2014-03-28 13:32:09.69255+00 by Dan Lyke 12 comments
Mozilla has announced that Brendan Eich is the new CEO. Eich gave a thousand bucks to the California Proposition 8 campaign. Tim's Journal: Against Tolerance is, I think, the best run-down of why Eich hasn't made amends for that.
[ related topics: Weblogs Open Source Invention and Design California Culture ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2014-03-31 22:20:52.77475+00 by: Dan Lyke
OKCupid blocks Firefox over this.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-01 13:58:09.970482+00 by: Dan Lyke [edit history]
I don't have a problem with Firefox. I just don't think it deserves the same rights as a real browser.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-01 15:39:22.056767+00 by: Dan Lyke
Eccentric Flower: Bandwagons and Mozilla:
... Now, Eich is not someone we're still assessing. He's been with Mozilla from the beginning, and seems to be pretty well-regarded (anyone who can invent Javascript and still have friends must have something going for them). ...
(For the record, I'm writing this in Firefox... but I do have Chrome able to open quickly because there's lots of the modern web that breaks on Firefox... Which is more an indictment of the modern web than anything.)
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-02 23:07:48.851423+00 by: Dan Lyke
Does Mozilla actually benefit from me using Firefox?
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-03 19:47:05.1335+00 by: John Anderson
And Eich is out: https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/...-eich-steps-down-as-mozilla-ceo/
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-03 20:33:39.68442+00 by: Dan Lyke
Just came in to post the link that Eich is out, and wondering why I'm finding it so unsatisfying.
What I really wanted was a sense that something had really changed, some mea culpa from him or the board. This "resigned" with no more detail feels like a failure for all of the issues involved.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-04 00:42:59.129601+00 by: Larry Burton
Well, has anything really changed? Eich donated to a cause he believed in. That cause may be repulsive to you or to me but it was a cause that Eich felt strongly enough to donate to. Should he have gone against his principals just because he was getting pressured to do so? He stepped down from Mozilla rather than change so he won this battle. His principals remain intact. This was a failure for all of the issues involved.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-04 01:47:55.044774+00 by: meuon [edit history]
It strikes me we are all being intolerant of someone else holding true to their beliefs, that are different. Isn't that the core issue?
He earns some respect for being consistent with his beliefs, and for seemingly caring enough about the impact of his personal beliefs on the Mozilla foundation in public that it was at least a factor of his stepping down.
I remember when a client tasked me about employing "tom", because of his personal beliefs and involvement in some local issues. My reply was that "tom" was an excellent employee and an asset to the company and that I'd rather lose their business than "tom". While I often still don't agree with "tom", he is an awesome human being and I respect him.
Eich reminds me of that. Mozilla obviously saw his value.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-04 15:23:26.72811+00 by: Dan Lyke
I think there's a little bit of a difference when you have an organization whose product appeal is largely based on a mission of openness and inclusion being led by someone who has expressed beliefs contrary to that mission.
But all forcing him to resign has really done is polarize the debate. Hell, even some statement about why he hasn't changed his mind and apologized would be more satisfying, about how he feels he can reconcile his personal views on the matter with guiding an organization that claims to have opposing principles, because it would help us figure out how to refine our behaviors.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-04 16:04:34.872637+00 by: Larry Burton
Surprisingly some people like to keep their views private and I imagine Eich may be one of those people. My guess is that he gave the money without announcement and then someone found his name on the list and exposed his donation. I have no knowledge of Brenden Eich outside of this one controversy. Has he been vocal about his views on homosexuality? I read his blog entry on taking the reins at Mozilla and I have to say he sounded like one of the last people I would label a homophobe from that post. I would imagine he is perfectly comfortable with his opinions and doesn't feel it to be his job to educate the rest of us on any topic outside of browsers and data privacy.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-05 02:40:28.625114+00 by: meuon
Larry: +1 , I like your perspective.
#Comment Re: made: 2014-04-08 16:57:15.357366+00 by: Dan Lyke