Mozilla to drop Firefox version number from About box.

Do you think its right for Mozilla to remove the Firefox version number?

Yes	22.2%	[ 2 ]
No	77.8%	[ 7 ]
Total Votes:			[ 9 ]

[ppgrainbow]

First posted this at the deviantART Software & OS forums and decide to post it here as well in case you missed it.

For more on the latest of this story, read these articles: [1] [2] [3] [4]

Mozilla is making plans to strip the version number from Firefox's About dialogue box soon...but has been greeted by nearly unanimous thumbs down, according to a length and at times heated, debate on a company discussion list.

In a thread in the mozilla.dev.usability discussion group on Sunday morning, Firefox director Asa Doltzer says that the foundation has a "goal to make version numbers irrelevant to the consumer audience", because the team is moving to a more Web-like convention where it's simply no longer important what version you're using as long as it is the latest version.

Another forum thread in the same group is calling Firefox director Asa Doltzer to be fired!

Lots of users won't be happy with the change, with many of them basing their complaints on the fact that for decades, virtually all software has identified its version number in an About box.

Removing the Firefox version number is a long term goal, but this change was even spilled over to Bug 678775 on Bugzilla thread where the conversation on the version number removal is causing a serious uproar.

Mozilla released Firefox 6 yesterday. To close out 2011, Firefox 7, 8 and 9 are slated to ship on 27 September, 8 November and 20 December respectively.

Please discuss this debate and your thoughts on the version number removal in future versions of Firefox! I would like to hear it.

[The Last Rydian]

But how will you know if it's the latest version?

[The20]

The Last Rydian

But how will you know if it's the latest version?

Magic!

[nouveau sereph]

I'm torn. On the one hand, I think their new version number scheme makes version numbers in Firefox obsolete, because, realistically, is there gonna be much difference between Firefox 9 and Firefox 6, only months apart? Mozilla has never pushed big changes that quickly before; hell, not even Canonical would dare release so many new versions so quickly. So I think it's almost a non-issue, here. You could just as easily say "I downloaded Firefox in 2011" and people would have a pretty decent idea of what your Firefox looks and behaves like.

On the other hand, Chrome updates at the same break-neck pace, and yet it still includes version numbers. I also think it makes it easier for troubleshooting on both ends of the competency spectrum - for the novice, so they can accurately report what version of Firefox they're using when they have an issue, and for the expert when developing against Firefox and encountering issues in a specific build.

So pros and cons, I guess? They'll probably still include it anyway, in about:version or something esoteric.

[The20]

nouveau sereph

I'm torn. On the one hand, I think their new version number scheme makes version numbers in Firefox obsolete, because, realistically, is there gonna be much difference between Firefox 9 and Firefox 6, only months apart? Mozilla has never pushed big changes that quickly before; hell, not even Canonical would dare release so many new versions so quickly. So I think it's almost a non-issue, here. You could just as easily say "I downloaded Firefox in 2011" and people would have a pretty decent idea of what your Firefox looks and behaves like.

On the other hand, Chrome updates at the same break-neck pace, and yet it still includes version numbers. I also think it makes it easier for troubleshooting on both ends of the competency spectrum - for the novice, so they can accurately report what version of Firefox they're using when they have an issue, and for the expert when developing against Firefox and encountering issues in a specific build.

So pros and cons, I guess? They'll probably still include it anyway, in about:version or something esoteric.

Why care about issues with a build that will be obsolete in three months?

[nouveau sereph]

The20

nouveau sereph

I'm torn. On the one hand, I think their new version number scheme makes version numbers in Firefox obsolete, because, realistically, is there gonna be much difference between Firefox 9 and Firefox 6, only months apart? Mozilla has never pushed big changes that quickly before; hell, not even Canonical would dare release so many new versions so quickly. So I think it's almost a non-issue, here. You could just as easily say "I downloaded Firefox in 2011" and people would have a pretty decent idea of what your Firefox looks and behaves like.

On the other hand, Chrome updates at the same break-neck pace, and yet it still includes version numbers. I also think it makes it easier for troubleshooting on both ends of the competency spectrum - for the novice, so they can accurately report what version of Firefox they're using when they have an issue, and for the expert when developing against Firefox and encountering issues in a specific build.

So pros and cons, I guess? They'll probably still include it anyway, in about:version or something esoteric.

Why care about issues with a build that will be obsolete in three months?

Thorough developers.

[trezoid]

Interestingly, the difference between 6 and 9 is really very large (on the back end)

New memory management making it significantly faster for much less memory usage, for a start...

[nouveau sereph]

That's cool, but that wasn't really my point. The point was, unless they significantly speed up their development cycle to implement big changes on the front end for every single version number, it's pretty insignificant what the version number actually is. If they release six versions in a year, but five of those versions are behind the scenes changes (or inconsequential to regular usage habits), what's the real difference, to the user, between one version and the next? Hell, if they've turned off automatic updates, what incentive do they have when a new version is just around the corner anyway? It's just shifting the goalposts; instead of asking "Are you using Firefox 4?" we'll ask "Are you at least using Firefox 9?" to refer to the latest milestone version that people will relate to.

Pump out too many version numbers and people will stop caring about version numbers. If you were to put updating back in their hands, with a versioning system as fast paced as Firefox has now, you'd end up with versions all across the spectrum - because after two or three new versions where nothing significant (to them) has changed, they'd stop bothering.

[trezoid]

To be honest, I agree that version numbers needn't be visible (outside dev tools. It'd be extremely useful for alpha testers) , especially since it does auto-update and will say "Your version of firefox is up to date"

[Gabriel Faust]

Removing version numbers is going to make the Addon service a lot harder to discern whether your addon will be compatible (or, alternatively, make it so version checks aren't made for addons, making less-often updated addons more likely to run unhindered).

[Rhapsody Scarlet]

Doesn't matter to me whether it's in the about box or not. 'apt-show-versions -a iceweasel' is what I use to determine what version I'm on.

[The20]

trezoid

To be honest, I agree that version numbers needn't be visible (outside dev tools. It'd be extremely useful for alpha testers) , especially since it does auto-update and will say "Your version of firefox is up to date"

I have 5.0. Because i also am behind a proxy and FF couldn't check for updates it told me it's up to date. Now try to help me with a specific problem while thinking i have 6.0.

Also, as has been asked numerous times and never answered as far as i can tell, what good will removing the version number do? What's the point behind that?

[nouveau sereph]

The20

Also, as has been asked numerous times and never answered as far as i can tell, what good will removing the version number do? What's the point behind that?

Why not? Your case, as far as Mozilla (and Google, with Chrome) is concerned, is an edge case. With fast release cycles and silent auto updating, they're assuming everyone is gonna be up to date, all the time, and if they're not? Not their problem. Essentially, you shouldn't need to know your version number, because at any point in time it can be assumed your version is the latest version.

Besides, it probably won't go away for good - there'll be some place it's squirreled away, just not the About Firefox dialogue (again, probably something lame like about://version)

[The20]

nouveau sereph

The20

Also, as has been asked numerous times and never answered as far as i can tell, what good will removing the version number do? What's the point behind that?

Why not? Your case, as far as Mozilla (and Google, with Chrome) is concerned, is an edge case. With fast release cycles and silent auto updating, they're assuming everyone is gonna be up to date, all the time, and if they're not? Not their problem. Essentially, you shouldn't need to know your version number, because at any point in time it can be assumed your version is the latest version.

Besides, it probably won't go away for good - there'll be some place it's squirreled away, just not the About Firefox dialogue (again, probably something lame like about://version)

As soon as someone starts to assume things about software things tend to go wrong.

Is there any advantage in dropping the version number?

[nouveau sereph]

The20

nouveau sereph

The20

Also, as has been asked numerous times and never answered as far as i can tell, what good will removing the version number do? What's the point behind that?

Why not? Your case, as far as Mozilla (and Google, with Chrome) is concerned, is an edge case. With fast release cycles and silent auto updating, they're assuming everyone is gonna be up to date, all the time, and if they're not? Not their problem. Essentially, you shouldn't need to know your version number, because at any point in time it can be assumed your version is the latest version.

Besides, it probably won't go away for good - there'll be some place it's squirreled away, just not the About Firefox dialogue (again, probably something lame like about://version)

As soon as someone starts to assume things about software things tend to go wrong.

Is there any advantage in dropping the version number?

No. But it's becoming increasingly irrelevant to keep it, also, so why not? Honestly, I don't think it's gonna be a huge issue in the long run, and I don't think it's gonna impact you (or users as a whole) nearly as much as you think it will.