this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2024
291 points (90.1% liked)

Firefox

17301 readers
281 users here now

A place to discuss the news and latest developments on the open-source browser Firefox

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
 

#Firefox doesn't need any new features to be more attractive for users, it just needs to make CSS theming more accessible

Theme: https://github.com/Godiesc/firefox-one

#FirefoxCSS #browserwar #customization @firefox

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Honestly, I don't see why CSS theming is important. The customization is nice and all, but that's not going to make people switch to Firefox. There are many other things that could be improved, like adding tab grouping. I use this extension called Tree Style Tab which I cannot live without. Firefox having something like that by default instead of an extension would be nice.

However, having said that, OperaGX did find quite a lot of success by simply making it easy to theme the browser, so I can see where they are coming from.

[–] Olgratin_Magmatoe 5 points 5 days ago

Tree Style Tab which I cannot live without. Firefox having something like that by default instead of an extension would be nice.

Been using TST for a while now, and I whole heartedly agree. Given that it's essentially just some CSS, I can't imagine that it would be difficult at all to support natively.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Vertical Tabs are in the Nightly build, already. It is a very rudimentary implementation, still. Personally, I use Sideberry though.

[–] Anticorp 26 points 5 days ago (1 children)

On my list of things important for the browser I use, CSS theming doesn't even appear.

[–] clutchtwopointzero 5 points 4 days ago

CSS theming is absolutely dispensable

[–] [email protected] 79 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Also don't add advertising crap that is opt-out and only configurable via about:config.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

majority of people dont give a fuck about that

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Majority of people also don’t give a fuck about Firefox at all.

So why piss off the few that DO care?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

I am not saying they shouldn't have done that. I am saying its not a blocker in mass adoption.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 5 days ago (10 children)

Anyone who thinks they know what needs to happen for Firefox to regain market share, needs to consider what would happen if someone forks Firefox and makes that happen.

There's no way that CSS theming is it. And in general, "not doing something" isn't going to be it, either.

load more comments (10 replies)
[–] ilinamorato 71 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Uh, no, they definitely need tab grouping before they get into making CSS theming easier.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago

Looks to be in the works which makes me very happy. If you use nightly, make sure browser.tabs.groups.enabled in about:config is enabled

https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/native-tab-grouping-more-customizable-tab-bar/idc-p/72706/highlight/true#M39420

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Tab grouping is nice, but I've found Sidebery to meet my needs (specifically nested tab groups, and separating projects — plus it worked out of the box with Firefox Color) much better. I have it configured to automatically unload collapsed branches, which is nice as a tab hoarder, and it can fully send entire panels to your bookmarks for later usage (this is a massive performance improvement when you're regularly opening 100–200 tabs/day per panel). A native solution, however, would be much appreciated — as long as there's a way to nest tab groups and unload their contents.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago

yes i agree, tab grouping is very good

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 days ago

I would very much welcome them adding support for HDR content too

[–] NegativeLookBehind 60 points 6 days ago

And stop doing shady shit

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Only reason I use Chromium is PWAs (Web Apps). Which is why I made an extension that opens links from Chromium in Firefox.

Got Slack running in your work profile on Chromium? Opens links in Firefox work profile.

I should probably release this.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Same here. I have to trust/use an extension and third party desktop application (Progressive Web Apps for Firefox) to get this feature to work and not have to rely on Chrome/Edge/etc.

I can easily see less patient or understanding users dropping Firefox if they find out it doesn't work with Progressive Web Apps.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

My problem with that extension is the separate profile requirement (so new links can't open in a specific profile), and some things (like Slack) don't fully work outside Chromium.

My solution works like this:

  • Slack open as PWA in Chromium in profile Work
  • Click link to http://that
  • Extension captures the request, cancels the new tab/window, sends the URL and profile name to a small service running on localhost
  • Service opens Firefox with same profile to URL

The extension is set to skip this process if the base URL is the same as the current site (Slack.com/google.com/etc).

Note: Why would someone down vote you for a helpful response? Sheash.

[–] Etterra 7 points 4 days ago

Also ditch AI.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Not a fix but having Mozilla coded PWAs could help a bit. Rather than 3rd party.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 days ago

Zen browser is Firefox with easy css theming

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 days ago

@RmDebArc_5 @firefox I believe they really need better tab organization (without the need for extensions). just basic tab grouping like chrome is a very important feature.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I like theming , I am already a Firefox user. I think the sad reality is that for more adoptions , in the order of numbers that chrome puts up , Firefox needs to be a default application ; the common users doesn't want to customize anything ( my hot take ).

I don't think it is important that Firefox gets to those numbers as long as they can generate enough revenue to keep going.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 days ago

Not a hot take. Most regular end users are lazy, not tech savvy, or do not care. Not meant as an insult, it is just reality. I used to be a SysAdmin and this was always the case. This is why IE got big, and why Chrome and Google Search got big and to a larger extend why Apple's offering got big in their ecosystem.

Google trying to kill adblockers Barbara Streisand Effect them into the spotlight, magnitudes more than their own existence had merited to most average users in the last 15+ years, at least in the USA.

And even now, I still know tons of end users who do not use adblockers.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It should also ship with a better default CSS theme.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (4 children)

And stop forcing websites into darkmode. Part of the reason I use resist fingerprinting is for theming.

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Agreed. This is the only reason (besides the built-in fake VPN) OperaGX is popular. All browsers have pretty much the same feature set. OperaGX's biggest strength is CSS customization, Firefox's biggest strength is extensions, Edge's is being the Windows default and Chrome's is it's image of "fast and secure browsing".

All Firefox needs to be is a jack of all trades. But still prioritize it's main distinction.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Bad for privacy (potentially)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

well extensions can be too, you just gotta trust or use open source stuff

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Main thing I want is to override site css. Who cares what the browser itself looks like.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (4 children)
load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›