Homophobes Drop Firefox in Protest of Mozilla CEO Ouster

Conservative Web users outraged by the recent ouster of Brendan Eich as Mozilla's CEO turned out in force on the tech company's feedback site for its popular Web browser, Firefox, prompting the largest volume of negative feedback in the company's history, according to U.K. LGBT outlet Pink News.

A vast majority of the more than 74,000 comments submitted on Firefox Input, the browser's feedback forum, expressed a "sad" sentiment, with some devolving into death threats and anti-LGBT slurs.

Among the negative comments -- which make up 86 percent of the browser's current feedback on the site -- are numerous allegations that the progressive organization behind Firefox, the Mozilla Corp. and its parent nonprofit, the Mozilla Foundation, are "intolerant, hypocritical, and intellectually dishonest."

Other choice selections included:

"Diversity means inclusion, sad day at Mozilla for caving to the bigoted thought police. I'll stand with a gay person any day but these pigs need to go back to their klan"

"Firing your CEO for supporting traditional marriage is utter BULLSHIT!! There is not freedom of speech in your organization. You either support gay crap or you are a bigot and therefore OUT! I will no longer be using firefox as my primary browser. You can take it and shove it."

"Uninstalled firefox because of your anti-christian bigotry."

Other commenters registered their displeasure with a litany of anti-LGBT rhetoric that seems unrelated to the functioning of a Web browser:

"Gays stick their penis in another man's poop and they get infested with diseased fecal matter. Gays carry diseases. Gays are disgusting."

"Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman Mitchell is a she, or a he, or an altered both, but not a Michelle. Maybe a MOOCHelle."

"LBGT - Lets Get Bullying Today. Now that is politically CORRECT!"

Pink News collected some of the most violent antigay rhetoric among the comments. Those posts included:

"God hates fags, you sick, twisted freaks. Maybe you should all pour gasoline on yourselves and light a match."

"What sadistic, freedom crushing asshats you are. What hypocrites. The gay gestapo...how does that moniker suit you? It is accurate, rest assured. Again, you suck."

"drop dead nazi fags"

"Just un-intalled mozilla from 4 computers. FU assholes. Can't stand you gay pricks."

"If you think the citizens of this country are going to keep putting up with a bunch of fags pushing us around, you are a fool"

"the fags need to get back in the closet and you need to join them you hypocrites i have uninstalled all instances of firefox on my machines and encouraged all my friends to do the same tell the homos i will say and do as i please as is my god given right"

After Eich resigned Thursday in the wake of controversy over his support for California's Proposition 8 and right-wing politicians, conservative leaders, including National Organization for Marriage president Brian Brown, encouraged the faithful to uninstall Firefox in an act of protest over what they saw as proof of the intolerance of left-leaning LGBT activists.

And while it seems that many antigay Internet users took that conservative advice, not everyone is upset with Eich's removal. OKCupid, the online dating site that grabbed headlines when it installed a temporary pop-up message urging Firefox users to access the dating site with another browser due to Eich's antigay past, issued a statement Thursday stating the company was happy with the pending change in leadership.

"We are pleased that OkCupid's boycott has brought tremendous awareness to the critical matter of equal rights for all individuals and partnerships," read the statement, published on The Huffington Post. "[Thursday]'s decision reaffirms Mozilla's commitment to that cause. We are satisfied that Mozilla will be taking a number of further affirmative steps to support the equality of all relationships."

Mozilla has not yet named a new CEO.