[ahofmann]

“security problems are just bugs” - Linus Torvalds

And he is 100% right on this. The whole thread, or even that it got posted here on in shows the problem. It was just a bug. The maintainer fixed it. Open source works. You can't throw the whole project under the bus just because maintainer made a mistake, that happened to he a security problem.

[nobunaga]

My main concern is the lack of interest in the security problems being raised and the constant attempt at silencing of people raising issues or silence itself. Not just this bug but other links were provided on and the developers deliberate attempt at ignoring or or shutting down discussion. This isnt just about one bug. Dont be so naive. The developer is selling a product on a given feature, privacy and they neither care about it or have the ability to implement privacy properly.

What about the people who believe them that the browser is private when its not? What if genuinely someone relied on its privacy for their important work but in reality its not? This isnt about the developer. Its bigger than that and your ignorance on this is kind of part of the problem.

[ahofmann]

First of all: I'm not using Zen browser, I don't know what it is, what it sells etc. Frankly I don't care about Zen browser and I've not read the other links, you provided.

I wrote my post, because there is a strange thing happening when security bugs are discovered: Everyone seems to panic. And in every discussion on such threads people will throw in their alternatives that should be used because this one is clearly not up for the job...

Threads like this are actively hurting the project and the cause. The bigger picture is, that this behavior hurts all alternative projects. There is a constant barrage of problems that the maintainera are dealing with and everyone thinks, his problem should be solved first. This is not how building software works. As a maintainer you can't help everyone every time. And people like you, that run around on the Internet and create the feeling that the maintainer is careless, can kill the project. The mega corps have PR teams, that deal with problems like this. Because they know how dangerous this can get. Even Firefox isn't big enough that they can absorb all the shit that is thrown at them. How can some little project on GitHub deal with people like you? They can't and they can loose their project because of this.

I don't want that. I want alternatives to rise and thrive. I want an internet where sixteen browser engines are competing against each other, not two, or three. So please stop shitting on the little projects, that try to do better. Instead contribute, fill issues, and enjoy that it is possible to build together better software.

[nobunaga]

I want an internet where sixteen browser engines are competing against each other, not two, or three and that lives up to the claims that they set out and use as marketing. So please stop shitting on people who raise legitimate concerns and when maintainers suppress or ignore information about these concerns raised.

You dont know how many PRs Ive submitted to open source projects. So maybe dont make shitty claims yourself. I think holding people accountable for the statements they make is pretty much whats happening here. Yet people like yourself think its ok that companies or products say one thing but then do another.

[ahofmann]

You are right, that I assumed a few things. That wasn't right, I'm sorry.

But: this doesn't change the validity of my points.

Also: I assumed good faith, when I engaged with you. That was a mistake. After I posted my stuff here, I saw that you opened another thread on hn about Zen browser. If I had seen this earlier, I wouldn't have engaged with you at all. You are throwing around FUD about zen browser. I don't know why you are doing this, and I don't need to find out. As I said elsewhere, I don't care about zen browser.

Posting FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) is the most useless type of content that gets posted. It gets upvotes, mostly because our brains are pretty much hardwired to engage with such content. I've sadly walked into that trap today.