The online dating site OkCupid claims to be all about love, but it is not showing much of that sentiment to Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, while some are wondering if his personal right to self expression is being unduly attacked.
OkCupid has placed a note to users who enter its site through Firefox stating its disgust with Eich's stance on gay marriage and asking them to use another browser, and then giving links to Google Chrome, IE and Opera.
"Mozilla's new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples. We would therefore prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OkCupid," the site states.
A quick check of several other dating sites, including Match.com, eHarmony and Zoosk did not find any similar statement.
The uproar is centered on a $1,000 donation Eich gave to pro-proposition 8 group in California in 2008. Proposition 8 was on the ballot in 2008 and was designed to eliminate the right of same sex couples to marry. It was passed by Californians making same-sex marriage illegal, but in 2010 a federal judge ruled that Prop 8 was unconstitutional and barred enforcement.
The backlash against Eich has also poured forth from his own employees who have asked he step down, but Eich is fighting back.
"Many Mozillians and others know me as a colleague or a friend. They know that I take people as they come and work with anyone willing to contribute. At the same time, I don't ask for trust free of context, or without a solid structure to support accountability," Brendan Eich said on his blog. "No leader or person who has a privileged position should. I want to be held accountable for what I do as CEO. I fully expect you all to do so.
Others have taken to the web to defend Eich saying those railing against him are ironically not very tolerant themselves.
"Employees at Mozilla, the organization that created the Firefox web browser, has shown their warped sense of commitment to "tolerance" by demanding the termination of Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich because he dared to oppose gay marriage," said Todd Cefaratti
Cefaratti went on to point out Eich has also said on the company blog that he is committed to fostering equality and welcomes LGBT individuals at Mozilla and that he asks for them to watch how he operates the company. In addition, he apologized for causing anyone any pain.
