Exclusive: Mozilla CEO Eich says gay-marriage firestorm could hurt Firefox (Q&A)
I had a conversation– ranting monologue on IRC which revolved around two questions: How homophobic is Eich? Does “boycotting” a free product hurts him or the product?
My point was that I would like to tell Mozilla that *having a homophobic boss is despicable*. Writing a private email to let them know is not enough! Thus we enter the realm of politics where *the actual boycott is not as important as news outlets writing about it*. Let the scandal get some publicity.
In the interview, “Eich refuses to discuss his own beliefs explicitly or say whether they’ve changed...” I’m assuming they did not change much.
The article also says “Eich is the inventor of JavaScript...” A lesser sort of evil, I’d say! ;)
I think his argument is full of #fail. “If Mozilla cannot continue to operate according to its principles of inclusiveness...” and mentioning anti-gay marriage coders in Indonesia. How is that an argument? *Does Mozilla also work with Hitler?* (Just to cut that line of argument short.)
Karl Popper argued that you cannot be tolerant towards the intolerant. Actually, according to WikiQuote he said: “If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.”
I think that’s why it’s not important for me to hurt Eich personally. After all, he’s free to say what he wants and to sponsor what he wants. I have limited tolerance. It’s important for me to *tell Mozilla* that it’s not OK to hire such a person! I don’t have *unlimited* tolerance.
Anyway, here’s to not boycotting Firefox and still helping the scandal *get some publicity*.
Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich Resigns After Protests from Gay Marriage Supporters
#Politics #Software #Firefox
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Similar thoughts by Jörgen Schäfer on Google+.
A different perspective is offered on this blog: according to the community participation guidelines “Mozillians should treat this as a private matter, not a Mozilla issue.” I don’t feel that I need to be bound by these guidelines. I think it was the ethical thing to do. If you sell youself based on your *values*, as Jörgen Schäfer writes, then you had better make sure that the public faces of your company reflect these values.
– Alex Schroeder 2014-04-05
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Also, Jürgen Hubert links to this piece, on Google+: This Is What Can Happen When Your New Boss Is Homophobic.
This Is What Can Happen When Your New Boss Is Homophobic
– Alex Schroeder 2014-04-22 05:08 UTC
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Perhaps related? How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life. There’s a difference between a Tweet, and donating $1000, but here’s what I wrote in response to this NYT article by Jon Ronson, in a comment on this Google+ post:
How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life
I understand people pointing to a tweet and saying “this sucks” – but to then go and demand these people be fired, hammering their employers sites with DDoS attacks, that’s madness. This also leads to other topics such as somebody donating $1000 to a despicable cause ten years ago. Is that a problem, now? Why, why not? I think we’ll need a lot more reflection on these topics in order to get a grip on this Internet thing, as a society. *We lack Internet culture.*
– Alex Schroeder 2015-02-14 18:28 UTC