Section 1.3. The Future

1.3. The Future

The mission of the Mozilla project is to promote choice and innovation on the Web by creating great end-user offerings. We focus on innovation because the Web is still youngwe've seen only the beginnings of its potential. That potential can be stifled if we don't have innovative work done on the client side.

We focus on choice because this allows people to have greater control over their Internet experience. This control over our life on the Web increases in importance each year, as more and more critical functions such as banking, health care, insurance, and commerce are done over the Web. A monoculture is rarely a healthy ecology. A single effective choice in browsers and email clients is dangerous, both to consumers and to the health of the Web itself.

Firefox in particular has shown that consumers will pay attention to a product that provides an alternative, and that the Mozilla project can create such a product. We have a number of challenges ahead of us. We need to continue to release products that people love. We have a set of responsibilities that come with the user base, adoption rate, and increased visibility of the project. Conditions will change, and we will need to adapt. These are challenges, but certainly no greater than those we have faced to date. These are the challenges that result from the project's achievements. We have great talent, a powerful and creative community, a well-earned place in the Internet ecosystem, a growing user base, and, at long last, a legal home for the Mozilla project in the Mozilla Foundation.

As we go forward, there is no change in the mission of the project. Our basic approach of combining open source DNA with involvement by commercial entities will continue. The Mozilla Foundation has grown some and may grow some more, and we expect to continue working closely with a set of companies that are interested in developing and distributing Mozilla technology. The increasing acceptance of open source software by the commercial world opens up greater possibilities for collaboration. The emergence of web-based services provided through the browser also encourages business models for the service provider other than charging for each copy of software provided. This allows more entities to contribute to our project. Our focus on distributed development, technical excellence, and welcoming new participants will continue. The need for a vibrant, creative community of people focused on the Web will not change.

I expect the Mozilla project will continue to be a trendsetter in a number of arenas: development of open source end-user products, combining volunteer and commercial activity in an open source project, maintaining a critical mass of people as employees of the Mozilla Foundation, and funding that set of employees plus community marketing and adoption programs. We aren't the only ones doing these things, and we continue to learn and benefit enormously from the open source projects. We hope to contribute ever more in return.