Volunteer Spotlight

For 2 years and 29 weeks, this Spread Firefox member has been a consistent and strong advocate for choice on the Internet which is right in line with Mozilla's primary mission.

He has always been respectful with his opinions and input to replies of other members posts, and the posts that he writes himself are concise, factually accurate.
This month's Firefox Volunteer Spotlight shines on Kelson Vibber. A true friend and supporter of Mozilla and the overall health of the Internet.
We were anxious to learn more about Kelson so we conducted an online interview with him and here are the results of that Interview.

The question that is always asked of Spotlight Members is how did you hear about Spread Firefox, and why did you join?

I don't really remember where I heard about it. I think I must have read something on Mozillazine or Asa's blog when it was first announced.

I joined because I'd started promoting Firefox earlier that summer. I used to have "Netscape Now!" and Opera buttons on my site in the 90s and early 2000s, and after I made some favorable remarks about Firefox on my blog, Blake Ross asked me to put up a Firefox button. I figured, no problem!

Having done that, joining the new Spread Firefox site was just the logical next step.

There appears to be certain posts on Spread Firefox that you reply to more than others. Are there particular topics that make you feel compelled to give advice and your opinions more than others?

The main topics that tend to catch my eye are web standards and misconceptions (about Firefox, or about other browsers). That, and anything that I can answer quickly, off the top of my head.

What features or changes would you like to see in future versions of Firefox.

Speed. Firefox needs to be more responsive, particularly on Linux. It also needs to be able to better handle extremely large web pages, and pages with lots of plug-in content.

Also, better tab management. I use the Duplicate Tab extension to pull tabs off into a new window, but it's like adding an extension to maximize the window.

What is the Alternative Browser Alliance all about?

At its core, there are two main issues:

1. Keeping the web open, and not dominated by a single player.
2. Humanizing the discourse between supporters of different browsers.

It started as a response to some really nasty flame wars between Firefox and Opera fans during the spring of 2005. I felt that the bitterness was doing more harm than good. After all, Firefox and Opera had a common enemy: Internet Explorer. If someone wanted to look up Firefox, or Opera, and what they found was a bunch of squabbling and recriminations, they'd probably figure the whole alternative scene wasn't worth the trouble and stick with IE.

As I started putting together a site to explain this, I started thinking: why is IE the enemy? Because it's Microsoft? Because it's insecure? No, the root problem is that it's a near-monopoly. With all other players marginalized, Microsoft had no incentive to make improvements to IE. They disbanded the team and tied IE development exclusively to Windows upgrades. Not only that, the bad guys could get maximum results from targeting one platform.

Some sites that informed the idea include the Viewable with Any Browser Campaign and Browse Happy.

You have a vast interest in many different subjects and fields from literature to web standards. With what area do your greatest passions lie?

This was a hard one to narrow down, but thinking about it, I'd say storytelling. I enjoy reading, but I prefer reading a book with a good story to one where the story is just a framework for the author to make a point. My favorite TV shows make heavy use of season- or series-long arcs. When I sang in college, I preferred musical theater to choir. I graduated with degrees in drama and computer science, and while I use the CS degree every day, it's the theater experiences that I really remember when I think about college. I even married a writer!

How do you have the time to maintain the numerous web sites and blogs that you have?

I tend to focus on one big project at a time, and my sites have been built up slowly over the last 12 years (which is actually kind of scary!). So while it seems like a lot, I tend to focus on my main blog and on the Flash site these days. Even the Alternative Browser Alliance doesn't take much time, since it doesn't change very often. I just have to make occasional updates, and keep involved in the browser and standards conversations.

That, and I tend to stay up later than I probably should!

You're apparently an avid comic book collector and dealer. What's the most valuable comic book in your collection both personally and monetarily?

I’m more of a collector than a dealer, and more of a reader than a collector. I keep most of the comics I read, and those that I don’t want to keep, I’d rather sell to someone else who might appreciate them than throw them away.

Personally, the most valuable comic I own is a copy of The New Teen Titans #2 (1984). It was the first super-hero book I bought, and it got me into what’s become a lifelong hobby and my first claim to net fame.

Monetarily, I’m not so sure. I have a small collection of books from the “Golden Age” of comics (roughly 1938 through the early 1950s), but since I’m in it for the stories, I’ve mainly picked up the battered, faded copies that don’t fetch the big bucks. The rarest one is probably the Flash Comics Miniature Edition, which was taped to cereal boxes as a promotion in 1946. It would be worth several thousand dollars if it were in better condition, but the one I bought was so damaged it only cost me $75.

On behalf of the Spread Firefox Team, congratulations.