> > Mozilla is not the enemy here. It bears some of the blame for the outcome of > this mess, but it's more a victim than a bad guy. It's also comprised of > many, many people, of which the vast majority are very unhappy about Eich's > departure and the way the situation was handled. > > > > Firefox is also more than Mozilla. It does no good to throw out the baby > with the bathwater. The Internet needs Firefox, and the future of computing > devices needs Mozilla, lest we be stuck with proprietary platforms and > locked-down hardware. >
Adam, For the moment, I am reserving judgement on whether or not to remain with Mozilla and Firefox, which I have used since it's first release, after the demise of Netscape. I will remain for the time being, but Mozilla's board is decidedly on probation. Mozilla's board could have made a solid declaration that internet bullying, whether it be by a government, a political party or an activist web site has no place in its governance and is contrary to its principles of a free and open internet. It did not. Instead, Mr. Eich resigned, and that resignation was accepted by the Board. It should have publicly rejected that resignation and made it clear why it was rejecting it. Personal opinion and actions to support that opinion have come under assault in this country from time to time, in our history, yet we have not learned from that history. In an earlier post you quoted, appropriately, Alexis de Tocqueville. I think Senator Margaret Chase Smith, in her 1950 Declaration of Conscience has something pertinent to add, "Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism in making character assassinations are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism- The right to criticize. The right to hold unpopular beliefs. The right to protest. The right of independent thought. The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood nor should he be in danger of losing his reputation or livelihood merely because he happens to know someone who holds unpopular beliefs. Who of us does not? Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. Otherwise thought control would have set in." Walt _______________________________________________ governance mailing list [email protected] https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance
