Mozilla will put ads directly into Firefox

On one level, this is No Big Deal -- it's comparable to the default bookmarks that other browsers include for CNN, NYTimes, etc. Though it never occurred to me before to wonder if those bookmarks were paid placement. How naive.

These tiles are even less persistent than default bookmarks. They get replaced as a side effect of user activity, instead of requiring manual removal. They're also visually inoffensive in their current sampled form.

I'm cool with revenue diversification and growth. I'll take it on faith that options-to-Google are not as ready and assured as we often assume them to be. I'm less convinced that Mozilla needs hundreds of million dollars to operate in the first place, but on the assumption that our interests in the expenditure of that money are vaguely aligned, I won't begrudge them their fundraising success.

The part that really bothers me is the tone of delivery. "User enhancing"?? I don't feel enhanced in the least, and I deeply worry about there being someone with any influence at Mozilla who can use that phrase (in this context) without being run out of town on a pike.

The entire messaging is terrible, and terrible in a way that suggests a huge cultural dissonance between the Mozilla we knew and the Mozilla that is presenting itself. The question is, which is more correct? And that's a Problem.

Who is in charge over there these days? Did they really give some dude from the ad business free reign over organizational messaging?

This feels like Mozilla's John Browett moment. Their next steps will say a lot.

  Excited to share the launch of @mozilla @firefox Tiles
  program, the first of our user-enhancing programs  

https://twitter.com/dherman76/status/433320156496789504

I don't know what I am concerned more about - the "first of" or the disingenuous and sleazy attempt to masquerade paid content as something that users need or want.

All the post say is Mozilla will sell initial placement on the new tab screen for new users (space now given free of charge to a Google search box)

All browsers already put some sites in the favorites, specially mobile stock browsers. What's so outrageous about that?

Mozilla doing "ads" is not the same thing as Google doing "ads", yet no one gives a flying fuck about Google's intentions.

Sometimes the tech world acts like a bunch of 4-year old children. I am sick of it.

I use Firefox because I think it is good enough and second I want to have certain control at the software I am using, being it open source. Now do I expect Mozilla to keep running a company without generating revenue to only to stay up? Remember 90 percent of Mozilla revenues come from Google. They must diversify, and if Firefox is smart enough with ads placement, which considering their stellar record at keeping the customers first is undeniable, I am backing Mozilla up. Yes to competition, yes to open web.

This is only for new users, if you already use firefox the tile boxes won't be empty and you won't probably see ads. If this helps Mozilla bring me a better user experience, faster browser and a continued focus on the user I all down with it.

However, if they should continue to deliver ads in more destructive ways I think it's time for a new browser.

As far as I'm understanding this, it seems like these Directory Tiles would be replaced over time with your own most visited websites just like they would normally. They just pad out the new tab page for new installs temporarily. Is this really so bad?

As a general rule of thumb, any time a company is "really excited about" something, it is probably a bad thing.

Filling whitespace with advertising is not helping the first time user, it is adding clutter and confusion. Minimalism or chrome-lessness is what modern browsers are aiming for. Let's not reverse the trend and fall-back to the days of Internet Explorer with dozens of assorted bookmarks and desktop icons.

Title misleading.

It's a landing page like browsers have had for years.

Based on the title I thought they would ad an advertisement somewhere into the firefox chrome.

All the article says is that they're going to have a 'new tab' page that has some default tiles that are sponsored by sponsors.

Wow. Big Deal.

Mozilla sell-out to the media and advertising industry has started - why did they get Darren Herman on board? Wasn't it clear that his work only be in favour of the industry and not really the user?

The inability of most HN commenters to consider long term benefits of including unobstrusive sponsored content in Firefox or opportunity cost of not including such sponsored content is suprising to me.

If displaying sponsored tiles within Firefox is to make any impact beyond sounding scandalous to it's user-base, it has already failed. Firefox is a program for people who actively avoid these things and custom tailor their web browsing experience.

Mozilla would be better off filling those blank tiles with donate links.

As a single step, it doesn't bother me really.

But as a part of an overall bad strategy, I definitely dislike it.

Doesn't (or didn't) Google pay to be the search engine by default? Is this different?

I've donated to Firefox. I'd pay for an Ad free version but I don't have any problem with them doing this if it funds them in a meaningful way.

What was wrong with the honest: "We'll show ads to the first-time Firefox users, so we can make extra money with our free product. We'll show ads only once"?

"User-first" bit is the textbook example of PRspeak.

Thanks for the translation; some of us are not as fluent in Marketroid. It's obvious that soulless automata like Darren are up to no good, but it's hard to translate what they emit:

> As VP of Content Services, Darren Herman is responsible for diversifying revenue and sustaining Mozilla’s mission through innovation in content and personalization products and services.

Seriously, what happend to the world. Mozilla was always my loved open source Browser of choice. What they are doing now with arguments about Costa is such a step in the wrong direction and cant even find suitable words. I will find a replacement. Rip firefox

Linux distros will not ship ads that kick money to individual components. The only way this will land in e.g. Fedora is if Firefox pulls the ad-laden page from Mozillas servers during startup. And I don't see them being too happy with even that.

On the other hand, there's a perfect opportunity here for someone to do the Linux Mint thing and provide a ad-stripped alternate version of Firefox for people.

"we think they’d agree that users’ interests should come first"

No, they don't. They care about making a buck.

So, Mozilla now changed from non-profit into ads-profit. Oh, great.

So how did this story vanish from the front page suddenly?

That should be nasty, hope they doesn't make it like the old shareware.

It brings a few other issues too, since it is opensource people will download alternative builds without the ads.

and this is announced after February 11

"really excited about..." - it's inevitable :(