Thursday, August 09, 2007

Recently a Mozilla observer and contributor asked why Firefox isn't treated as a typical for-profit, commercial effort, and why we are giving up the chance to get rich. This is a great topic for discussion, I'm glad it was raised. I've got a very strong opinion on this, and am quite interested in what others think.

There are many reasons why Firefox is a public asset, built for public benefit rather than private wealth.

To start with, we want to create a part of online life that is explicitly NOT about someone getting rich. We want to promote all the other things in life that matter -- personal, social, educational and civic enrichment for massive numbers of people. Individual ability to participate and to control our own lives whether or not someone else gets rich through what we do. We all need a voice for this part of the Internet experience. The people involved with Mozilla are choosing to be this voice rather than to try to get rich.

For now I want to concentrate on why I have always believed -- and still do -- that Firefox can not become a tool for some people to get rich. And why I believe the organizational home for Firefox (the Mozilla Corporation) must remain dedicated to the public benefit.

Labels: Firefox, Microsoft, Mozilla