The Coop, Social Networking For Mozilla

smileham noted a story about Mozilla developers considering work on a "social networking" Firefox extension called the "Coop" to take up where Flock left off. Also here is a wiki on the subject.

Comments

I love the internet

[MosesJones]

Geeks get to pretend we have a Social network, without all the hassle of actually physically meeting people

Re:I love the internet

[techpawn]

I thought that network was called Slashdot...

Re:I love the internet

[nuzak]

That's an antisocial network, asshole.

(smile, it's a joke)

Re:I love the internet

[Anonymous Coward]

It's worse than that - a lot of people on social networking sites aren't even real people. For instance, I'm one of those robot-speech-thingies you hear about. Probably.

Re:I love the internet

[Jason1729]

Why do you think MMORPGs are so popular?

Re:I love the internet

[Seiruu]

Say, considering the "fact" that "Geeks" can meet more people using their tools than "the others", wouldn't that not only disqualify us as pretenders, but actually be the real representatives of those with a social life?

Re:I love the internet

[Red Flayer]

I'll admit it. I use Myspace occasionally. Useful for keeping in touch with non-Geek friends, it saves me the hassle of making phone calls -- which I generally detest using my free time for. Great for letting masses of people know that you've changed jobs, etc. Especially true for friends/contacts who I don't regularly spend time with anyway, such as former coworkers.

That said, don't announce your engagement[1], your wife's pregnancy[2], the birth of your child[3], or moving out of Mom's basement[4] on Myspace prior to telling your family. Trust me on that one.

[1] Never mind, this is slashdot ;)
[2] Ditto.
[3] Ditto.
[4] Better?

I keed, I keed.

Re:I love the internet

[WhyDoYouWantToKnow]

Because there are a lot of people who live in their parent's basement.

Re:I love the internet

[Seumas]

No kidding. What about me spending the afternoon in a dark room with my back to the world, staring at a monitor with my stereo playing says "let's play tea party with our friends!" to anyone?! Not to mention, if I did want to do any "social networking", why the hell would I want to do it while browsing?

This is as stupid as that thing we saw yesterday about "iminlikewithyou" where it's some sort of flirting competition with a bunch of other losers. On the internet. Social networking. Flirting... ON THE INTERNET. How fucking retarded is that!?

I love technology, but let's clarify something - flirting and dating involves physical presence and interaction. Social networking involves more than going on the intarwebs and clicking "friend" on myspace.

If you like being anti-social or just like being left alone, then great. But don't spend every waking second locked in your office while simultaneously pretending that you're a popular, social, networking creature... just because you screw around with online social networking sites.

Re:I love the internet

[TCaptain]

It would only disqualify you as pretenders if you step out of the basement.

Re:I love the internet

[beckerist]

What are you talking about? This REAL guy wants to sell me viagra! This REAL chick totally wants to bone me, now that that other REAL guy sold me some p3n15 3Nl4Rg3m3nt and that OTHER REAL dude is going to teach me how to buy and sell priceless trinkets! I also heard those two guys REALLY wanted a REAL PSP for Xmas (and it's all they wanted!) Who says they're not real? They're certainly real to me!

Re:I love the internet

[beckerist]

you support polymorphism?

Re:I love the internet

[FLEB]

Perhaps, but put "people" in quotes, too, and the whole argument falls apart.

Re:I love the internet

[Pollardito]

Eliza: Does it please you to believe I am one of those robot-speech-thingies i hear about probably?

Re:I love the internet

[dharbee]

meet

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Re:I love the internet

[Anonymous Coward]

That chick wants to bone you, huh? I suppose she has a boner all right and hair on her breast...

Re:I love the internet

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a night elf, I'm no pretender!

Re:I love the internet

[porkThreeWays]

If chicks are boning you then I think a PSP is the last thing you are worried about.

Re:I love the internet

[derspankster]

me to, babble on garth

Re:I love the internet

[ozmanjusri]

For instance, I'm one of those robot-speech-thingies you hear about.

What do you mean "Dear Aunt, let's set so double the killer delete select all"?

NAFSN

[IgLou]

It's a new acronym I'm starting: Not Another Freaking Social Network!

Really, I'd like to see existing social networks evolve and allow more interop before I want to see another new one come up. That's just me though.

Re:NAFSN

[Kranfer]

It's a new acronym I'm starting: Not Another Freaking Social Network!
I have taken your acronym, made it into a copyright and will send the RIAA, MPAA, and any other badness agency after you for it! MAWAHAHA!!! j/k. This seems interesting that something is taking over where flock left off. I always liked flock too.

Re:NAFSN

[karanmg]

When I'm browsing, I just want to be able to interact with others comfortably if I can.

I'm working on something like coop.
What would you like to see in a program like this?

Re:NAFSN

[Anonymous Coward]

maybe can you add a feature to compromise the security of other users at bank websites when they show up using this coop or similar plugin. also id like the ip or each person at the site while i sit and watch? and let me spam them with advertisements for a competing company while they are trying to sign in. let me send them links to the competition and also links to scripts to echo back to me their login. make sure the api is easy to use for botting all of the above functionality. thank you.

Re:NAFSN

[IgLou]

Here's the thing, I don't want a program like this. If I'm browsing, I'm browsing. If I'm messaging, I'm messaging. If you want to interop the two activities, fine. I'm a little put off because I was under the impression that to build in this social browser extension they were introducing a new social network. That's something that I don't think we need. What needs to happen at some point is for social networks to allow interoperability so I can have my friends that use MSN get me on ICQ or GoogleTalk or you name it rather than joining every flipping network under the sun. For me an ideal would be, on my social network (say LinkedIn) I should be able to define I that I have a friend using a particular address (email) and then when I connect my messaging service (GoogleTalk) to that social network it determines who on my network has an authenticated connection to a messaging service. Now I realize I'm simplifying and it's not exactly on topic but I think until social networks talk to each other we don't need additional networks.

Now as for the browser extension, meh. I'm not excited about it. But I must say as the number of FireFox extensions grows that it's quickly no longer becoming a browser and being more of a "internet platform". Which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, it shifts perceptions that the internet is just web.

Re:NAFSN

[Pollardito]

Really, I'd like to see existing social networks evolve and allow more interop before I want to see another new one come up. That's just me though. from the Wiki:

Non-Goals
The Coop should not require any net-new server infrastructure, and instead leverage and integrate with existing web services (though a later comment suggests making a server with its own account for people to register on and manage their feeds). It should also not be a new interface for interacting with those services (ie: uploading photos to Flickr, updating status on Facebook, etc.) they basically want the browser to be the glue between existing services rather than create a new service. it'll be interesting to see which companies are open to this and which work to make things difficult

Re:NAFSN

[Pollardito]

bah. i mucked up the quote by adding my own comment in the wrong spot. here's the wiki quote:

Non-Goals
The Coop should not require any net-new server infrastructure, and instead leverage and integrate with existing web services. It should also not be a new interface for interacting with those services (ie: uploading photos to Flickr, updating status on Facebook, etc.)

Re:NAFSN

[IgLou]

Yeah, I picked up on that after I had a chance to give the article a better read. I got really set off by the title of the article... shame on me for thinking that the title of a slashdot article meant anything. :P

I like your observation and agree. If these various service providers give more openings to allow the services to converge naturally it benefits all. So if I tell my internet platform (FireFox) that I have a service on Flickr, Yahoo, Google, or what have you it should able to tie them together. The only problem I foresee in the long term is getting the message services to tie together. That I think is a ways off but doable (I hope). I just hope it's done with open standards so anyone can jump in and compete if the demand is there.

what my friends will say

[tetdfromage]

I can't wait until my friends start to ask me, "Hey, do you have a Coop?" And I'll reply, "Yeah, I keep my chickens in it."

Re:what my friends will say

[robably]

And then when your friends stop coming over, you'll be the one with fresh eggs every morning. Ha ha ha. Ha.

Re:what my friends will say

[Red Flayer]

So we'll all be Coopers?

I think this'll be more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

/rimshot

Will there be a mini (PDA-viewable) version for our friends at BMW? You know, so they can all be Mini Coopers?

/double rimshot

Thanks folks, I'll be here all week. Try the fish.

Re:what my friends will say

[jfengel]

So we'll all be Coopers?

And then we'll all really be over a barrel! /gunshot, clutches chest, croaks

Re:what my friends will say

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you choke those chickens?

Re:what my friends will say

[CelticWhisper]

Better tell Shelley to brew up some more of that damn fine coffee. And some cherry pie, while they're at it.

Re:what my friends will say

[moogs]

Are you crazy?! Coop would just end up destroying all the geeks with Megas, while Jamie looks for green skin girls... Boy do I hope there's another /.-er who got that reference.

Re:what my friends will say

[Anonymous Coward]

Mozilla developers considering work on a "social networking" Firefox extension called the "Coop"

But foxes don't live in coops, they live in burrows, silly.

Are the Mozilla developers...

[thewiz]

telling us to get the Flock out of here?

The real question is ...

[Woldry]

... does this extension work in Flock?

Re:The real question is ...

[LiquidEdge]

Flock already does it, but they do have an extension converter from Firefox to Flock which, usually, works.

The advantage of that is ...

[Skapare]

... they won't have to bathe every week.

Coop perhaps not the best name?

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a shop chain in Sweden called Coop... They sell food and some other stuff too.

Re:Coop perhaps not the best name?

[the-intersocialist]

As is it in the UK, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and probably many other countries. It's short for cooperative, in this case.

Flock is a feature

[LiquidEdge]

Flock built an entire company around freely-available features that were Firefox extensions, now they're going to get smacked for it. I hate to see anyone's dream die but I don't see how anyone there couldn't have seen something like this coming. I have to hope/pray that Flock has something up its sleeve to launch in the next month or so that will make it compelling, otherwise I expect it will pretty much just fade away.

Beginning of the end...

[daveisfera]

Firefox is starting to lose what made it great (small, streamlined design that anyone could add to with extensions) and becoming far more bloated than the original IE that it so gratefully replaced. I'm fine with them adding these features, but they should be extensions, not part of the browser itself. Sure, they could make "standard extensions" that come with the default installation of Firefox, but you should be able to remove them and keep the small, streamlined Firefox that we all love so much in the beginning.

Re:Beginning of the end...

[smooc]

I am getting a little tired of the argument: Ohhh they are only adding bloat! It is not streamlined any more. Bladadiebladiebla.

Firstly they are talking about implementing it as an extension. So no bloat added, it even gives you a choice!

Secondly if no experimenting is taking place, no new things will be developed. Experimenting is a necessity to survive. Just following standards will not set new improved standards, there is a reason why there are alpha versions of software: because it has experimental new features and they would like to see if they catch on.

I applaud this move of the Moz team for that matter. Finally an opensource project that looks beyond its own nose.

Re:Beginning of the end...

[jehdro]

Yeah, you are right, Netscape Communicator is becoming far too bloated. Hopefully, some folks will get together and create a slick open source browser, with extended features that can be added at will. Well, gotta go watch Melrose Place and press my flannel shirt now.

Re:Beginning of the end...

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually the problem is the coop was launched April 1, and the blog post was dated april 2nd by mistake. It is completely an april fools joke, it's made apparent by the language, the use of a flock screenshot, and the little in jokes inside the mockups. April Fools does not end on Slashdot, or ZDnet, or DownloadSquad, or apparently several other "news" sites.

Re:Beginning of the end...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes - I don't want this crap in my browser by default. Keep it lean and mean and provide extra functionality like this as an extension!!!!!

Re:Beginning of the end...

[Anc]

I know that nobody here reads TFAs but wow, you've just taken it to a whole new level: you didn't even read the post, and one of the shortest at that.

"social networking" Firefox extension

Re:Beginning of the end...

[daveisfera]

Yes, now someone went and edited the wiki to state that it was an addon, but you can't blame me for reading the wiki and posting before that edit was made.

What a great title

[SeaFox]

It will come in handy for all those people using the FireChicken browser. :-)

Is that Flock or Flop?

[Anonymous Coward]

Flock was a crap idea to begin with. So if this takes up where Flock left off, then it means starting from square one....with a shit idea.

Re:Is that Flock or Flop?

[Jekler]

I thought Flock had a decent idea but as it developed it became less of the things I wanted and more of the things a 12 year kid might want.

For example, at first the idea of giving "Web 2.0" almost seamless integration sounded great. I imagined it similar to how MSN Explorer integrated Hotmail. I got the idea that Flock would do this with things like Wiki, certain popular blog sites, gmail, youtube, etc. with development making the features increasingly generic so more sites get included in the integration.

Instead, they overwrote certain FireFox features that were important to me (For example: keywords), forced me to log in to del.icio.us everytime I opened the browser, but left the actual user experience largely unchanged. Nothing on the web was any easier, different, or more integrated. Their sights were narrowed on Flickr, Photobucket, and blog APIs, but the browser doesn't change the web experience as a whole.

As a result, I was just better off using FireFox. Once FireFox 2 came along, it delivered some of the features Flock had, while Flock got stuck using FireFox 1.5.

I thought the idea was good, the execution was poor.

Re:Is that Flock or Flop?

[iperkins]

Flock got stuck using FireFox 1.5

Flock 0.5 (AKA Cardinal) was based on Firefox 1.5, but Danphe (0.7), on through Cormorant (0.8) and the most recent iteration, "Sulfur" (0.8.0.99) use Firefox 2, as far as I know (this from memory). I don't think Flock is using any Firefox 3 code, as yet. The del.icio.us issue was fixed some time ago.

Re:Is that Flock or Flop?

[Brento]

I thought the idea was good, the execution was poor.

As somebody who used to live off the nightly builds, I can say that the problem wasn't that the execution was poor - it was that the ideas changed too much, too frequently. Have a vision, document it, and then build it. The programmers appeared to be tasked with executing visions that changed dramatically on a monthly basis.

I would test whole featuresets only to find them disappear completely out of the next build. My (least) favorite was the RSS integration. It's integrated with the bookmarks, no wait it's a separate thing, no wait it's gone altogether. Huh? Development time was wasted, testing time was wasted, and users got flaked out.

Oh good.

[FlyingSquidStudios]

Now we get to look forward to the day when 'coop' becomes a verb.

Re:Oh good.

[wild_berry]

I'm sure you'll coop.

Re:Oh good.

[jojoba_oil]

It's true. Pop culture is obsessed with the gerund.

I'll MSN you about it later. Or do you prefer that I text instead?

Re:Oh good.

[FlyingSquidStudios]

Please don't verb like that. Next thing you'll be doing things adverbly.

"where Flock left off"?

[jalefkowit]

"Pick up where Flock left off"? That implies that Flock development is over. It sure doesn't look that way from their Web site or their blog... if they're dead, someone might want to tell them ;-)

RTFA

[Anonymous Coward]

Coop is a system for aggregating things like Flickr photos, delicious links, blog posts, etc from the various web 2.0 sites on which your contacts maintain profiles. It's not a new network unto itself, as far as I can tell.

Misleading

[fmwap]

I don't like this idea, and the article summary is somewhat misleading.

The software keeps track of friend's favorite youtube videos & myspace updates and yada yada -- but these sites already offer this functionality, why do we need an extension to do it for us?

What would be really cool, and what I mistakenly took the summary for, is a slash-style comment system for the Web. The ENTIRE web. Any page could potentially have a slashdot-style discussion attached to it...imagine the time-killing possibilities...

Where Flock left off?

[flar2]

I don't use Flock as my regular browser (I use Firefox) but I do have Flock installed for one purpose: Flock's interface with photobucket.com. It's great for uploading and managing pictures, as well as creating galleries and posting pictures on forums. So this is one reason that Flock may still be relavent. It's certainly not dead, it's frequently updated.

IE 8...

[red crab]

IE 8 is going to sport this feature. And yes, it was Microsoft who first came up with this idea. Understand?