> The main problem here, is *not* that Firefox has so and so flaws > here and there. The problem is that, Mozilla is NOT behaving. This > is an attitude problem, is grave, and prone to grave consequences.
I agree. Even if Mozilla were to fix these specific issues I would not use their browser. My interest is in information that may help more freedom- and privacy-friendly Firefox forks. > Something has to be done, by Mozilla, before it is too late. > Because once peoples' trust in Mozilla (indirectly FOSS) is harmed, > there is no easy/short way to mend it again. Yes, it is a problem that Mozilla has managed to brand itself as "the privacy-respecting" browser. I have seen some positive effects; friends of mine began to take my talk of privacy more seriously after trying Quantum and being exposed to Mozilla's privacy-friendly language. However, it has many disadvantages. Mozilla should not be able to define what is and is not necessary to have privacy. I often have to explain to people why switching from Chrome to Firefox is not enough to protect their privacy. Another problem, as you point out, is that when people learn that Mozilla does not live up to the privacy-respecting image they've created for themselves it creates mistrust. This mistrust is not in itself a bad thing, as Mozilla does not deserve to be fully trusted, but like the Ubuntu spyware issue it reflects poorly on the free software movement in general. A few weeks ago there was the issue of an add-on that was installed by default until Firefox users opt-out (although the add-on was not enabled by default). This was bad, but in some threads I saw people saying that they were switching to Chrome. Chromium is one thing, but I don't think I have to explain why using Chrome is a terrible decision privacy-wise, and if Mozilla's problems are making Chrome look good that's a problem.
