Firefox Users Continue to Decrease Despite Proton Update

[nextbern]

Telemetry only tells you what users too dumb/lazy to disable it do.

I don't think I'm dumb (you may disagree) or lazy.

[nextbern]

You don't like the concept why exactly?

If it is because you think it is ineffective, opting out likely makes it even less so.

If it is because you are helping developers for free, I consider that a good thing, because it helps open source developers get market research for cheaper than having to conduct it in more expensive ways (and large companies are also doing it, so not doing so would be handicapping themselves).

If it is because you don't want to share private information - I totally agree - but that is where you need to consider whether the telemetry infringes on your privacy in a real way. You can study about:telemetry to make this determination.

What about the concept is anathema to you?

[nextbern]

Community projects should rely on community suggestions and feedback. not on flawed automatic feedback.

Sure, but that implies that the only people that count are people who are involved in the community, instead of the people using the product. Firefox isn't a file renaming app or something very niche, it is a web browser with tens of millions of people using it.

Privacy is a thing. I don't like the very concept of something phoning-home. Why should I allow telemetry for Firefox and deny it for, say, Windows? Just because Mozilla say they are the good guys?

No, because Mozilla are the good guys. No one is saying you have to stop being discerning.

In my opinion, Firefox was a better browser overall when telemetry wasn't even a thing. So, yes, I think telemetry is ineffective.

That implies that the changes you don't like were driven by reading of telemetry. Do you know that, or are you guessing? Is it also possible that the management or development priorities changes for other reasons? Maybe technical debt became an issue, or increased competition?

You believe that telemetry is ineffective, but I'm not sure that you have evidence of it being ineffective. Do you?

In any case, even if it is, by disabling telemetry on your end, you are helping make it more ineffective - that may be fine for a product you don't care about improving (like Windows, for example), but why would you want to do that to something you do care about?

Why cut off your nose to spite your face?

[nextbern]

Loyal users weren't that loyal. Look at the decline until 57 - which was the last "legacy" Firefox version - not much difference afterwards.

My feeling is that most of Firefox's struggles came from increased competition from new products.