Firefox without XUL

People keep telling Firefox is going to cease to exist the moment it forbids using XUL (old API) addons. But is that a fact? I tried to find an addon that would be impossible in Chrome/WebExtensions and couldn't come up with anything substantial! There is even a Chrome alternative to TreeStyleTabs! The only addon I could think of that won't (probably) be feasible is Vimperator.
So I would like to ask you, user, what important addons won't be possible anymore with WebExtensions?
Is it really as bad as some people say?

Bump.

One more bump.

Downthemall

But there are download managers for Chrome, e.g. Chrono Download Manager. Are you sure Downthemall is impossible to implement with WebExtensions?

Everything will be fine and the naysayers will still be using FF when the fire dies down!

>Are you sure Downthemall is impossible to implement
The question isn't necessarily if it's possible, rather if it will get written. The DTA dev has said he won't re-implement it.

Yeah, I heard about it, too. Same w/ Quicksaver, the author of TabGroups, FindBar Tweak, Beyond Australis, OmniSidebar and Puzzle Bars.
However, I'm more curious if it's doable to implement it. If so, i might rewrite a couple of extensions myself.

But user, Pale Moon supports supports the addons anons are used to, why use Firefox?

the reason people use FF is its extensive customization and extensibility

The reason it has that is because of the community of volunteers and hoobyists developing themes and extensions for free

Mozilla kicked those people in the dick with electrolysis

And now they're kicking them in the dick again, even harder

those people will leave

firefox's raison d' etre leaves with them

If furrymoon dev going to be able to carry on development for long after the change? Won't the code bases start to drift further apart?

You got a point. Still, I think Pale Moon has at the very least two more years.

Let's hope those leaving will work on Pale Moon to ensure the survival of the best browser for power users — firefox as we knew it.

As for e10s, don't you agree there was no other way?

bump

One of the main reason the devs quit it's that Mozilla isn't implementing new APIs that would make this possible, along with the preferential treatment the NoScript dev got

if some furry uses malicious code nothing will happen much but mozilla has a lot to lose, serious users need assurance about stuff like this from their web browser

But are those APIs really this indispensable?

Tree style tabs. I would be using Chromium if they hadn't removed the tabs-on-the-side feature... Tabs on top doesn't fit my screen or my workflow very well.

Hopefully somebody at Google will put it back in before FF drops XUL extensions.

The addons that don't work in Chrome are the reason many use Firefox, without them, why use it?

Vimperator is enough of a reason.
If I leave Firefox (or perhaps when), it won't be for Chrome but for qutebrowser or something like that.
Vim-like browsers are GOAT. I would rather lose all other extensions at once than Vimperator.

Electrolysis was a necessity. I don't blame Firefox for that. I do blame them for not making the migration easier, and for giving preferential treatment to a few existing third-party addons and devs.

Examples?

TabGroups is my favorite add-on. I'm genuinely considering to stop upgrading to keep it come 57.

I know that feel, although i'd been a vimperator user not for so long. Btw Palemoon supports Pentadactyl which many people find even more feature rich.

Mozilla is said to be going to include the sidebar API. And btw theres a Chrome alternative. It works in a small separate window though, so it looks a bit clumsy and unnatural. Lets hope Mozilla will include API for seamless implementation.

you know you can receive updates on Firefox 52 ESR till March? ESR is a thing user.

bump

If you want a vim like browser there's 6 different webkit based browsers that have vim in it.

palemon has already forked off gecko

Watchwithmpv

Nah, play with mpv is feasible to implement w/ WebExtensions

Yes.

DownThemAll needs a file writing API, and that's not in the works or even planned or even of interest to Mozilla.

It's one of the reasons those shitty download managers for chrome can't do the kind of shit DTA can do.

With I can grab all the file links from a page, select an output folder for that, then go to another page, select the a different output folder for all those files and so on.

Good luck trying to do that with chrome "download managers" without having to manually save each individual file.

Last time I tried to protect it I needed additional helper program installed on my machine. That's infiesable to ship as an add-on. Has something changed?

Whar Chrome alternative?, link?
µblock dev basicly gave up until mozilla fixes their shit too.

fucking hell.

>small seperate window

Its basicly shit then, TST is good because it fits right too.

>I tried to find an addon that would be impossible in Chrome

TabMixPlus
DownThemAll

You could only ever build shitty gimped replacements at best.