I've said in my blog before that my goal is to promote an open, standards-based Web as the platform for Internet content and applications, as opposed to proprietary offerings like Flash and WPF. For this to happen, we need to have significant market share for browsers whose vendors are aggressivly pursuing these goals, preferably open source browsers because they offer transparency and can be forked if things go wrong. I've also said before that therefore Firefox is just a means to this end, and there could be other means, other browsers such as Safari that could serve as well.

At this time it seems to me that ultimately Webkit will better serve than Gecko. We spend a lot of energy just trying to improve Gecko internally, with not much left over to make actual forward progress. Webkit seems to move faster than us and seems to have an easier time bringing in new developers to help. If this trend continues --- especially if Google invests developers in Webkit and promotes a Webkit-based browser on Windows --- it will win ... and this will probably be, in the end, a good thing for the Web. I believe quite strongly that this in fact will happen.

Of course, the question then arises, what should I do in light of this belief? I think it is both expedient and necessary that I continue to work on Firefox. It is expedient because that's what I'm currently paid to do and it helps with my other goals in life, such as raising a family in New Zealand and building a strong development team here. But it is also necessary for the Web that Firefox not stagnate even while Webkit catches up and overtakes us. Right now we have critical mindshare and market share that we must use to the maximum for the sake of the Web. We do not know when Webkit will be ready to take the lead, especially on Windows, and until it does, we must press the fight against IE. If I was to weaken the project by leaving it, I would be helping Microsoft more than Webkit. To leave IE with no strong competitor for any length of time would be to repeat the mistake of the Netscape 4 --> Firefox transition. Even the perception that Firefox is doomed would weaken Firefox and create that sort of vacuum.

Furthermore, there's a wider community relying on Gecko --- embedders, XUL developers, extension authors, Web authors, and their users, who would not be well served if Gecko suddenly nose-dives. If Webkit wins, they will organically attract authors, embedders and users away from us to themselves. That is the best way for the transition to happen, and the safest way forward for the Web.

Unfortunately I can't be frank about my thoughts in public, not now. It would damage Firefox in ways that are contrary to my goals, ways that would harm the development of the Web, as I mentioned above. I have shared my thoughts with a few key Mozilla project members --- my nearest and dearest --- and that's all I can do for now. If my predictions come true and Webkit takes over from Firefox as the flagship open source Web browser, then I can finally publish this.