Firefox package will.
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