Regarding AI, there are only options on what would be great with AI. There simply is no option "No, I don't f-ing want AI" in a Mozilla product.
I want a Browser and an EMail program. Not something that tries to do thinking for me.
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2024
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Privacy
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Amen. Basically this survey reads to me as "we decided to focus on AI and we need some pretty graphs to show it's an awesome idea - please tell us why you think AI is the best thing ever!"
That's exactly what I took from it as well. It's a survey designed to get the answers they want, not the actual feedback they're pretending to ask for.
There are a couple 'Other - Please Specify' fields I definitely filled out with 'Do not do AI'.
Regarding AI, I filled it in as following:
- What is most important to you right now about technology and the internet?
- Other (please specify): Fuck AI
- In your opinion, what is the most important work for Mozilla to do right now?
- Other (please specify): Do not implement AI
- What is most important to you in AI?
- Select nothing
I really like their local translation models. Simply saying "no AI!" feels very luddite to me for such a broad category.
I have no problem with things like Mozilla Common Voice. I have a big problem with integrating machine-learning stuff into Firefox by default.
I remember back when ~~Phoenix~~ ~~Firebird~~ Firefox first came out, the whole fucking point of it was to be a fast, bare-bones browser, and that people could pick and choose what extra features they wanted by installing extensions. IMO that's the way it still ought to be.
Ironically SeaMonkey, the continuation of Mozilla Suite, seems lighter than Firefox.
It’s about priorities. Fix the ducking browser first, get market share, THEN you fuck around with random shit.
The luddites were not opposed to technology
That's pretty much what I wrote in the comment box. The options for the multiple choice questions don't really acknowledge that as a preference people might have.
just concentrate on making firefox better and fuck all the way off with that ai bullshit.
Stop paying the CEO so much!
Firefox could by now have:
- Much better anti-fingerprinting for a generalized threat model (RFP is too specialized for anonymity)
- Fission (per-site process isolation) for Android, among other things.
- Integrated content blocking (based on uBlock but with the development power of Mozilla)
- Tab groups ffs
- Native force dark mode for web pages
- Sandboxing support using zypak fork server for Flatpak (currently Flatpak weakens Firefox isolation substantially)
- UI/UX update (hire the talent at Zen browser)
Bring back your Advocacy division. Lower the pay for your CEO. Secure funding from other entities so that you are no longer dependent on Google. Focus more on implementing better security measures on Linux and Android, specifically within the domain of sandboxing your open processes. Keep about:config and manifest v2 options available.
I wish there had just been a single answer that said "Focus on Firefox and not AI".
I kind of added that to the free text part.
Me too, but considering how many questions had AI in it...
Pretty much all of them. If I recall correctly, after the 3rd question everything was AI.
Well, my dream is for them to focus on the fucking browser and nothing else but given the whole question about "What's important to me in AI" I think that's out of the picture already
Which of the following best describes your race or ethnic background?
Seriously, WTF? Why the hell is this relevant? Is this some American thing?
Yes. The Americans ask this on every form for who knows what reason.
My fav categories are when they ask your race typically: white, black, Asian, Hispanic etc. Lumping insanely large groups together.
Or the one that asks: Hispanic or non-Hispanic.
Typically both are asked. What the hell does the Hispanic specific question answer that the first didn’t
One is asking about skin color, the other is asking about cultural heritage. For example, a person from South America with only European ancestry would be [white, Hispanic], and a Japanese-Brazilian would be [Asian, Hispanic].
The real issue is that they're irrelevant questions that survey-givers have no legitimate reason to want to know.
Thanks for explaining that, it’s funny tho that the only heritages that matter are if you’re a recent immigrant or not….
Yeah I never answer these questions
Male and female are also insanely large groups but I'll never understand why the color of your skin is so important in the land of the free.
This question makes the survey highly illegal in France
I often do surveys online and the American ones always ask this. They like to lump all people who look alike together and don't even bother asking where you're from. They really believe we are split in different species or something.
i went to the mozilla donation page and sent a contact request about wanting to financially support firefox but not giving a damn about the rest of the AI and adtech slop that mozilla is doing
here’s the response, for anyone that’s interested
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We genuinely value hearing from our supporters, as your insights help us understand what matters most to the Mozilla community.
It’s important to note that the Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corporation are two separate entities within the Mozilla umbrella - Mozilla Corporation is responsible for developing and maintaining Firefox and other software products, and they are continuously working on improving the user experience, including addressing compatibility issues and promoting the browser to a wider audience.
The Mozilla Foundation, on the other hand, focuses on broader internet health and advocacy work. Our mission is to ensure the internet remains open and accessible for everyone, and this includes issues related to privacy, digital rights, and equity. To confirm, the survey that you had received was from the Mozilla Foundation.
With that being said, Firefox is funded by revenue generated through the product rather than donations. At the moment, there is no way for supporters to make a donation that will be designated to the development of Firefox. Have no fear, things are looking good for Firefox's future and they plan to be around a long time, supporting folks with the most secure browser experience! Continuing to use Firefox, and recommending it to others, is the best way to support this project.
We truly appreciate your concerns about Firefox and their top priorities - We on the Mozilla Foundation strongly believe that issues such as privacy, online safety, and data security are connected to the products and services we all use every day. The work we do in these areas complements Mozilla Corporation’s focus on building better, more secure software like Firefox, and w encourage you to participate in our survey!
If you would like to input some of your thoughts and ideas into our Ideas discussion forum regarding Firefox and other Mozilla products, please visit: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/idb-p/ideas
We thank you again for reaching out to our Mozilla Foundation Donor Care team, and please let us know if we can support your further!
That is interesting. Not sure what to think of it
Seems simple.
- Stop taking Google's money.
- Get about 80-90% smaller.
- Hire a CEO for an appropriate salary.
- Make Firefox and Thunderbird great.
And find ways to pay for #4, of course.
IMO they should focus purely on Firefox and maybe Thunderbird, everything else is unneeded. Mozilla VPN is fine but Mullvad exists and their email relay service isn't that great tbh. Other then that cut executive pay to represent the actural value they bring (next to nothing) and work with Firefox forks to harden base Firefox.
mozilla vpn uses mullvad servers btw
Thats why I think its pointless, its just Mullvad but less secure and less private
My dream for Mozilla is a browser that just fucking works, without spyware and without needing to update every 2 days
Last Mozilla survey I filled out had a Mozilla domain. Is this actually Mozilla?
Self hosted Firefox sync server
My Dream would be that they split Mozilla into Foundations for each product and collaborate like Firefox Foundation which has nothing to do with advertising division at HQ
My dream is one where exclusive and limited edition physical game content isn't exclusive or limited anymore. Because you're fucking over latecomers who don't have $1k+ to spend on that shit a decade later, dipshits. At least make that stuff available digitally as PDF and STL files.
Also no more AI slop.
The last questions are kind of strange
Unsure if it’s worth responding bc any platform that’s abandoned the “we give a shit about humans with no money “ vibe is just gone, but
please let’s all consider just ruining this for the slopmasters who are asking us for information for free. RUIN I say.