As I understand it, it is impossible for me to fund specifically Firefox development. I can donate to the Mozilla Foundation, which means a portion will go to, for example, "$30M to build Mozilla.ai", which I emphatically do not want to fund.
Given the firehose of money from Google, how much contributor money from people like me would be needed before Mozilla changes their mind? From my viewpoint, they've built their foundation to expect that firehose, and they don't think user funding is enough - they really want that juicy advertising money instead.
Of the $220M spent in software development in 2023, how much specifically went to Firefox development, vs. the other projects they have?
How much did they pay for Anonym, and how much to integrate Anonym into their systems?
If 5% of my funding goes to 'the producers of Firefox and the infrastructure needed to get it built and released' and 95% goes to crap that make things worse for me, then I'm better off funding something like the Tor browser or variants like the Mullvad browser, where my funding is more directed toward improving my personal privacy.
I'll let them figure out what things to disable so I don't have to watch the release notes with a keen eye every time I update.
It's not just impossible for you to specifically fund Firefox. From what I understand, Mozilla Foundation money does not go to Mozilla Corporation/Firefox at all. You cannot donate to it at all, and your donations only go to those things you don't want to fund.
Your understanding is accurate. Donations to Mozilla cannot legally be used for Firefox development because your donations are tax-deductible due to Mozilla being a charity and Firefox development is done by a for-profit corporation.
Given the firehose of money from Google, how much contributor money from people like me would be needed before Mozilla changes their mind? From my viewpoint, they've built their foundation to expect that firehose, and they don't think user funding is enough - they really want that juicy advertising money instead.
Of the $220M spent in software development in 2023, how much specifically went to Firefox development, vs. the other projects they have?
How much did they pay for Anonym, and how much to integrate Anonym into their systems?
If 5% of my funding goes to 'the producers of Firefox and the infrastructure needed to get it built and released' and 95% goes to crap that make things worse for me, then I'm better off funding something like the Tor browser or variants like the Mullvad browser, where my funding is more directed toward improving my personal privacy.
I'll let them figure out what things to disable so I don't have to watch the release notes with a keen eye every time I update.