SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
We didn't act like you'd expect Mozilla to act. We didn't move fast enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We're sorry. We must do better.
Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He's made this decision for Mozilla and our community.
Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard.Our organizational culture reflects diversity and inclusiveness. We welcome contributions from everyone regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender-identity, language, race, sexual orientation, geographical location and religious views. Mozilla supports equality for all.
We have employees with a wide diversity of views. Our culture of openness extends to encouraging staff and community to share their beliefs and opinions in public. This is meant to distinguish Mozilla from most organizations and hold us to a higher standard. But this time we failed to listen, to engage, and to be guided by our community.
As of this time, there is no named successor or statement on who will be taking over Mozilla's leadership.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 03 2014, @08:04PM
While it's questionable if a CEO position is tenable, it must be okay for a CTO to fund an anti-gay marriage campaign? We know this because people didn't begin complaining until he became CEO.
I have some sympathy for Brendan, the guy is entitled to his views and would have made an effective CEO. I myself actively avoid buying products or services when I know the head of a company is funding a political cause to which I take offence. So I also have some sympathies with those complaining and the case here is complicated by the fact that Mozilla is run in the public interest.
On balance though; victim card playing, reverse-bullying is more offensive than Brendan personally funding an offensive political campaign. I know gay people who oppose gay-marriage; if Brendan were gay would they still claim he *could be* prejudiced against gay employees for funding the campaign? What nonsense!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 03 2014, @08:07PM
Whether he is for or against marriage itself shouldn't be an issue.
The fact he fought and paid for a system to propagate inequality should be.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 03 2014, @08:17PM
Very good. Now either kindly explain how inequality is justified only for those who support / fund inequality or fuck off with your hypocritical double-think!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 03 2014, @08:36PM
What inequality is being done against Brendan?
He wasn't nor is he now missing any rights that anyone else has. The only inequality involved was the one he was supporting - that a subset of the population shouldn't have the same rights as he.
(Score: 1) by Pherenikos on Thursday April 03 2014, @10:41PM
If we believe the Supreme Court, both of those are protected as free speech. Your argument is that if he believes in something its ok as long as he does nothing, the moment he makes his beliefs known it becomes wrong. What is next, should we restrict voting as well?
(Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Friday April 04 2014, @12:24AM
Actually, it's when he becomes the head of a company whose mission statement is to be free and open. As CEO he was in a position to directly influence the corporate policies regarding benefits for those who he believes should not have the same rights as he has or that others do (as demonstrated though his actions).
Does this mean he shouldn't be CEO? Probably not, considering he stated publicly that Mozilla would maintain its current benefits structure, which included full benefits for everyone. Should he have to resign because his actions became public? That's up to Mozilla. Based on the public outcry against his actions of intolerance it was probably best to remove the distraction, though they probably should have responded much faster and with much stronger language to ensure that the personal actions of their CEO do not mean that their company would be sharing those beliefs or those actions. Had they, and Eich, handled this better it would not have turned into this mess.
And please, let's not confuse what "free speech" really means. The government can't oppress an individual's speech. The government doesn't have anything to say about the court of public opinion, where democracy is measured by volume, resonance and sustain.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 04 2014, @03:22AM
So let's start the Political-Correctness cleansing.
Make a list of organizations that had ever lifted a finger to propagate inequality. Now REQUIRE every Mozilla staff to report every donation they have ever made.
If there is any match, you are OUT!
What's good for goose and all that, right? Mozilla is all for OPENNESS and FREEDOM, RIGHT?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 04 2014, @05:00AM
Sounds eerily similar to "It's ok to be gay as long as you don't act on those feelings" pot kettle black etc.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 04 2014, @02:41AM
Open Source was never about being politically correct. Why is it now?
(Score: 1) by Yog-Yogguth on Friday April 04 2014, @07:24AM
It isn't. Some might think so and some certainly try to make it so but it isn't and Mozilla just pushed their junk in everyones face yet again (the trademark debacle, Google stuff, and FBI Tor thing are a few other examples from the recent past that rightly or wrongly stick to them). Hopefully that's good for the competition including all the forks. If anything F/OSS along with IT in general has always been known for being much less politically correct than normal. Personally I'm more laid-back about it all than just about anyone I can think of anecdotally from life experience both off and on the net but I don't doubt some wouldn't believe that, well they would be in for more than a handful of shocks.
So this has nothing to do with open source or free/libre source and everything (no matter how loony it sounds) to do with the slow suicide of western civilization. Every lesson learnt since during the enlightenment is actively being dismantled. When people can't navigate simple stuff like this without biting their own ass while thinking they biting "the enemy" they not only have no chance against the larger more serious challenges like the whole NSA disaster but would also be active participants in making all of those challenges even harder if possible.
tl;dr: It isn't, these are the kind of people who trade with Feinstein & co and think they come out on top after sucking her off. Obscene? Of course it is.
Bite harder Ouroboros, bite! tails.boum.org/ linux USB CD secure desktop IRC *crypt tor (not endorsements (XKeyScore))