• https://codeberg.org/librewolf/issues/issues/2289

Dear LibreWolf Developers,

I’ve noticed that you’re quite open about your political stance, identifying as leftists and expressing support for what you describe as “woke” ideology. I respect that you have opinions and the freedom to share them, but I’d like to offer some thoughts on why I believe it’s worth keeping politics separate from the LibreWolf project.

Politics is an incredibly difficult and messy topic. Most people—including myself—can’t claim to fully understand what the “right” kind of politics is. There’s so much propaganda, so many lies, and endless deceptions swirling around, and the worst part is that people often don’t even recognize when they’re being influenced by them. They genuinely believe they’re on the right side, but it’s hard to know for sure. That uncertainty, I think, makes politics a shaky foundation for anything beyond personal belief.

LibreWolf, to me and I’m sure to many others, is about something more concrete and universal: freedom, open source, and privacy. These are the core values that make your project stand out and attract users from all walks of life. Real freedom isn’t about picking a political side—it’s about empowering people through technology, regardless of what they believe. When politics gets mixed into a software project, it risks alienating parts of the userbase who might otherwise support it. You could lose people not because of the software’s quality, but simply because of a statement that doesn’t align with their views.

Take what’s happened with Firefox recently as an example. Their entanglement in political issues has left some users feeling like they can’t express themselves freely anymore, and it’s driven them to look for alternatives. LibreWolf has a chance to be that alternative—a browser that stays above the fray, focused purely on its technical merits and commitment to user empowerment. But if LibreWolf becomes perceived as politically aligned, it could turn away potential users who are just looking for a tool they can trust, not a platform for ideology.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t have your beliefs or express them in your personal lives—everyone’s entitled to that. But when those beliefs get tied to LibreWolf, it can complicate things for the project and its community. I hope you’ll consider keeping LibreWolf a space that’s purely about the software: a tool for freedom, privacy, and open-source ideals. That’s what makes it special, and that’s why people like me turn to it.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for all the work you put into LibreWolf—it’s a project worth preserving for what it does best.

Thanks, and regards, A user who like your work

PS.: This is a reaction to #1978

I love AI-generated slop posts on the bug tracker.

Response from librewolf:

Thanks for enlightening us and making us realize the error of our ways! wasting our time with this issue.