[jqpabc123]

Yes. If you believe in the open source concept, the current situation calls for nothing less.

Let's be real, Mozilla leadership is not going to slaughter their cash cow. They have no incentive to place anything above the needs of Google.

It's already proven --- the user base and market share have been effectively abandoned for lack of impact to the bottom line. Plaintive demands from users now carry no real weight and will most likely be met with marketing doublespeak/lip service while business as usual continues.

Sorry but it's too late now. Any debate over the direction of Mozilla is a done deal settled a decade ago.

[maleldil]

How would the fork be funded? You can't expect a complex program like a browser to be developed exclusively by volunteers in their free time.

[jqpabc123]

How would the fork be funded?

There are options:

1) Non-personalized (aka context sensitive) advertising. Advertising by itself is not the inherently evil part --- the collection of personalized data is. Context sensitive advertising doesn't require any personal data.

2) As an alternative for those who prefer it, allow users to pay a small annual fee for AD BLOCKING.

I'd pay for something that is truly private and blocks personalized ads and the associated data collection. Given a little reasonable incentive, I think there are others who would too.

Google's vision of the web is a choice, not a requirement. Mozilla could put forth a real alternative vision --- but they won't for obvious reasons.