Since when did Firefox make it so difficult to set custom search engine? - eviltoast

So been moving around a lot with browsers, waterfox, librewolf and very recently degoogle chromium, figured id look at Firefox and holy theres less than half the option in setting then there were afew years back but I gotta say the biggest sin is that adding custom search engine is obfuscated, and the chooses of engines are google, bing, duckduckgo and fucking Amazon! Wtf is that about? But anyway all these search engines are pretty awful including duckduckgo but beyond that the browser scene is a joke, mullvad are about the only company I feel compatible with using now

Edit: instead of saying how easy it is to add custom search engines, I’d like to know why the “add search engine” feature in settings is gone?

  • s20@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    What are you talking about?

    https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-or-remove-search-engine-firefox#w_add-a-search-engine-from-the-address-bar

    That took me like two second to find. You can also use addons, like this one for Qwant:

    https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/qwantcom-for-firefox/?utm_source=addons.mozilla.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=search

    Which I like. But none of this is hard or “obfuscated”, and it’s literally identical to changing or adding a new search engine on Waterfox.

    I have a lot of issues with Mozilla, not least of which is their reliance on Google for income. It’s like hiring a dingo as a babysitter. But c’mon, man.

    • squid@feddit.ukOP
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      1 year ago

      Okay so I remember when in setting I could just add search engines, why remove that feature? Why not have the add from search bar as well as in settings?

      • BananaTrifleViolin@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        That doesn’t make sense? How would you have the “add from search bar” feature in the settings screen?

        It’s a context specific method of adding a search engine - you add it when you’re at the site. Meanwhile the setting screen is global for the browser.

        • squid@feddit.ukOP
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          1 year ago

          Sorry I miss typed, would it make sense to of left the custom search engine option in settings whilst also adding the ad from search bar option?

          • s20@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Maybe. But even if that was the case, the way it is now isn’t obfuscated. It’s not difficult. It’s not hard to find out how to do it. You made a big long post to complain about an “obfuscated” feature that I found in under a minute.

            Next time, either do a search or ask for help, instead of whinging like a n00b. Or worse, some kind of Google FUD-spreading parasite.

            FFS, Jesus Wept. I finally understand those blokes over at FreeBSD telling me to RTFM twenty years ago.

            Edit: Apparently, the synonym for complain I used before was offensive. It was not the “B” word, which I only use in reference to female dogs. Just wanted that to be clear.

            • squid@feddit.ukOP
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              1 year ago

              Part of the vocal few, most people seem to agree that googles relationship to Mozilla is negative, and it doesn’t matter that you’d find the answer by searching for it, what does matter is that there was a perfectly adequate solution that is now gone for no rhyme or reason, and not one person here has said why removing the option is beneficial but what ever, this conversation has become petty and I don’t care for the direction you’ve taken

              • s20@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                TL;DR: Don’t lay this one on me, buddy. You walked in here looking for a fight.


                I didn’t much care for the direction you started in. If you wanted an actual discussion, then opening with hostility and claims that could be refuted if you’d bothered with less than a minute of research is the wrong way to go.

                If you want a civilized discussion, you have to start with a civilized post. My responses have been no more hostile than your opening salvo.

                As it happens, Google’s influence over Mozilla is of massive concern to me. And I agree that the change was not needed. But it’s not obscure, it’s not hard to find out how to do what you wanted to do, and your hostility to responses suggesting DuckDuckGo only confirmed my suspicion that you didn’t want an answer, you wanted a fight.

                So I gave you one.

                Here’s the deal. If you walk into a place with guns blazing, you don’t get to act all surprised and indignant when someone fires back.

                  • s20@lemmy.ml
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                    1 year ago

                    Yes. It is. And so was doing a big complainy rant without doing any research.

                    Again: if you want polite discourse, you have to open with that, not rant and get mad about it later. You set the standard, I just went along with it.