I'm no coder, but:
Moonchild wrote:I do plan to keep the features we currently have, and the customizability we currently have, but considering the rather important changes to how it works, and breaking direct extension compatibility with Firefox extensions
Moonchild wrote:it would make sense to evolve the extension ecosystem into something that would be specific to this new browser, with focused development on a stable and unique framework, removing all of the compatibility headaches we've seen recently as well as making things easy for extension developers to maintain their work for us.
For me, breaking direct extension compatibility with Firefox extensions is an existential threat to Pale Moon, just as breaking extension compatibility with FF is likely to speed it's continuing decline. The availability of a wide range of extensions was key factor that drove the growth of FF - and the prospect of many of them becoming incompatible was a key factor that caused me (and, I suspect, others) to move to Pale Moon. IMHO Pale Moon
must continue to provide access to at least the majority of those extensions to succeed. And, based on the current experience, expecting extension developers to rewrite their code in sufficient numbers to keep Pale Moon attractive is probably unrealistic. It would therefore seem necessary for any rebase project to include the forking of large numbers of extensions, which may not be viable.
Moonchild wrote:Crowdfunding would be something to look into if there was a clear need for funding to put back into the project, i.e.: if there is a clear and detailed plan of action for a significant period of time to come, but this isn't possible for a browser.
Well, it might be very useful source of funds to pay for the forking of a large number of extensions.
And there could also be more reasons to do it than to raise cash. As part of a larger communications plan, it might play a significant part in grabbing the attention of the internet, spreading with word about Pale Moon, and attracting potential code contributors. Look, for example, at the splash (
http://techcrunch.com/2013/08/20/mailpile/) made by MailPile
https://www.mailpile.is/, which not only raised cash, but which also now has >100 contributors, >5000 commits, >400 watchers, and >6,000 stars on GitHub. That's not bad for a 3-year-old project, though the timing of the Snowden leaks no doubt helped their publicity. And if crowdfunding works for a mail client, maybe it would work for a browser, if the case is well made.
CharmCityCrab wrote:I'd like to thank MoonChild and Matt A. Tobin for starting this thread and being detailed and forthright about their future plans, and involving the community in the process in advance of making the decisions, which is a pleasant contrast to the way most browsers (Even some of the other Open Source ones [i.e. Firefox, Chrome]), do things.
I couldn't have said it better.