Open to Choice and the Mozilla community

21st March, 2010

The browser choice screen has garnered a lot of interest since it started rolling out in February. Some Web users have been wondering why they have been invited to choose their browser, while others may be curious to find out what a browser is exactly. Many people are happy to see that Web users around them may soon be taking an important decision regarding their online experience and their relationship with the World Wide Web.

The agreement between the European Commission (EC) and Microsoft resonated with a lot of Mozilla community members, who support this campaign and went out to make a difference in their local community and change the way people around them perceive the Internet. This led to a lot of community-powered activities, from blogging to social networking and translation work to ensure that Web users are aware of this important decision.

Here is a quick overview:

• Francesco Lodolo from Italy wrote a blog post detailing his sighting of the browser choice screen and how the process works: Browser choice with screenshots.

• FuzzyFox aka William D from the UK wrote a FAQ explaining what a browser is and why it’s important to choose: Choice Matters. So Does Your Browser.

• Mozilla Hispano created an event page on Tuenti, a very popular social network in Spain.

• Tobbi, aka Tobias Markus from Germany wrote an article for the German community portal about choice and when to make one: Die Qual der Wahl!

• Mozilla Czech Republic had a very nice blog post on the community website as well.

• Mozilla Bosnia and Herzegovina wrote about Open to Choice on their community portal.

• Wim Benes from the Netherlands wrote in Frisian about the browser choice screen.

• The blog you are reading has been translated into 14 languages by the famous Mozilla localizer teams

This is just a snapshot of the hard work done to support the Open to Choice campaign.  We’re really proud to see people supporting the Open to Choice initiative as well as spreading the word about how important the browser is and how people all over the world can improve their online experience.

A big thank you to all of the people who contributed and still are contributing to Open to Choice and a hearty invite to everybody to join us in making the Web a better place.

For information on how to help, check out the Get Involved section of this website or see the Open to Choice wiki.