Brendan Eich's coming-out party ended the Mozilla way: free, open – and shut; Guardian, 4/4/14

James Ball, Guardian; Brendan Eich's coming-out party ended the Mozilla way: free, open – and shut:

"So what do gay rights have to do with browser design? Nothing, some people have been quick to say. Andrew Sullivan likened the gay rights movement to the "religious right" for "hounding" Eich out of his job. William Saleton at Slate facetiously suggested activists would now have to force the remaining 35,000 Proposition 8 donors out of their jobs.

Both writers seem concerned that Eich's resignation is a defeat for freedom of expression. If anything, it is a victory – the ouster of a founder and CEO by his own people, at a foundation based on open and equal expression, should be the new textbook example of the system working exactly as it should.

Mozilla is not just another software company. Its Firefox browser relies on the goodwill and contributions of a huge community of developers and others to keep the project running, while the group serves to educate and lobby for a free and open internet: the foundation was in the thick of battles on SOPA and PIPA, and one of the first to express serious alarm over Edward Snowden's NSA revelations.

With battles ahead on these issues and more – net neutrality perhaps biggest of all – the ability to build and maintain a diverse coalition of supporters is absolutely integral to Mozilla's prospects. Maintaining that mission is, quite literally, the first and most important duty of its CEO.

Mozilla's fix to keep its team together has always been simple: inclusiveness. The foundation has accepted anyone who supports its cause, so long as they leave their personal views at the door. Mozilla is an open-internet version of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": left or right, pro-choice or pro-life, all are welcome, so long as they don't bring their opinions into the workplace – or their source code."