> You donated a seven-figure sum to Mozilla that you are going to chargeback?
I helped with fundraisers. The pitch was privacy. I and the others who donated feel we were mislead. (I was never a major donor. But at least one who charged six figures on his Amex has initiated a chargeback.)
Is there a way to litigate Firefox, to pay back the money, based on the false premise they gave? And that the damages extend well beyond a few individuals?
Say, the threat of an actual litigation, would help hold them accountable in the future?
Litigate yes, win, probably not. If the goal is to bleed Mozilla dry, the correct angle is antitrust action against their contract with Google.
It’s a non-profit and those were donations. Those who made the donations on a card whom I know are charging it back, that’s the closest to donor accountability we’ll come to.
No, the idea isn't to bleed them dry, but to disincentivize decisions in direct opposition to what they promised to donors, and make them legally hard to do or with actual consequences.
It would be a guide rail for people at the top to align themselves with people at the bottom. To be aligned with the promises they use in fundraising from donors (of both time and money).
I'm torn with the "just don't give them money then" which a sibling commenter said, it might work short term, but what about everything people have poured into this throughout the decades? I think all that work deserves to be safeguarded, it would show that whatever resources, be it money or time, cannot just be turned on itself by a passing leadership, and that there would be a safeguard against "flushing everything down" as the only choice.
Furthermore, I just don't see a promise/company statement as being enough, after everything that has happened. There needs to be legal accountability and safeguards for not sinking a multi-generational ship.
If you disagree with either Mozilla's mission statement or their execution, just don't donate any money, and if you must, campaign and try to convince other people to not do so either.
But lawsuits... I'd be seriously pissed to see donations go towards lawyers instead of browser development or other open web advocacy. (And yes, I'm aware Mozilla has been pretty controversially/poorly managed for a long time now, but I really don't think the right way to turn that ship around is external litigation.)
See my answer to the sibling comment, it's not meant as an ill'will comment, otherwise I would add, if people completely abandoned Firefox due to a lack of safeguards and trust, then yes, that would be even worse than establishing said safeguards.
I agree, and Mozilla (like all nonprofits) definitely benefits from accountability.
But I would hope that a lack of future donations, combined with (former) donors voicing their specific concerns, can achieve more direct outcomes than litigation. I'd hate to see their already limited funding go towards legal fees.
