Yes, if you're making your own product. If you're not making your own product (ie. company development), then it's not purely a technical exercise.

Even if you're making your own product, you at least want to get market data and/or customer feedback once you release it. Otherwise, what's the point of selling a product if your customers don't like it?

And I'm not saying that gathering requirements is Mozilla's only social development. I'm saying that you underestimate how much social involvement there is to development, especially on the organization level, where code isn't purely technical.

Do you feel their is a difference between asking people what they want in a browser and telling people how they should live their personal lives?

Because I think that is a core distinction many of the commenters are concerned about here.

Not really, Mozilla tells you to use its browser. So does every product. Why is that an issue? You're telling me you want to live a life where people aren't telling you how you should live? Just by the fact of the organization asking the people for feedback is an invitation for people to tell them what to do.

If you don't want people telling you what to do, Hacker News ain't a great place to be.

It will be a sad day when the only services and products you can buy or use require fealty to their world view.