Mitchell Baker, CEO of Mozilla Corporation and Mozilla Foundation, has released a draft version of the Mozilla Manifesto, a declaration of principles and ways the Mozilla project as a whole follows and the goals it pursues.
Part of the Mozilla Manifesto are 10 Principles that Mozilla “…believes are critical for the Internet to continue to benefit the public good as well as commercial aspects of life.” I am not going to list or discuss all 10 of the principles. However, #5 really stood out:
“Individuals must have the ability to shape their own experiences on the Internet.”
I strongly believe this is what Mozilla Firefox being an open-source browser is all about. Firefox through its add-ons (extensions, themes, plug-ins, etc) allows individuals the ability to shape their Internet experience by making it their browser. They are not stuck with a “one-size fits all” browser, which restricts their Internet experience with the limitations of being a closed-source browser.
[digg=http://digg.com/software/The_Mozilla_Manifesto_2]
View the complete Manifesto at Mitchell’s Blog
News Source: Mozilla Links
Wow. This is a big day. I read your blog all the time, but usually am a silent reader. I’ve been on a commenting binge today. 😉
> They are not stuck with a “one-size fits all” browser
Just wanted to say that I totally agree with you, and in my opinion, that number five in the manifesto should really be number one.
The Internet doesn’t have to be the Microsoft only way.
As I said last month in Asa’s blog, what originally attracted me to Firefox was how clean it was and that it didn’t come over-bundled with tons of features which I not only didn’t need, but seriously didn’t want.
Microsoft likes to believe that my computer belongs to them, even though it is clearly mine. I like having my one browser that belongs to me and for a change, I’m actually the one in control, not Microsoft.
Again, you are absolutely right and dead on. Thank you for that.