From @freetalklive: This does not bode well for internet freedom - Firefox is now taking a pro-government side:
As long as the source is free, there is hope!
In the worst of all outcomes, a basic browser can be implemented easily. But forget about all the fancy stuff.
I think this might also serve to push a new and free internet, while the "old" one will slowly sink in a cloud of ads, tracking, commercials, banners, etc.
So more and more of the original internet, knowledge sharing, information etc. will probably move to the darknet.
A simplified internet of this sort appeals to the same people that like FOSS, meaning socially isolated nerds.
@amerika @LRN_FM @freetalklive
In the beginning yes. And as the mainstream options grow worse and worse, the FOSS options become more and more popular.
As you say, in the beginning that simplified internet will only consist of us.
Once tracking, ads etc. grows to crazy levels, slowly regular people will start to join.
What has been the biggest FOSS success?
I say Linux, because it could be used by industry on a range of devices.
I don't think ordinary people care about being tracked. They are simply there for the content. That makes new billionaires.
@amerika @LRN_FM @freetalklive
I agree. At the moment, the benefit of being tracked, for most people, outweigh the cost. As long as that equation remains unchanged, the current situation will remain unchanged.
Once the cost is bigger than the benefit, that is when you will see a movement to other options.
There is also another case.
That is when a company builds a non tracking option on FOSS, and that company, for some reason, becomes popular with the masses.
Like android, it will then
@amerika @LRN_FM @freetalklive
become a FOSS success, but it is because of the company and its service and not because of FOSS or the users consciously choosing FOSS and non tracking.
I agree. People chose the brand and do not care what is under the hood.
If Android replaced its OS with a custom-built option tomorrow, people would not really care or notice for the most part.
In my view, the concept of FOSS is bullshit anyway, not because it's a lie but because it misses the point.
We have task-focused software, business outcome focused software, and most of all developer focused software.
What about user-focused software? Or even better yet, aimed at the intersection between user and task?
If that is good, it will succeed, even if it is FOSS and no one is selling it.
Think WinAmp, which was the best option for its era. Or EditPad. Or perhaps even Diskmuncher ][ back in the day.
@LRN_FM @freetalklive Try Dissenter (Gab), Brave or maybe Aloha. Not sure about Aloha but the first two appear to be better options than anything Firefox related