General Discussion • Re: Pale Moon's PR Problem

Hey everyone, I've been doing some thinking.

I am a Linux enthusiast. I like the idea of being in total control of my computer, having complete freedom, including the freedom to shoot myself in the foot. I also like the fact that Linux is in many ways inherently privacy- and user-centric, due to the influences of FSF/GNU in the Linux ecosystem. And as a cherry on top, Linux is notorious for having the ability to 'revive' old hardware that previously ran some version of a proprietary OS. On Linux, you do not have to worry about inherent bloat. But the most important thing about Linux, IMO, is that it is community-run.

My question for a while has been, "what is the Linux of web browsers?" Most mainstream browsers are eliminated immediately, especially those based on Chromium. Firefox may be an obvious candidate to some because it is technically highly configurable and is better for power users than those based on Chromium (and because it is the most used among Linux users), but we in these forums know better. Its derivatives are just more or less different skins of the same browser, with some nice features added on top, and different defaults.

Meanwhile, Pale Moon:

• Gives the user complete control of their browser, to such a degree that they have the power to shoot themselves in the foot.
• Is inherently privacy- and user-centric.
• Is not bloated, and works well on older hardware.
• Is community-run.

You could easily capitalize on this to address the (IMHO) underdeveloped first section where we actually pitch Pale Moon's features. For example, instead of only saying "ooooh we have these 'XUL' extensions! You can use them to modify the UI!" You could also portray XUL extensions as forbidden technology, foresaken by the big browsers long ago, banished to obscurity, because it was so in fact so powerful that back in the day it posed a danger to people who didn't know what they were doing. But don't go all the way with this though, because although PM is probably best for power users, we shouldn't aim to be elitist or overdramatic, because it's just a browser.

I remember when just the other day there was somewhere where the extensions were described as 'extremely powerful'. That is sort of what I'm talking about. I think we should emphasize that stuff a bit more!

Otherwise, the recent changes are appear to be going in the right direction. I don't know if you changed anything in the 'Secure by design' section, but right now it's pretty good.