by Ethan Johnson
February 15, 2007

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am not a fan of manifestoes, as a rule. Simply put, there's reality, and then there are beliefs about reality. The moon is not the finger, and all that jazz. I don't normally write about "tech" to this granular level. but come to think of it, this isn't about "tech" so much as it is about semantics. Are you sure you have enough popcorn?

The Mozilla Manifesto lists the following 10 "principles". My commentary follows each numbered item. Seriously, you may want to top up that popcorn bag.

1. The Internet is an integral part of modern life - a key component in education, communication, collaboration, business, entertainment and society as a whole.

   [Me:] I agree to some extent, however rewind the tape about 15 years and I wonder what word the manifestoes of the day used in the place of "internet." This may sound kooky, but come to think of it there are places in this modern world where setting your watch back 15 years might be viewed by some as progress. Yet life goes on.

2. The Internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible.

   [Me:] If #1 was a stretch on my part, this item sends my semantics-o-meter into the red. First, this is a list of "principles", which may be better named as "assumptions". Second, what is the "internet"? Can you drive somewhere and physically go to it, as you would, say, a hair salon? How do you deactivate it? How do you regulate it? People access it all the time, yes. If you're reading this, congratulations... you're "on" the internet. Like the old line about prostitutes and old buildings becoming respectable with age, the internet is "open and accessible" by sheer mass, not by explicit design. Third, the internet is open and accessible alright, just ask any ISP. Ker-ching!

3. The Internet should enrich the lives of individual human beings.

   [Me:] Diet pills should make me sleep away fat. Certain deodorant sprays should make women throw themselves at me without warning. I'm reminded of the lofty ideas that I had about how my first web-connected computer was going to revolutionize my life, and in some ways, yes, it did. But "it" didn't do it, I did, aided and abetted by those tools. Still, I wasted a fair amount of time mindlessly web surfing and playing online Shockwave games. This item is lofty and idealistic, kind of like new parents talking about how much TV their child will be allowed to watch, and the quality of the programs. Nickelodeon awaits.

4. Individuals' security on the Internet is fundamental and cannot be treated as optional.

   [Me:] I agree with this in principle, such as "https" actually providing some modicum of security when I shop online. But if security is being equated to privacy, good luck with that.

5. Individuals must have the ability to shape their own experiences on the Internet.

   [Me:] I don't get this one. I'd need a "for instance" where [whoever] is forcing people to have a standardized online experience, such as, log on, surf to these three sites, perform these five actions, and log off. Really, I could go on and on guessing at the intent of this item, but more clarification would be nice.

6. The effectiveness of the Internet as a public resource depends upon interoperability (protocols, data formats, content), innovation and decentralized participation worldwide.

   [Me:] This is another head-scratcher. I agree with the front end, in that HTML should mean the same thing to everybody, and I shouldn't need 15 browsers to handle the demands of my online activities. The back end is more problematic. "Decentralized participation" meaning people don't use ISPs to connect to the internet? Or is this an oblique reference to state-run ISPs? Help me out here.

7. Free and open source software promotes the development of the Internet as a public resource.

   [Me:] Wow, who'd-a thunk that an open source browser developer would state this as a principle? I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you. Somewhat more seriously, I suppose this is an oblique reference to say, Microsoft, both in terms of operating system and browser. IE is free, to my knowledge, or was. It's just not open source. But yes, the joy of standard HTML is that in theory, if not in practice, the page will be readable by any and all comers. But let's not talk about all of the things that are currently non-standard, for various reasons.

8. Transparent community-based processes promote participation, accountability, and trust.

   [Me:] Boy, I don't know about this one. Once again, in theory (DRINK!) an actual company should have inroads on the accountability and trust angles, because if for example you buy something from Target and it is defective, you can take the item back to Target for a refund. Contrast this to something you bought from "some guy" who usually hangs out here, hmm, he hasn't been around lately, and nobody knows where he is. I'm sure he'll be back soon! If this is really about engaging your customers (in whatever form they might take) and delivering on their stated needs/wants. then yes, this works in that context. But hang out in open source land with me sometime and I'll show you the polar opposite of accountability.

9. Commercial involvement in the development of the Internet brings many benefits; a balance between commercial goals and public benefit is critical.

   [Me:] Oh, don't even get me started. If the goals are commercial, 10 times out of 9 (you heard me) they're going to trump public benefit every time. I hope I really don't need to cite the [marbles] out of this. Do I?

10. Magnifying the public benefit aspects of the Internet is an important goal, worthy of time, attention and commitment.

    [Me:] All I can really add is, "so do it." I do wonder if "public benefit" is the cheese in the proverbial trap. This needs more definition.

Reading through the rest of the page, these 10 items are used more or less as justification for what strikes me as status quo for Mozilla. They'll make browsers and stuff, it will be open source, somehow their intellectual property (??!!) will make/keep the internet "free".

There are a few more tidbits that flesh out the "public interest" line of thought, which makes me think that in short, things that are profitable from a corporate perspective may have benefits to the proles. Kind of like "solving" the problem of a substandard municipal potable water system by selling bottled water - because, after all, you don't want to drink the stuff that comes from the tap.

This manifesto may read as utopian. I agree - it's ominously so. I hope I'm literally reading too much into this. <EM>