topic Re: Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it in Discussions

Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it

Oraqlas — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:56:38 GMT

Let me be perfectly clear about your brilliant NOVA feature: everyone hates it, and you keep pushing it anyway.
Do you actually listen to your users, or do you just push garbage updates on a schedule and hope we'll clap? I shouldn't have to edit user.js and hack CSS just to make my browser behave like it did one update ago. That's not customization — that's me cleaning up after YOUR decision.
Some facts for you:
1. Nobody asked for NOVA. Where was the request? Where was the survey? Nowhere. You just decided we all need it.
2. Everyone hates it. Go read your own feedback channels. The signal is not subtle.
3. There's no proper off switch. You had one job: if you're going to force a change nobody wants, at least give us a checkbox. You didn't. That's not an oversight — that's contempt for your users.
4. We have to hack your own browser to fix it. Think about that. Firefox users are rebuilding what your developers broke, one user_pref at a time.
5. Firefox's whole selling point is "user choice." NOVA spit on that. Chrome does this junk, and we're here because we DON'T want Chrome.
Here's the solution, and it's not complicated: add a proper "disable NOVA" setting in about:preferences. Not a hidden pref. Not a CSS hack. A real toggle. I shouldn't need a text editor to undo your experiment.
Until then, just know: every Firefox power user on the planet is quietly patching out the feature you're so proud of. That's your legacy — work so good people have to manually delete it.
Do better.

Re: Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it

dftf — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 10:03:53 GMT

I doubt they will undo it; your best option is to move to a version of Firefox before the UI change, or switch to a different browser (such as Floorp, Librewolf or Waterfox).

To stick with Firefox you can:
1. Download the latest (153.4.0) "ESR" release from: https://www.firefox.com/download/all/desktop-esr/
2. Backup your current Firefox 157.0 bookmarks, history and passwords by going to Menu > Settings > Accounts and Synchronisation > Backup (scroll to the bottom)
3. Once you have a backup, uninstall your current Firefox 157.0
4. Restart your PC (don't have to, but often best to)
5. Install the Firefox ESR you downloaded earlier
6. If your data isn't there, Menu > Settings > Accounts and Synchronisation > Restore to bring it back

Re: Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it

roodypoo — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:27:34 GMT

-No. You should never revert to an early version of a browser, it's the single most important piece of software and it should be fully up to date, they are constantly doing security fixes. This is bad advice.

-Librewolf picked up the changes, I'm typing on it right now. So, again, bad information, or deliberate misinformation? Please stop making suggestions if you don't understand them. Floorp, on the other hand, has skipped NOVA and kept the regular UI.

Re: Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it

roodypoo — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:28:45 GMT

The new UI is actual cancer, just like their changes to that huge menu in the mobile version. It's time to ditch FireFox. It's like they're speedrunning alienating the last 1% of users that are holdouts still using this.

Re: Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it

dftf — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:57:57 GMT

It's only "bad advice" or "deliberate misinformation" (which is quite an accusation) if you don't understand what the ESR version is.

Firefox 153, the regular version, would indeed be unsafe to use, as it no-longer gets updates.

Firefox ESR 153.4.0 is a different thing; it's a longer-term support version of the browser that receives security updates for around a year from launch, and is aimed at business users who seek a stable, less-changing experience over new features quicker.

You do understand that, yes? So what bad-advice am I giving in suggesting the ESR release?

Re: Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it

dftf — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 19:07:42 GMT

If the "misinformation" refers to suggesting Librewolf when they have also started using the Nova UI then yes... BUT they also make it simple to turn off within the ordinary settings:

No need to visit the hidden about:config page virtually no ordinary user will ever have used

Re: Subject: NOVA — nobody asked for this, nobody wants it, and you keep forcing it

rnkx — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:21:23 GMT

You literally said to “move to a version of Firefox before the UI change”. That does not mean Firefox ESR. Firefox ESR is, like you said, not intended for normal users. It’s also less secure than regular Firefox. On top of that, they only highlighted that they don’t like Nova. So suggesting to switch browsers because of that one thing and create unnecessary hassle is bad advice. When they can disable it in about:config with browser.nova.enabled set to false. Or try out the Proton theme: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firefox-proton/

While they voice their dislike and wait for Mozilla to make changes (which they’re probably going to do if they’re not completely out of touch). And if not, then you can advise to switch to browsers like Firefox ESR. But that’s a last resort, not while there’s workarounds and while Mozilla could make changes.