We are big proponents of preserving software and content that would otherwise be forgotten. Especially when it comes to software that continues to have a use yet to be eclipsed by anything we feel it is of great importance to preserve it as testament to what is or once was possible. After all our all aim should be to grow and not stagnate or even revolve backwards to the lesser. Whenever projects aiming to achieve just that are running into trouble, especially regarding things we provide to our customers, we feel it is our duty to step in and provide assistance. It not only serves us, who potentially still use the software in question, but also anyone that might still do so including our customers.
As such we are happy to announce that we have provided a mirror for the Classic Addons Archive, a project that aims to preserve the grand library of Firefox addons that once existed prior to Mozilla suffering a case of what can only be described as laziness-induced rush of autophobia and removed support for a vast catalogue of addons on the basis of no longer wanting to maintain the interface for them. These addons included such marvelous wonders as TabMix+, DNS Flusher and Session Manager among many more that found widespread use for power-users and webdevelopers alike. Preserving their legacy and providing a way to access these addons to allow their use beyond their removal from the official addons page for Firefox is the aim of the Classic Addons Archive project.
Unfortunately due to the ongoing economical situation many free offerings that provided the project with options to provide these addons ceased and would require significant invest to retain. The writing was on the wall and so the archive has been unavailable lately. We reached out to the project lead JustOff to figure out how we could help the project that we internally use as well. After some email traffic we have now setup a mirror for the project to use, which will restore functionality to their addon and once again allow the download and installation for all legacy addons the project managed to archive.
“But if Firefox removed support who would even need them?”
Fortunately there are other like minded people out there willing to put in the work to not only preserve the addon capabilities, but also actively incorporate security and performance upgrades into a browser. The Waterfox project is just that, a Firefox fork with support for legacy addons and active development and the backing to continue supporting one of the most capable browsers ever built. Those feeling something missing in their life after Mozilla took and axe to Firefox can use Waterfox Classic and make use of the Classic Addon Archive to access the massive library of addons to extend their browser to new heights.
We are happy that we can provide assistance to the Classic Addons Archive, which brings the vital addon database to Waterfox, and thus preserve the legacy of so many addons and the hard work of their creators.