User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; it; rv:1.9.0.2) Gecko/2008091700 SUSE/3.0.2-5.2 Firefox/3.0.2 Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; it; rv:1.9.0.2) Gecko/2008091700 SUSE/3.0.2-5.2 Firefox/3.0.2 I think there ought to be a one-stop preference for disabling tabbed browsing, for people who prefer to use windows. It would: a) Make target=_blank links open in a new window b) Make links opened from an other app open in a new window c) Hide the tab bar d) Remove File>New tab e) Remove Context-Menu-on-link>Open in new tab ...perhaps there's more Reproducible: Always This should depend on bug #457092

Tabbed browsing is one of Firefox's major features so why would they do that? That should be extension worthy at most.

Until 3.1, Firefox had hidden tabbed browsing so well that most average users never found it, so I would not call it a major feature. They should also do it because Mac is the second most important platform and the default browser there is tabless by default, and FOR A REASON. Here's my personal rant about why tabbed browsing sucks if you care: http://grfgguvf.blogspot.com/2008/09/tabbed-browsing-sucks-bay-leaves.html

(In reply to comment #2) > Until 3.1, Firefox had hidden tabbed browsing so well that most average users > never found it, so I would not call it a major feature. Got stats? > They should also do it because Mac is the second most important platform and > the default browser there is tabless by default, and FOR A REASON. Here's my > personal rant about why tabbed browsing sucks if you care: > http://grfgguvf.blogspot.com/2008/09/tabbed-browsing-sucks-bay-leaves.html Just because one browser does it, doesn't mean all should. Have you looked at the stats for Mac? Compared to window users, Mac users are a very minute bunch. Maybe it is default like that in safari because their users can't figure out how to use them? You can disable links opening to tabs and you can use DOMinspector to figure out how to hide the context(menu) links via userChrome.css

(In reply to comment #3) > Got stats? No, that's bug #456583, but it will be too late! :^( Anyway, the reason for #392870 is that supposedly not many users discovered tabs... > Just because one browser does it, doesn't mean all should. There was a time when NO browser had tabs. Then Opera implemented it, and your argument could be applied there (in fact I did that in that linked blog).. > the stats for Mac? Compared to window users, Mac users are a very minute > bunch. Compared to the mediocre masses, intelligent people are a very minute bunch.. > Maybe it is default like that in safari because their users can't > figure out how to use them? It's default because tabs suck, read my blog! :^) > You can disable links opening to tabs and you can use DOMinspector to figure > out how to hide the context(menu) links via userChrome.css It's okay to force Linux distros to set a bunch of hidden prefs by default, probably Epiphany-WebKit will replace Firefox as the default browser soon anyway, Linux users don't matter anyway right? But tell Apple users they need to edit some hidden pref, and they're back at using Safari.. THE POINT IS: Can you tell me a single sound reason why tabbed browser interfaces exists?

I could rebuttal everything on your blog but this isn't the place for it. Tabbed browsing makes a user more productive. Less time is spent moving the mouse to the windows taskbar and searching for a specific window. Your main argument seems to be not being able to compare tabs side by side. Who really needs to do that? Anyways, I'm done abusing bugzilla and will let one of the devs close this as WONTFIX. Not my place to do that.

What's up with the bullying? > Tabbed browsing makes a user more productive. This is an enhancement request for a pref. I used to use tabs and no they made me much less productive. > Less time is spent moving the > mouse to the windows taskbar and searching for a specific window. No, because the taskbar is infinite in "depth", and as such easy to hit with a quick movement, unlike the tabstrip which needs precision aiming, this is well established UI design 101 (Fitt's law) and this is why the Mac puts the menu at the top of the screen too. > Who really needs to do that? Me! And Bill Gates.. Why else would your favourite OS have support for tiling windows if nobody needed it? > Anyways, I'm done abusing bugzilla and will let one of the devs close this as > WONTFIX. Not my place to do that. Not your place to put up a coherent argument either apparently.... Why do tabs exist again?

This can be done via extension, if people really want to hide all evidence of tabs. The goal of Firefox is not to be all things to all people, it seems like a small minority of users don't use tabbed browsing, and that's okay. We've never needed this pref before, and we've been steadily moving towards tabs and away from windows in each successive release since 1.0. The vast majority of feedback has been positive, so there's no compelling reason to radically shift direction, or add a bunch of code to hide a feature because someone has a personal opinion that the feature sucks. WONTFIX.

In this moment, it became obvious to me that Mozilla is just scrambling trying not to lose users to Google Chrome. Déjà vu? See you in the next life.

It made no sense to WONTFIX both this and bug #455864