Mozilla makes small tweaks to get Manifesto ready for 1.0

Since 2007, Mozilla has been developing its Manifesto which expresses the organisation's values. The Manifesto emerged as version "0.9" and since then has been translated into a number of languages, but it has yet to make the jump to version 1.0. Mitchell Baker, chair of the Mozilla Foundation, has announced "a few tweaks" to the manifesto which should allow it to become 1.0 as the project celebrates its fifteenth year of existence.

Those tweaks involve adding privacy alongside security in one principle, trimming three principles to 140 characters for easy tweeting, and emphasising the individual's ability to create their own experience of the internet. The principles would, with the proposed changes, then read:

1. The Internet is integral to modern life – education, communication, collaboration, business, entertainment and society.
2. The Internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible.
3. The Internet should enrich the lives of individual human beings.
4. Individuals' security and privacy on the Internet is fundamental and cannot be treated as optional.
5. Individuals must have the ability to shape the Internet, and their own experiences on it.
6. The effectiveness of the Internet as a public resource depends upon interoperability, innovation and decentralized participation worldwide.
7. Free and open source software promotes the development of the Internet as a public resource.
8. Transparent community-based processes promote participation, accountability, and trust.
9. Commercial involvement in the Internet brings many benefits; a balance between commercial goals and public benefit is critical.
10. Magnifying the public benefit aspects of the Internet is an important goal, worthy of time, attention and commitment.

Mozilla is seeking feedback on the changes through its Governance Forum.

(djwm)