The opening, coming from a super well paid CEO, pissed me off. I need a good browser, maybe with accompaigned products but no save the internet, racism, bl, etc. Most likely won't ever support Mozilla with such language.
There's no way to donate directly to Firefox development.
There is. It is called "restricted funds":
https://www.501c3.org/kb/what-are-restricted-funds/
The more people use restricted funds designation, the less bloated non-profits with wishy-washy missions there would be and the less money there would be to pilfer by the parasite class that lives in the executive roles of the non-profits.
Here's a related discussion on exactly this topic, from 11 months ago. I see that it was you who mentioned restricted funds in that thread, too. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20874641
If so, there's a lot of people who would like to do this, I believe.
Write "Restricted funds - see attachment" on a check. On the attachment list check details and a restriction such as "Direct expenses for <blahblahblah> only." If you just do not want it to go to G&A fluff fund the execs use to live a large life, just exclude G&A: "<blah blah blah> purposes only. No G&A"
Regulations for non-profits aren't a joke. If they took your restricted funds, you bet they are going to follow the restrictions.
Non-profits may hate it but at the end it is money. So they take it. If they decline to cash the check, no skin off your back.
Source: lived in a non-profit land as a tech consultant. Heard constant bitching about big donors being smart and always restricting funds above a few hundred dollars. Execs of every non-profit that pretends it cannot deal with restrictions are taking the donor for suckers and are fleecing them.
If MoFo made Firefox, this would make sense. But they don’t.
It is their problem, not my. They want money. It is restricted. Money is fungible. If they figure out how to use the money that is restricted then they need to spend less unrestricted money.
Thanks for elaborating though! I didn't know about this feature of donations.
Supporting and directing Internet standards, resisting Google, etc, are a byproduct of developing an independent browser.
Mozilla has always been political. It was born so. Why do you think Jamie Zawinski got Shepard Fairey to design its logo? The Mozilla manifesto is full of political statements. Do you remember the fight against DRM? Net neutrality? SOPA?
Often, people that speak like you mean “speech favoring equal treatment” instead of “politics”.
https://www.jwz.org/blog/2016/10/they-live-and-the-secret-hi...
Furthermore Mozilla has the expertise, connections and brand when it comes to the web they can use as leverage to solve web-related social/political issues, but might not have much leverage for unrelated issues so the risk/reward ratio will not be in their favor.
If I keep that in mind while listening/reading people complaining about "politics" it is often the smallest change to their stated message that would make it clear and internally consistent. So I ask clarifying questions to see if their complaint is poorly articulated rather than picking at their words to defend the thing they're criticizing.