Social media has been feasting on it for weeks now. First is Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich's anti-gay stance that sparked all these controversies; next is the rage from the public and his fellow employees, as posted on its social network accounts; and lastly is his resignation from the company.
Yes, Brendan Eich has decided to step down from the post as CEO of Mozilla, a position only handed to him on March 2014. As co-founder of the company, he has been known for inventing the programming language now popularly known as JavaScript.
Eich has mentioned his resignation in passing on April 3 in his blog.
"I've resigned as CEO and I'm leaving Mozilla to take a rest, take some trips with my family, look at problems from other angles..." he said.
Doubts have been raised as to whether Eich really resigned or he got fired for his anti-gay views.
Recall that news came out revealing he donated $1,000 to support Proposition 8, a legislation that bans same-sex marriage in California.
A Mozilla executive came to Eich's rescue and clarified once and for all.
"Brendan Eich has chosen to step down from his role as CEO. He's made this decision for Mozilla and our community," said Executive Chairwoman Mitchell Baker in a blog post on April 3.
Baker admitted the company failed to live up to its different standard and that the company understands the reasons people are hurt and angry. She even acknowledged the people being right, adding the company hasn't stayed true to themselves. She reiterated that Mozilla has an organizational culture that reflects diversity and inclusiveness supporting equality for all. To fight for equality, there's a need for free speech.
To further take down all doubts, Mozilla posted an FAQ on CEO resignation on April 5.
The blog post tried to answer all speculations as to whether the resignation was voluntary or not, and many other issues that have been raised over the past weeks.
"...Board members and senior executives tried to get Brendan to stay at Mozilla in another role or to stay actively involved with Mozilla as a volunteer contributor. Brendan decided that it was better for himself and for Mozilla to sever all ties, at least for now," the blog post said.
The FAQ post also denied that Eich's resignation has been the result of pressure from employees. It explained that the pressure only came from a small number of employees, less than 10 out of the employee team of 1,000. The employees concerned were also out of Eich's reporting chain or personally knew him. It said there's much support coming from a bigger group of employees, which include those disappointed by Eich's support to the said legislation but still felt the latter would make a good leader for the company.
Asked if the company lately has become a social activist organization, the blog post dispelled this and said the company continues to be committed to its single cause, and that is to keep the Web free and open.
The blog post also answered the question that stirred so much controversy, if Mozilla is for gay marriage or not.
"Like most of their peers in the US tech industry, Mozilla Corporation and Mozilla Foundation a) have provided benefits and support to same-sex couples for a number of years and b) recently issued the following statement about marriage equality. The Mozilla Project - which is the overall umbrella for Mozilla's global community - does not take stands on issues outside the scope of the Mozilla Manifesto," it answered.
In the end, Eich's resignation begs one more question: what happens now?
"What's next for Mozilla's leadership is still being discussed. We want to be open about where we are in deciding the future of the organization and will have more information next week. However, our mission will always be to make the Web more open so that humanity is stronger, more inclusive and more just: that's what it means to protect the open Web," Baker said.
