Bug#648150: Addons installed as Debian packages show up as "third-party", and 8.0 wants to disable them by default

[Josh Triplett]

On Wed, Nov 09, 2011 at 09:12:54AM +0100, Mike Hommey wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 08, 2011 at 11:56:00PM -0800, Josh Triplett wrote:
> > Package: iceweasel
> > 
> > Version: 8.0-2
> > Severity: important
> > 
> > The first time I started Iceweasel after upgrading to 8.0, it prompted
> > me to disable addons I no longer use, and pre-selected "third-party"
> > addons to get disabled by default, which included all of the addons
> > installed through Debian packages.
> 
> And I actually left it this way on purpose, because the best decision is
> to not enable anything unless you explicitely wanted it, not your admin.
> 
> It may be inconvenient the first time this dialog shows up, but in the
> long run, this is the way to go.

In the common case of a system with a single person as the admin and
sole user, it feels a bit schizophrenic.  This dialog will pop up right
after setting up a new system which includes both iceweasel and some
addon packages.

This also makes it less convenient for me to set up a system for someone
else to use, since I'd need to log in and start the browser to dismiss
this confusing dialog.  (That or I will immediately get asked how to
deal with that dialog.)

At a minimum, the use of the term "third-party" seems both confusing and
incorrect.  The default of disabling packaged addons also seems
unfortunate.  The dialog wouldn't seem so out of place if it didn't
treat Debian-packaged addons as though they had somehow snuck onto the
system without the user's knowledge.

Linux doesn't seem to have the same problems as other platforms with
browser-infesting addons shipped with other software, which motivated
this change in the first place.  Users can easily disable addons if they
want, and it seems unlikely that users will end up with addons they
didn't intend to install.

Would you consider either improving the dialog for Linux users with
packaged addons, or otherwise making it possible for Firefox to
distinguish between unwanted third-party addons and desired packaged
addons?

- Josh Triplett