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Comment by Spivak | Hacker News Reader

I've been telling my IRL non-technical friends to use Brave. By far the easiest migration path, literally is Chrome, but with with a good built-in ad blocker and uBlock Origin. I've long since understood that any browser that I would use should be treated as an anti-recommendation for normal folks. I can already see the "but the crypto thing" and yeah, I don't love it but it's so out of the way that I don't even know how to turn it on in Brave if I wanted. Getting people weened off of Google Chrome (tm) is better than trying, and failing, to get them on the "ideal" browser.

Edit: Instead of downvoting actually try convincing a normal person to switch to Firefox and see how well it goes. I've been recommending it for 10+ years and they're all still on Chrome. But in two days I have 4 new Brave users.

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You have to take the CEO's philosophy into account when choosing technology tools unfortunately.

I personally dmd Eich on Twitter during 2019-2021 ish. He's opposed to censorship, tracking, government lockdowns during COVID, and authoritarianism.

That is exactly who you want running your browser and search company if you wish to use an open Internet. It's anti chat control, anti governments choosing which apps it's citizens can install, it's free speech for all, including "hate speech". Open and free wild West Internet culture.

> He's opposed to […] government lockdowns during COVID

> That is exactly who you want running your browser and search company

Yes. “Does the CEO have strong opinions on public health? Are those opinions based more on public health fundamentals or is it vibes?” is the first line of inquiry I pursue when I am looking to download a program on the computer

No. You don't want someone who believes in vaccine passports and lockdowns running your browser if you truly value an open and free internet with roadblocks to tracking, fingerprinting etc.

No CEO or developer is going to respect to software/hardware users if they believe that user should also use health verification software to go about public spaces. These are incompatible philosophies.

Exactly. When you want to use a program on the computer you want to make sure that the CEO of the company that makes it is very vocal about things completely unrelated to the computer. Like would you take your car to a mechanic who doesn’t post about the keto diet? Absolutely not. Would you buy a quiche from a man that does not have a dedicated page to perineum sunning? No one would, it would be insane to even consider such a purchase. Such a baker would be ostracized abd run out of business overnight

Because a keto diet wouldn't have anything to do with using an open internet. My examples, think free speech, absolutely do.

The connection between car maintenance and diet is exactly the same as the connection between the inclusion of ublock origin support in a chromium fork and public health policy during a pandemic — they are both fully and completely disconnected with no overlap whatsoever in any meaningful way _but_ they are things that make some folks very happy when they can point at a thing and say “This means this person is a member of my in-group of good-opinion-havers”

I think it's a good sign when someone making a browser is so uncompromising on the principle of individual autonomy and lack of central control that they're still up there dying on that hill even when they're wrong.

It gives me confidence that there will never be a situation where some issue is of such grave importance that they feel like they must leverage their position and compromise on it, for the safety of children of course. Because we know what's best for you. Bleh. It reminds me of the libertarians who oppose seat belt laws. Like you're wrong and so you shouldn't be in a leadership position of the DoT but you believe so strongly that institutions shouldn't get a say in your life that I think you would do great if I tasked you with health insurance reform.

I like that forums user hnpolicestate saw Brave mentioned and found opportunity to start talking about vaccine passports and within three posts we have gotten to how libertarians should be in charge of health care.

This is the vital, vibrant discourse necessary when selecting a web browser

> But in two days I have 4 new Brave users.

What happens when adtech decides this is a problem because the hoi polloi have arrived? Have you thought about that as you're cluing in normies?

My only motivation is to help my friends who got the "uBlock Origin is no longer supported" notification get their ad blocking back in a way that sticks. To me that's the most important thing. Any what ifs about the future can be addressed then.

The browser that is a literal drop-in replacement is the best way to do this. I think it's cool that other browsers are trying new things but now isn't the time. People have to be be in a place where they want something different in order to accept change. All of them got the notification while trying to something else and "install Brave, import, move Brave to where the Chrome icon used to be, and continue with what you were doing" is alarmingly effective.

If one of my friends kept pitching cryptoscam shit to me I’d stop talking to them in short order. I suspect your IRL non-technical friends feel similarly.

At this point the backlash to crypto is more ridiculous than the actual crypto scams.

It's used to steer people away from Brave because it's the lowest hanging fruit. Individuals can hide their true political motivations for trashing the browser.

Literally the first thing anyone who recommends Brave says is to avoid the stupid crypto thing, myself included. Look Firefox doesn't exactly come up smelling like a rose here, when you recommend Firefox you have to tell them to turn off the ads in the new tab page, ads in the URL bar (https://imgur.com/a/EXtzhg4), and Pocket, in Brave the crypto thing is opt-in.

Running uBO and Shields at the same time isn't a good idea, generally speaking. Pick one and go with it.

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