Does Thunderbird have a role in the future of Mozilla? Not taking the current approach. But neither does Firefox.
Thunderbird's primary existence should be to showcase the versatility of the Mozilla Platform. It should be to show that with a different module setup, you get an application that can run on all modern day open devices without compromise. Obviously that means you also enable users to get access to their mail without some of the pitfalls which come with modern day clients. Our current approach to software isn't modular and so things like this aren't happening. Instead we fail our users by not even having EME in testing on Linux. The Mozilla platform secures the future of Firefox and Mozilla. If we create a platform where developers can plug and play components to create cross-platform software, we get more contributors to the platform itself. We grow the Mozilla ecosystem. That is our fundamental goal at this point. Of course Thunderbird is a tax on Firefox as things stand. But as we continue to shave features and suggest that the developers of our biggest plugins throw away their flagship tailored versions for cut-down versions made for Chrome, aren't we essentially telling ourselves that we aren't confident in Firefox anyway? We're already compromising on what is Firefox, take a look at our iOS release. I'd much rather see Mozilla grow and have a future. The reality is that the Firefox ecosystem doesn't exist, but we can create the Mozilla Platform ecosystem and have a low-maintainence Thunderbird flourish. With the growth of the platform, Firefox is enabled a new path to growth and experiments like Qt Firefox and WebOS Firefox become viable again due to the smaller requirements to get them working thanks to a truly unified modular codebase. On Tuesday, 1 December 2015 18:57:24 UTC, Mitchell Baker wrote: > This is indeed the same discussion, and we continue to share the same > difference in viewpoints and appropriate action. > > Also, I note that the point of my post is that relying on shared > infrastructure -- by which I meant build and release, etc -- doesn't > make sense. The question of whether Mozilla Foundation is the right > infrastructure for a home for Thunderbird is a different question, and > currently much more open. > > mitchell > > > On 12/1/15 7:24 AM, Paul wrote: > > Here's my two cents on the matter. In Mozilla's failing to create the > > platform that Firefox should run atop it quickly became an uphill struggle > > to compartmentalise code. As a result, where Thunderbird should've been a > > module that plugs into a platform and should've got a free ride with the > > Android and desktop releases, it instead required a whole bunch of work. > > It's not impossible to take Firefox in that direction and in fact would > > actually be beneficial as it would allow for Firefox to run on a much wider > > array of devices in the long run. > > > > The fact of the matter is, Mozilla lacks an ecosystem and even while > > there's no truly good third-party mail app available for Android, because > > of the laser-focused approach to Firefox, Mozilla lacks the agility to > > capitalise on such needs. All this while Google faffs about with Inbox and > > Gmail attempts to be the portal to everyone's mail. > > > > This isn't even a new concern: > > 1. > > https://someotheropines.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/soo-is-it-possible-to-arrive-at-any-other-conclusion-than-thunderbird-is-doomed/ > > 2. > > https://someotheropines.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/soo-is-it-time-for-a-more-modular-approach-to-browsing/ > > 3. > > https://someotheropines.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/soo-musings-on-mozillas-mobile-meddlings/ > > 4. > > https://someotheropines.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/soo-just-why-doesnt-mozilla-seem-to-get-it/ > > _______________________________________________ governance mailing list [email protected] https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance
