It’s complicated… your post inspired me to do a mini deep dive, it’s definitely not all one way or the other and there’s a few surprises.
Mozilla’s reasoning:
In 2014 Brendan Eich was appointed CEO and was quickly forced to step down following a social media backlash that included OKCupid asking Firefox users to change browser.
BBC, "Mr Eich, who co-founded Mozilla and was also the creator of the JavaScript scripting language, made a $1,000 (£600) donation in 2008 in support of Californian anti-gay marriage law Proposition 8.
Although it was initially passed, it was later overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2013.
When the announcement of Mr Eich’s appointment was made on 24 March, angry users voiced their opinions on social media. Several high-profile Mozilla employees also weighed in. Three board members also recently resigned - but Mozilla said the events were not linked to Mr Eich."
Mozilla boss Brendan Eich resigns after gay marriage storm - BBC News
The context problem:
The donation occurred in 2008.
2008 Barack Obama said, “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman.”
Holding the position till 2012.
2008 Joe Biden said, “Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage, we do don’t support that” when asked, “Do you support gay marriage?”
[Hillary] “Clinton came out in support of same-sex marriage in 2013 after more than a decade of opposing it.”
Brendan Eich’s donation was ordinary for 2008, it was a view held by both political parties and expressed by candidates seeking the most approval from the general public of which Obama won the presidency as a Democrat with that view.
Even if the timing were ignored, Eich was pressured to step down in 2014 when the shift in the mainstream view was still in it’s infancy.
2014, Brendan Eich - "Inclusiveness at Mozilla
I am deeply honored and humbled by the CEO role. I’m also grateful for the messages of support. At the same time, I know there are concerns about my commitment to fostering equality and welcome for LGBT individuals at Mozilla. I hope to lay those concerns to rest, first by making a set of commitments to you. More important, I want to lay them to rest by actions and results.
A number of Mozillians, including LGBT individuals and allies, have stepped forward to offer guidance and assistance in this. I cannot thank you enough, and I ask for your ongoing help to make Mozilla a place of equality and welcome for all. Here are my commitments, and here’s what you can expect:
- Active commitment to equality in everything we do, from employment to events to community-building.
- Working with LGBT communities and allies, to listen and learn what does and doesn’t make Mozilla supportive and welcoming.
- My ongoing commitment to our Community Participation Guidelines, our inclusive health benefits, our anti-discrimination policies, and the spirit that underlies all of these.
- My personal commitment to work on new initiatives to reach out to those who feel excluded or who have been marginalized in ways that makes their contributing to Mozilla and to open source difficult. More on this last item below. "
[Eich continues for several paragraphs on his vision for LGBT inclusion]
Archived: Brendan Eich » 2014 » March
Current (better CSS): March 2014 – Brendan Eich
Despite the context of the time… his having enough favor to be appointed to the position and a literal mission plan for inclusivity, Mozilla switched position to side with a mob.
I think there’s a great debate to be had about what responsible CEOs should and shouldn’t expect to be able to express but I don’t think Mozilla reached the bar where Eich’s firing can be discussed at that level.
I was curious if Brendan Eich changed his position on marriage since the last public instance of him holding one (which for all I know was 2008). Here’s what’s interesting… I can’t find one. The most he’s said is simply that he’s a Roman Catholic. The debate “elevated” by Mozilla is if a CEO can be a Roman Catholic.
This is false, DASGeek got me on this one.
Decentralized/federated networks arguably have more curation because the communities are small enough to be moderatable compared to the impossible situation big tech is facing. It also grants users better control over what they’re exposed to instead of arbitrary recommendation algorithms and targeted political ads from the likes of Cambridge Analytica.
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That just shows how politicians suddenly change their opinions to go with a certain trend. Of course you can, will and sometimes probably should change your views as you mature but how opportunistic it is very often with politicians just demonstrates how they really tick.
Regardless of that special case inclusiveness to me means that we have to accept that people can, will and should disagree with our views or opinions about different matters, an example being the case of same sex marriage just how there are different religious congregations etc etc.
The reason this is rough is I can’t see this as a debate involving tolerance of speech and cultural diversity.
0 to 10 years from now a similar question will be settled over sex/gender separation in sports/prisons/ect, similarly Bill Gates proposes modern math education is white supremecist and these big questions will keep coming. The odds of a human falling on the approved side of social history prior to every shift is near zero given enough years and all we saw from EIke was 100% compliance to what was being asked in an inclusiveness plan that reads like it was written today. If there was a word for anti-unity, it would apply to Mozilla in this circumstance.
That has to be settled before it’s even a debate about speech.
On the other hand this thread is about Mitchell Baker, Mozilla’s top executive who’s been firing people to bankroll her skyrocketing salary during Mozilla’s constant decline. If we’re to assume the firing of Eike was for social justice, it’d have to be narrowly defined to not include firing people while their company declines for personal enrichment… let alone during a pandemic.
Whether this was social justice or just the path of least resistance may need to be settled before it’s even a debate about social shifts.
My apologies to the fans of Mozilla but i’ve just had enough. I’ve been a major fanboy of Mozilla since they first dominated the browser market and did everything in my power to boost their signal but now I need to see a social shift in Mozilla.
"Mozilla Firefox Usage Down 85% but why are Exec’s Salary Up 400%?
Mozilla, the maker of Firefox, on Tuesday began cutting about 25% (250 people) of its global workforce, saying that the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on economies “significantly impacted our revenue.”"
Mozilla Firefox Usage Down 85% but why are Exec's Salary Up 400%? - iTDM
Mozilla’s a non-profit, so someone has to soak up the extra in order to keep the balance sheet at $0.
They’re based in California…sooo…