[lasr21]

Firefox will NOT include ads - Stop the misinformation!!

currently the default new tab page on a NEW installation is mostly empty: http://i.imgur.com/z71I89i.jpg

What will happen is that it will be pre-filled with sites that are popular in your locale, organizations that Mozilla likes, and sponsored sites: http://cl.ly/image/3I172o2f202k

The pre-filled sites disappear and are replaced by your own top sites as you start using the browser.

[Silhouette]

Firefox will NOT include ads

If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck...

I think you're picking the wrong fight here. There is nothing inherently wrong with advertising, if it's done with due respect for those who will see the ads and, in this case, who are using the software. It sounds like that will be the case here, just as it was when they made Google the default search engine.

But by claiming this isn't an advertising scheme, all you're doing is putting yourself the wrong side of an argument you can't possibly win. It obviously is an advertising scheme, and you immediately lose all credibility by pretending otherwise.

[callahad]

> If it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck...

That's fair, but there is also a pretty big gulf between what Mozilla is actually doing and what most people think of when they hear the headline "Mozilla to deliver ads in Firefox."

As proposed, this is basically a set of preloaded bookmarks that automatically disappear after you've visited nine sites.

So yes, it is advertising, but every indication I've seen is that it's being done responsibly, which is a degree of nuance lost in the headline. Then again, I am a Mozilla paid contributor, so I might have a more charitable bias.

[lasr21]

You are right :)

[ama729]

You don't understand, people HAVE to be OUTRAGED, ADS in Firefox, god's heaven no, until now it was working on happy thoughts and unicorn powder[1].

I'm probably one of the rare person to think it's a pretty well designed idea that will bring money to Mozilla without compromising their users' privacy or computers well being, so a welcoming change.

I'm going to my happy place again.

[1] Incidentally, the process to get some is probably gruesome.

[dave5104]

To me, "sponsored sites" is just another word for "ads".

[chrismorgan]

By that token, the pre-installed search sites are ads. There's big money associated with those things, yet I haven't heard anyone complaining about them.

I like the look of this new feature—I think it will be more useful to beginning users, it produces a nicer first-run user experience, and it gets out of the way very quickly.

I'm not sure if people think that Google Chrome has ads like this or not—to my view, the whole product is laced with ads for Google products, far more intrusive, obnoxious and anticompetitive than anything Firefox has been able to produce.

(You might guess that I'm a Mozilla fan. That perception would be accurate.)

[TheLoneWolfling]

The pre-installed search engines are ads. They [Mozilla] are being paid to promote a product [Google Search]. That being said, it is not a form of advertisement that is particularly obtrusive, and it is "opt-out" - you are not prevented from removing search engines from the drop-down list if you so choose.

I personally take objection to ads when they take away from the usability of the product, when they are of a form that could be used to infect my computer, and/or when they are of a form that can be used to pass on data to third parties. (Un?)fortunately, this covers the majority of advertisements on websites: a large chunk of ads are pop-up, pop-over, are flash (both for battery life and exploits), redirect to untrusted websites (exploits), and/or use content hosted by third parties.

As such, my worry for this is: what happens if someone buys a spot that takes you to a page that exploits your computer then redirects to (for example) facebook? I hope that the bar (price for a spot) will be high enough to discourage this, but I don't know...

[Fishkins]

People have different expectations of Mozilla than they do of Google. I wouldn't be surprised by Chrome adding more ads, but I was very surprised by this headline.

That being said, I think the proposed ads are very tasteful, and it won't affect my browser use.

[dave5104]

I'm not implying I have a problem with Mozilla including these ads. If it helps them out in the end to keep the browser field competitive, I'm all for it.

I also won't argue your point about calling the pre-installed search engines as ads--but they have a utility to them. The upcoming ads are going to have a hit or miss utility. Either I frequent that sponsored site, or I don't and find it to be a waste of space on my new tab page until it gets filled out by another site.

I think if anything, I'd just be worried that this is a slippery slope for Mozilla. These new sponsored site listings seem completely un-intrusive for now... but could it go further in the future?

[joveian]

I think it is a really clever way to do advertising because it allows large companies to give them a bunch of money and at least get something for it that they can show investors while not annoying users much at all. This is most likely aimed at companies like Facebook and Google and Yahoo that have no real need for advertising as such but are willing to spend money to make their services seem even more identical to the intenet itself (for less tech savy users). The company would most likely already recognize that Firefox is important for people being able to actually use their services but the extra bonus of a link to their company could help convince anyone who is doubtful that they should spend money on open source browsers (and gives them an extra spot in the budget they could put such a contribution). Overall a good move on Mozilla's part IMO.

[DanBC]

In that case Ff has included "ads" for years by taking money from Google to have Google as a default page.

[mhurron]

It depends, if it is like the OP posted then no, it's not really an ad any more than this is - http://www.yahoo.com.

On the other hand, if you saw this - http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/files/2009/09/yahoo-ad-campa... then ya, it's an ad.

/unfortunately no, I am not getting paid by yahoo.

[esw]

Ads that you'll see once.

[AlexMax]

So, ads.

[brudil]

Huh. That looks absolutely fine, if this is it. I get that Mozilla can't solely rely on Google. That article was vicious.

[teaneedz]

The problem is that the news was delivered via tweet and blog by Darren Herman - a marketing/ad guy. He's a VP responsible for diversifying revenue. The source and messaging indicate more "user-enhancing" programs are also on the way.

If Mozilla did not intend for this to be ad related, they picked a horrible way to deliver the message IMO.

Mozilla would also be fully aware that there would be concerns about this "ad-like" product but did not nip it in the bud with any clarifications - yet.

The community is concerned for a very valid reason.

[joveian]

"...sponsored sites...", which most of us call ads. Opera seems to do this with speed dial and it seems like a great way for them to make a little money while I can just remove them and never see them again. IMO, Mozilla should just copy the speed dial exactly and put the ads there, but that is mostly because I find Mozilla's interpretation of speed dial to just be annoying.

ETA: I do think that just saying "Mozilla to deliver ads in its Firefox browser" per zdnet is a bit misleading.

[dmunoz]

How about for someone who keeps a perpetually clean history? I really hope I won't need to disable the new tab page just because a bunch of sites I'm not interested in keep appearing every time I clear my browsing history.

I can of course pin sites so that they stay after clearing history, but what if I don't have 9 pinned? Will a handful of sites I don't care about constantly appear?

[pasbesoin]

If this happens, I hope that the initial presentation is entirely through Moz, and that no information is transmitted nor "leaks" to the third party until there is an actual, manual user click/selection.

I don't want my browser launches to be "leaked" to sponsors.

A first reaction. I need to read about this, more.