Re:Stopping FTP support in Firefox 90
by alisonkisk on Tuesday July 20, 2021 @02:00PM
(#27897029)
FTP is Internet browsing, it's just not not "web".
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Yes, good point. Gopher is internet browsing too but is Firefox the best way to experience FTP and Gopher? How many different protocols should Firefox support? Firefox does not have the same resources as Google so focusing on what Firefox is known to do best such as HTTP and its supporting protocols, like WebSocket, really well looks like a good strategy.
On many systems it is now the only way.
I just checked my Windows 10 machine and it still has the FTP command-line program built in. What proportion of machines have Firefox but no FTP command-line program (or a "finder"/"explorer" that doesn't support FTP)? I cannot imagine this number is large.
What is the use-case for FTP in 2021?
I work in the healthcare sector. I tend to come across FTP urls related to my industry often. Usually from .gov sites.
Re:Stopping FTP support in Firefox 90
by Someone1234 on Tuesday July 20, 2021 @03:15PM
(#27897942)
The healthcare sector should be using secure technologies like TLS/HTTPS. If anything that's an argument for this change, since misuse of FTP remains rampant.
I don’t disagree. I’m simply pointing out it’s still used. That severing links and arguing in favor of that by saying “no one uses it” is inaccurate.
Moving files between servers. Same as yesterday, same as tomorrow.
And Firefox didn't even do that. It never included full FTP client functionality; it only supported directory listings and downloads.
Re:Stopping FTP support in Firefox 90
by silverfox17 on Tuesday July 20, 2021 @02:24PM
(#27897323)
Transferring files
>What is the use-case for FTP in 2021?
Transferring files.
There's a hint right there in the protocol name.
Backwards compatibility with existing online resources.
What's the use-case for desktop Linux in 2021?
A desktop environment with no telemetry.