The dating website OKCupid.com has taken up arms in the campaign against the web browser Firefox in the wake of parent company Mozilla hiring CEO Brendan Eich. Eich has come under fire because he made a personal $1,000 donation to support California’s Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage, and even though Mozilla has endorsed full marriage equality, he has not personally renounced his donation or position.
Those who now visit OKCupid using Firefox are greeted with a message encouraging them to try a different browser:
OKCupid also describes Eich’s donation by pointing out that his “boilerplate statements in the time since make it seem like he has the same views now as he did then.” The site owners add, “We are sad to think that any OkCupid page loads would even indirectly contribute towards the success of an individual who supported Prop 8 — and who for all we know would support it again.”
Ben Moskowitz, who works in program development for Mozilla, has been defending the company on Twitter, calling the backlash a “moral panic.” He specifically decried OKCupid as “reactionary demagogues with no respect or understanding” who are “disregarding the hard work of thousands.”
Three of Mozilla’s six board members, including Eich’s predecessor as CEO, also stepped down this week, but the organization denies that the resignations are related to Eich’s hiring.
App developer Hampton Catlin, who launched the campaign against Mozilla, has suggested that only Eich himself can undo the damage that he’s done.