The proof is in the article:

> It is most likely that this will be added to other browsers like Firefox too.

> Microsoft’s new version of Edge is going to be based on Chromium, so this will be available on Edge too.

So, although some discussions with Firefox may have begun, it's clearly using the Microsoft decision to use Chromium as a way to force their standpoint. Note also the lack of mention of Safari.

This is the kind of stuff that should go thru a central committee because different browsers will react differently to what should be a simple url.

I've followed a few directly, and as a web developer I generally have my ear to the ground for these things. It's possible this feature was discussed, but the article made it sound like it wasn't in a formal capacity, and I know for a fact that Google has forced things through in the past, even when there's been active protest from people at Mozilla. And that was while Microsoft still had their own engines.

I think he's right. SPDY and WebP both started as Chrome-only features, and the world has essentially been forced to adopt them.

So far I think that's been a good think on balance because they are good technologies. But it is worrying how much power Google has in this space.

SPDY was donated to the IETF for adoption into the HTTP/2 standard. Other browser vendors only implemented it at that time.

WebP is a file format and doesn't fall into the normal standardization process. Browsers implement support for new file formats at their own behest.

Yes. After SPDY had already been implemented and shipped in Chrome.

Of course, that's how it works. Chrome is hardly alone in field testing their new feature proposals.

You'll note that they're also willing to kill features which are not adopted, like PPAPI.

> You'll note that they're also willing to kill features which are not adopted, like PPAPI.

After adding whitelists for Google properties like Hangouts, of course.

It's not like interoperability suffered because of that. HTTP fallback was always there.

Nevertheless it's some kind of fait accompli, especially in a market with only three main actors.

Where one actor can also start using the new "standard" overnight and break lots of services for people which are not using their browsers... You know what I mean. It's some kind of enforcing to have a monopoly.