Eich resignation as Mozilla CEO as messy as his appointment
Brendan Eich stepping down as CEO solves Mozilla's immediate publicity problem, but many are torn about consequences of losing him as a leader and free-speech implications.
The resignation of Brendan Eich as Mozilla's CEO is proving to be just about as thorny to handle as his position against gay marriage rights that triggered the problem in the first place.
Even those who believe Eich's resignation is the appropriate solution to Mozilla's problem of leadership and morality are struggling with its consequences. After Mozilla announced Eich's resignation on Thursday, Twitter lit up with conflicted views from those who work the world of the Web.
"I can't process what's happening. So frustrated, sad, angry, and concerned. The right thing happened but at what cost. Stay strong Mozilla," tweeted John Resig, a former Mozilla employee and creator of the jQuery project that expands JavaScript's abilities.
Eich's troubles illustrate the growing power of the gay-marriage movement -- particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area where Mozilla's headquarters are located. San Francisco is a center of political power for the gay-rights movement, and the Bay Area's hyper-connected Internet-infused living can rapidly transform a controversy into a crisis.
Eich had built a strong following as co-founder of Mozilla, a savvy fighter for the Web, inventor of JavaScript, and leader of the Firefox and Firefox OS projects. His promotion to Mozilla chief executive officer from chief technology officer last week was a rare techie triumph over the usual business-school demographic.
Much of that credit evaporated as he struggled to reconcile his 2008 contribution of $1,000 to Proposition 8, a California measure against gay marriage, with Mozilla's explicit culture of inclusiveness. That inclusiveness is central to the world-spanning organization's breadth, and Eich told CNET in an interview that it protected his own views, too.
But his argument didn't persuade critics, and Mozilla management -- accustomed to taking the moral high ground -- had to defend itself from boycotts and outrage.
http://www.cnet.com/news/eich-resignation-as-mozilla-ceo-as-messy-as-his-appointment/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I can't process what's happening. So frustrated, sad, angry, and concerned. The right thing happened but at what cost. Stay strong Mozilla," tweeted John Resig, a former Mozilla employee and creator of the jQuery project that expands JavaScript's abilities."
JavaScript. The irony.