Various add-on related questions, comments
Posted: 2019-12-13, 20:07
It seems to me that many of the extensions in Pale Moon's add-on site can't be downloaded in the usual fashion. Instead there's a message along the lines of "this can't be downloaded because the origin can't be verified." Most recent example that I ran across was Expose Noisy Tabs.
The workaround of saving the download link as an xpi file, then opening with PM, usually gets the job done. And the extensions installed that way usually work, too. But it's kind of inconvenient, and confusing to newbies. Why bother having a dedicated site for compatible extensions if you can't download them?
A related issue, though not PM's fault, is that Firefox extensions -- even older versions -- increasingly are labeled "download only with Firefox," and it's not possible to download the xpi files. Even going to the developer's site usually usually only reveals similar Firefox-only links. Does anyone know why Firefox is doing this, and if there's a workaround?
Also the collection of FF legacy extensions -- many of which will work with PM -- appears to have disappeared (or is offline -- checked on Dec. 13 2019).
As reviewers and users have commented (extensively) the primary advantage of FF and its cousins is the ability to customize the browser. If too many FF extensions don't have a Pale Moon counterpart, or there isn't an older FF version that will work, it makes PM users more likely to migrate back to FF. (And, of course, the less customizable FF becomes, the more likely users migrate to Chrome.)
All that said, I'd like to thank all the developers who help create and maintain PM. I don't understand understand why Chrome makes it difficult/impossible for users to customize its (appallingly unfriendly) interface, but I'm thankful there are still alternatives -- Pale Moon being the best, IMO.
The workaround of saving the download link as an xpi file, then opening with PM, usually gets the job done. And the extensions installed that way usually work, too. But it's kind of inconvenient, and confusing to newbies. Why bother having a dedicated site for compatible extensions if you can't download them?
A related issue, though not PM's fault, is that Firefox extensions -- even older versions -- increasingly are labeled "download only with Firefox," and it's not possible to download the xpi files. Even going to the developer's site usually usually only reveals similar Firefox-only links. Does anyone know why Firefox is doing this, and if there's a workaround?
Also the collection of FF legacy extensions -- many of which will work with PM -- appears to have disappeared (or is offline -- checked on Dec. 13 2019).
As reviewers and users have commented (extensively) the primary advantage of FF and its cousins is the ability to customize the browser. If too many FF extensions don't have a Pale Moon counterpart, or there isn't an older FF version that will work, it makes PM users more likely to migrate back to FF. (And, of course, the less customizable FF becomes, the more likely users migrate to Chrome.)
All that said, I'd like to thank all the developers who help create and maintain PM. I don't understand understand why Chrome makes it difficult/impossible for users to customize its (appallingly unfriendly) interface, but I'm thankful there are still alternatives -- Pale Moon being the best, IMO.