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Comment by adamsea | Hacker News Reader

I would love to see a Publicly Funded Browser - i.e., like PBS, or, NPR, but, a browser.

To be one option among others.

Ideally open sources as well : ) : )

It would have to be open sourced first and foremost. Second, there is nothing stopping government funded development efforts towards web technologies. Finally, there would need to be some incentive to developers. If developers can already contribute to an open source browser of their choice with companies that align with their political vision, why should they contribute to a publicly funded browser that will likely have its own political motivations geared towards whatever administration is in power?

A public benefit corporation could go ahead and hire developers and incentivize them with money just like every other organization.

And what you describe is not how PBS works.

That is exactly how it works:

http://about.lunchbox.pbs.org/blogs/news/pbs-statement-trump...

You have to realize that there are politicians that would remove funding if something doesn't benefit them. Most politicians aren't going to want to fund open source efforts when it benefits them more to support companies opposed to those efforts.

You're right that PBS is dependent on government funding, as would a publicly-funded browser. But look at the title of the article you yourself shared:

"PBS STATEMENT: Trump Administration Proposes Elimination of Federal Funding for 'Most Trusted' Institution"

I may have misinterpreted but I felt your previous post was making it sound like developers, and perhaps the public at large, would not trust a publicly funded browser. Again, my apologies if I misread it.

Facts - actual data, not supposition - shows otherwise. PBS is a highly-trusted institution.

It's given us Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers.

If someone thinks those things haven't been a good thing, well, then we're going to have to agree to disagree.

I think a Publicly Funded Browser on the model of PBS, also open-sourced, would be more successful than Firefox, and just as beloved as PBS.

Lastly, consider that PBS has continued to struggle on for some time now despite being dependent on funding from self-interested politicians.

And with no government backdoors please!

Agreed

What about Firefox?

Awesome but not publicly funded by the government, I think? Not like NPR or PBS. I.E., a public institution (Public Benefit Corporation).

Would love to hear an explanation from a downvoter so a discussion could be had.

Just saying “no I don’t like that” (Ie a commentless downvote, assuming the comment isn’t inappropriate), is, IMHO, kind of like trying to win a debate by going “booo! I don’t like that.”

Not very hackery. More like just being a plain old hack.

In this case, down-voting without commenting is ok - your comment didn't contain any rationale so no rationale is required to dismiss it - consider e.g. if you had said "I like Firefox better than Chrome" instead of that you liked government funded enterprises better than privately funded enterprises. Without an explanation why, it's basically just noise.

We also live in a society where private relationships (both personal and business) are the default. When arguing for something other than the default, your burden to provide a rationale is greater. So the omission is especially glaring.

> private relationships (both personal and business) are the default.

What on earth is a "private personal relationship" as opposed to a "public personal relationship"?

If you meant the whole tired "less government in our lives" thing, well, where do you think the internet came from? What do you think poll numbers show about public support for Medicare?

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