Right, I had an option to choose it (I think I chose device default, though I'm not exactly sure what it means on Windows but I assume it's like "system theme" on Android).
The whiplash from seeing that selectable on my screen to seeing someone claim it's not there in the same 60 seconds is really something.
There's a lot of HN users who are just absolutely furious about Firefox and will jump into any thread to scream about how much they hate it and everyone involved in making it. The heat behind the complaints is so out of proportion it would be comical if they weren't targeting real people. It's baffling to me the scale of negativity people have to this actually pretty good piece of software existing in an unbelievably hostile product space.
> The heat behind the complaints is so out of proportion
You're talking about a browser that has shed about 92% of its userbase since its peak. Firefox was never a default or a pushed selection, people were drawn to adopt it because they wanted it, and almost all of them were alienated and confused by the decisions that the browser made and continues to make.
In trying to make sense out of this own goal, they see the massive payments from google to firefox, they see firefox intervening in google's antitrust case, they see executives being paid an enormous amount of money for continuous failure, and they watch the slide continue. To see these and avoid understanding this as firefox taking a dive (that should be illegal, would be nice if we had antitrust) is a sort of blindness. It's also not to be blamed on some UI designer who just got there a few years ago - those red herring "real people" - these are corporate decisions.
If I invested with you, and you lost 92% of my money, there's no degree of heat that would be out of proportion.
> unbelievably hostile product space.
If you're subsidized a half-billion a year from your biggest competitor, and you started with a browser that was probably 35% of the market at peak, there is nothing hostile about this product space. It is the easiest job in the world. Especially if the job is to fail.
> almost all of them were alienated and confused by the decisions that the browser made and continues to make.
I don't think so. I've never been alienated by it. It's a browser. It does browser things. It's fine.
What decisions have confused and alienated you? People in this thread are screaming bloody murder because of a couple pixels on tab bar and a low-contrast gradient. This isn't a rational reaction to a minor graphical tweak, it's bonkers hysterics.
It turns out it's really tough to compete with one of the largest companies in the world when they are very highly motivated to capture as many users as they can (unlike Microsoft around the turn of the millennium). I think there are things Firefox could do to recapture the audience[1], but I also don't think turning the tabs into pills or whatever justifies the kind of language being used in this thread.
[1] I think implementing new popup blocking would generate some real positive conversation: <a href="https://www.smokingonabike.com/2025/12/31/web-browsers-have-stopped-blocking-pop-ups/" rel="nofollow">https://www.smokingonabike.com/2025/12/31/web-browsers-have-...
hattar · · focus · HN ↗
Improve Adblock capabilities, better tab and session management, improve sync, improve site css and js management, built in dark-mode.
Hell, just look at the list of most used extensions, it’s a great place to start understanding what users want.
coldpie · · focus · HN ↗
It has built-in dark mode, check out the Themes in your settings.
glenstein · · focus · HN ↗
The whiplash from seeing that selectable on my screen to seeing someone claim it's not there in the same 60 seconds is really something.
coldpie · · focus · HN ↗
pessimizer · · focus · HN ↗
You're talking about a browser that has shed about 92% of its userbase since its peak. Firefox was never a default or a pushed selection, people were drawn to adopt it because they wanted it, and almost all of them were alienated and confused by the decisions that the browser made and continues to make.
In trying to make sense out of this own goal, they see the massive payments from google to firefox, they see firefox intervening in google's antitrust case, they see executives being paid an enormous amount of money for continuous failure, and they watch the slide continue. To see these and avoid understanding this as firefox taking a dive (that should be illegal, would be nice if we had antitrust) is a sort of blindness. It's also not to be blamed on some UI designer who just got there a few years ago - those red herring "real people" - these are corporate decisions.
If I invested with you, and you lost 92% of my money, there's no degree of heat that would be out of proportion.
> unbelievably hostile product space.
If you're subsidized a half-billion a year from your biggest competitor, and you started with a browser that was probably 35% of the market at peak, there is nothing hostile about this product space. It is the easiest job in the world. Especially if the job is to fail.
coldpie · · focus · HN ↗
I don't think so. I've never been alienated by it. It's a browser. It does browser things. It's fine.
What decisions have confused and alienated you? People in this thread are screaming bloody murder because of a couple pixels on tab bar and a low-contrast gradient. This isn't a rational reaction to a minor graphical tweak, it's bonkers hysterics.
It turns out it's really tough to compete with one of the largest companies in the world when they are very highly motivated to capture as many users as they can (unlike Microsoft around the turn of the millennium). I think there are things Firefox could do to recapture the audience[1], but I also don't think turning the tabs into pills or whatever justifies the kind of language being used in this thread.
[1] I think implementing new popup blocking would generate some real positive conversation: <a href="https://www.smokingonabike.com/2025/12/31/web-browsers-have-stopped-blocking-pop-ups/" rel="nofollow">https://www.smokingonabike.com/2025/12/31/web-browsers-have-...