Re:Ask HN: Can Firefox be revived?
by KingMachiavelli on Friday October 22, 2021 @02:14PM
(#28960587)
Agreed. I tried to find a compiled list of the proper about:config settings to disable all ads and integrations but it was constantly a guess and check. I still haven't figured out how to remove ALL of the default search/suggestion providers without manually removing them.
I recommend arkenfox's user.js[0] which uses (mostly) sane defaults oriented toward privacy and security. If nothing else, their user.js file is annotated so a quick Ctrl+F can help you find the exact settings you want to change.
It's a company, it's a bit weird if they have to ask all the time for support, so they try to monetize in ways that finally are not really invasive. (At least that's my opinion)
They try, they fail, they try again, they fail again. It's hard to monetize from such a product, that's unfortunately the truth.
Mozilla does a lot of cool stuff aside of the browser, but what annoys me about ads in the address bar, shamelessly pushing pocket (a icon which for some reason I have to remove over and over again from the GUI) and similar things is not that they try to monetize their browser. What annoys me is that they don't have the trust in their own product that people would be willing to support them if they just asked. What annoys me is that they try those borderline dark-patterns and still try to sell it as a great feature for the user.
Just be honest to your users and if they understand your reasons they will support you, if they trust your decisions. Firefox was once a browser whos users bought T-shirts on it after all.