[nine_k]

Question: could I offer a patch without having a GitHub account?

Definitely I can access the source code. The review tools are not on GitHub. But is it even possible to host my proposed changes elsewhere, not on GitHub? I suppose that the answer is negative, but surprises happen.

This is a relatively theoretical question, but it explores the "what bad Microsoft can do to you" avenue: it can close your GitHub account, likely seriously hampering your ability to contribute.

[steveklabnik]

This is my understanding from reading the docs just now:

You submit patches to Phabricator, not to GitHub.

https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/contributing/contrib...

> To submit a patch for review, we use a tool called moz-phab.

That does mean you need an account on Phabricator, but not on GitHub https://moz-conduit.readthedocs.io/en/latest/phabricator-use...

[nicoburns]

> But is it even possible to host my proposed changes elsewhere, not on GitHub? I suppose that the answer is negative, but surprises happen.

Yes, in fact it is only possible to submit patches through Phabricator. You cannot submit patches through Github.