Comment 446 for bug 269656

"I think you are pushing this too far. Each TCP package you generate
uses services of lots of network hardware (and software!) which isn't
free. That's why, among lots of other reasons, we have free software -
so we can be sure our data is safe and we wouldn't give valuable
information to someone who shouldn't have it.

It's impossible to have a free service. I mean, even sourceforge
(mother ship of open source software) isn't free. It's even 'less free'
than Mozilla's services."

Except that I'm not taking things that far.

TCP, IP, FTP, SSL - these are all open standards. These are not "services" but rather communication protocols.

None of those services require that you either assent to their terms, or else disable them. There are no "end user terms of use" for these protocols (AFAIK).

By the way, it is not impossible to have a free service. Remember: a "service" is simply a software application that is run from a remote server, rather than from a local machine.

An example of a free service? WordPress. WordPress is an open-source service. I am free to modify it as I wish. (In fact, I do - albeit modestly.)

Another example? DNS. Go get TreeWalk, and roll your own DNS server.

Ultimately, the question is: how does all of this impact the discussion of the anti-phishing service enabled by default in Firefox?