Hi Bud, Thank you for sharing your concern. I understand how you feel, and hope to address some of your points.
First, please be aware that Brendan chose to step down. To force him to stay against his will would be to truly infringe on his freedom. Mozilla does respect freedom of speech. This respect extends to employees, who may choose to use that freedom to either support or criticize Brendan. Again, to restrict what employees say would be to truly infringe on free speech. You probably have seen that the internet is a powerful tool for speaking freely (it even allowed you to send your message). You might be interested to know that as a non-profit, Mozilla is one of the few organizations in the world truly protecting the internet. We have no shareholders and relatively few financial interests. We answer only to our users. This cannot be said of Google, Microsoft, Apple, and other companies that you are considering supporting instead. I know you may still have some reservations about supporting Mozilla, and I completely understand. Please also remember that Mozilla is about so much more than this one issue, and that we agree more than you might realize. -- John Karahalis Mozilla openjck.com ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bud @ Rectitude USA" <b...@rectitudeusa.org> > To: "Mark Surman, Mozilla.org" <joinmozi...@mozilla.org>, > governance@lists.mozilla.org, firefox-...@mozilla.org, > tb-plann...@mozilla.org > Sent: Friday, May 2, 2014 9:45:29 AM > Subject: re: Get Ready! - Mozilla > To: Mark Surman > Executive Director > Mozilla Foundation > Dear Mr. Surman... > Get Ready For What? > to keep the web free and open? > I really like Mozilla...and Thunderbird...They're fast and clean...and > open...once... > But the Brendan Eich debacle and resolution was all wrong. You should > have stood behind protecting fair honest personal liberties and freedom > of speech with everything you had. > You've caved in the the inverse of the Joe McCarthy era...only this time > it's the LGBTQ army... > What has the logic within life's sustainability been circumvented to? > To Mr. Surman....To Mitchell Baker....and to every board member at > Mozilla.... > Every person working for Mozilla, or for that matter any company on > planet earth, was born of man and woman... > there's not one person working there born of two men, nor born from two > women...That's not opinion. That's fact. > And when a man working for you was found to say he believes in marriage > between a man and a woman... > which is within his rights of free speech as an American citizen.... > supporting posterity....supporting future life or > sustainability...supporting healthy human behavior... > Mozilla caves in to the pressures of the day...to bow in to or to > support a skewed, the LGBTQ our way or the highway bogus version of > "equality".... > within a bogus version of protecting personal freedoms. > By not supporting Mr. Eich to the fullest, You have effectively quashed > freedom of speech and freedom of thought from within the Mozilla foundation. > Fairness?....Openness?...Inclusiveness?... > No....Unconscionable Hypocrisy. It's ludicrous. > How can you still say: > "I'm worried about this on a number of levels. The end of net neutrality > could set a precedent for an internet that is increasingly closed, > centrally controlled and designed to serve the few instead of the many. > Basically, all of the bad things Mozilla was built to fight." > You should be ashamed. > I'd say respectfully, but I can't right now. > Regards, > Bud @ rectitudeusa.org > Mozilla <http://www.mozilla.org/mission/> prides itself on being held to > a different standard and, this past week, we didn't live up to it. We > know why people are hurt and angry, and they are right: it's because we > haven't stayed true to ourselves. > We didn't act like you'd expect Mozilla to act. We didn't move fast > enough to engage with people once the controversy started. We're sorry. > We must do better. > Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He's made > this decision for Mozilla and our community. > Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech. Equality is > necessary for meaningful speech. And you need free speech to fight for > equality. Figuring out how to stand for both at the same time can be hard. > Our organizational culture reflects diversity and inclusiveness. We > welcome contributions from everyone regardless of age, culture, > ethnicity, gender, gender-identity, language, race, sexual orientation, > geographical location and religious views. Mozilla supports equality for > all. > We have employees with a wide diversity of views. Our culture of > openness extends to encouraging staff and community to share their > beliefs and opinions in public. This is meant to distinguish Mozilla > from most organizations and hold us to a higher standard. But this time > we failed to listen, to engage, and to be guided by our community. > While painful, the events of the last week show exactly why we need the > Web. So all of us can engage freely in the tough conversations we need > to make the world better. > We need to put our focus back on protecting that Web. And doing so in a > way that will make you proud to support Mozilla. > What's next for Mozilla's leadership is still being discussed. We want > to be open about where we are in deciding the future of the organization > and will have more information next week. However, our mission will > always be to make the Web more open so that humanity is stronger, more > inclusive and more just: that's what it means to protect the open Web. > We will emerge from this with a renewed understanding and humility --- > our large, global, and diverse community is what makes Mozilla special, > and what will help us fulfill our mission. We are stronger with you > involved. > Thank you for sticking with us. > Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Hi Bud, > What kind of Web do you want? > <https://sendto.mozilla.org/page/m/29b5e328/6a90b90a/16a33559/5c2b9111/2493122963/VEsH/> > From where I'm sitting, the future looks exciting, but also a bit scary. > *First, the scary* (What can I say? I'm a worrier, and I'd rather /end/ > on the high note.): > Right now the internet preserves your right to access all lawful content > and software without interference. It is an equal playing field: you can > watch House of Cards, read Wikipedia or build a website for your new > business --- all on the same terms as everybody else. > This is what has made the web what it is today, a global engine for > innovation and entrepreneurship. You've probably heard about it as "net > neutrality." *We're worried it's about to go away.* > I'm worried about this on a number of levels. The end of net neutrality > could set a precedent for an internet that is increasingly closed, > centrally controlled and designed to serve the few instead of the many. > Basically, all of the bad things Mozilla was built to fight. It's > discouraging. But... > *The exciting* (I told you we'd get there): > Things are not /quite/ as bleak as they seem --- and the truth is, the > future is up to us. Not "us" as in Mozilla staff. "Us" as in you, and > me, and your friends and my friends, and all web users past, present and > future. We have to stand up for the open internet. For a web that is > built for the good of humanity. For a web that ties us closer together, > rather than one that pushes us further apart. > And that fight starts /right now/. In the next few weeks and months we > are launching a large-scale campaign to engage users worldwide to defend > a web that serves the public good, not a few giant companies. To fight > for and build the kind of web we want to see in the world. The first > step is to answer one simple question: > What kind of web do you want? Let us know, and then join the millions > who are helping shape the future of the world's largest public resource. > <https://sendto.mozilla.org/page/m/29b5e328/6a90b90a/16a33559/5c2b9111/2493122963/VEsE/> > And after you've given us a little insight into your hopes for the web > (and seen what others around the world have to say), we've got something > to help shape that reality --- the newest update to the Firefox browser. > <https://sendto.mozilla.org/page/m/29b5e328/6a90b90a/16a33559/5c2b9111/2493122963/VEsF/> > I won't go into /all/ the details as to why it's awesome (though I wish > I could), but here's the upshot: it's more secure, it's faster, it's > more customizable and it's also really good-looking. Simply put, *the > new Firefox was made with a mission to put you first.* > At the end of that day, Mozilla's amazing global community is the reason > we fight the fight, solve difficult problems and take important actions. > And while our mission has not (and will not) change, we're making bigger > and better plans to make sure our community is part of our growth, and > part of our future. The new *Firefox is just the beginning.* > Stay tuned, > Mark > P.S. --- Mozilla is able to do this work because of the support of > people like you. Click here to make a donation. > <https://sendto.mozilla.org/page/m/29b5e328/6a90b90a/16a33559/5c2b9110/2493122963/VEsC/> > Mark Surman > Executive Director > Mozilla Foundation > _______________________________________________ > governance mailing list > governance@lists.mozilla.org > https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance _______________________________________________ governance mailing list governance@lists.mozilla.org https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance
