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From: anthk <anthk@openbsd.home>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Firefox wants a bit of ads+AI
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2025 07:59:08 -0000 (UTC)
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On 2025-02-24, Retrograde <fungus@amongus.com.invalid> wrote:
> From the «browser game is lost?» department:
> Title: Mozilla once again confirms it’s all about ads and “AI” now
> Author: Thom Holwerda
> Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2025 00:42:27 +0000
> Link: https://www.osnews.com/story/141757/mozilla-once-again-confirms-its-all-about-ads-and-ai-now/
>
>
> We’ve recognized that Mozilla faces major headwinds in terms of both
> financial growth and mission impact. While Firefox remains the core of what
> we do, we also need to take steps to diversify: investing in
> privacy-respecting advertising to grow new revenue in the near term;
> developing trustworthy, open source AI to ensure technical and product
> relevance in the mid term; and creating online fundraising campaigns that
> will draw a bigger circle of supporters over the long run. Mozilla’s impact
> and survival depend on us simultaneously strengthening Firefox AND finding
> new sources of revenue AND manifesting our mission in fresh ways. That is why
> we’re working hard on all of these fronts.
> ↫ Mark Surman on the Mozilla blog[1]
>
> None of this is new to anyone reading OSNews. I’ve been quite vocal about
> Mozilla’s troubles and how it intends to address those troubles, and I’m
> incredibly worried and concerned about the increasing efforts by Mozilla to
> push advertising and “AI” to somehow find more revenue streams. I think this is
> the wrong direction to take, and will not make up for the seemingly inevitable
> loss of the Google search deal – and my biggest fear is that Firefox will get a
> lot worse before Mozilla realises advertising and “AI” just aren’t compatible
> with their mission and the morals and values of the last few remaining Firefox
> users.
>
> I don’t have any answers either, of course. Making a competitive browser is
> hard, and clearly requires a lot of people and a lot of time. Donations are
> fickle, nobody will pay for a browser, and relying on corporate sponsoring in
> other forms than the Google search deal will just mean Firefox will become like
> Chrome even faster, with more and more exceptions for “allowed” ads and
> additional roadblocks for adblockers to try and work around. In essence, I
> strongly believe that it is impossible to both earn money from online ads and
> make a good browser. It’s one or the other – not both.
>
> There’s basically no competition in the browser space, and if we lose Firefox,
> the only other option is Chrome and its various skins. Not a future I’m looking
> forward to.
>
> Links:
> [1]: https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/mozilla-leadership-growth-planning-updates/ (link)

As Dillo 3.2 supports MathSVG, I don't need any bloated browser at all.