804124 - Re-add "E-mail Link..." to context menus

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 786185

(Firefox :: Menus, defect)

Description

[Mark Jones]

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:16.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/16.0
Build ID: 20121010144125



Actual results:

The "Send link..." context menu item was removed without adequate justification or consultation with ordinary Firefox users.

This may be a small feature but it was useful.

The bug 239307 and the forum discussion referred to in the bug report do not in any way demonstrate support for this action and could, in fact, be argued to show the opposite.

The given justification - de-cluttering the context menu - is inadequate for at least 3 reasons:

1) Removing this one menu item has not had any significant effect on menu clutter.

2) There are several, lesser used items on the context menu that could have been removed as they have better known alternatives (i.e. back, forward, reload are used mainly on the toolbar; "inspect element" will be used only be a very small subset of developers who will likely already be using the superior Firebug).

3) Add-ons commonly add items to the context menu (in my case, over 12 additional items) and are a greater source of menu clutter than any native menu items.

The alternatives suggested/given to the "Send email..." context menu item are also inadequate:

1) The item now in the app button and File menu do not replicate the functionality of the context menu item i.e. it is not possible to select a link or an on-page element to send by email.

2) Installing the suggested add-on to restore the functionality adds to the already existing problem of too many add-on slowing down Firefox / increasing memory footprint (which, admittedly, is less of a problem than it was but by not removed completely), and unmaintained add-ons.


Expected results:

A primary feature of the web is social sharing as demonstrated by the popularity of social networks and social plugins that allow sharing of web content. While much of this is done through social networks and social sharing web plugins nowadays a significant amount is still done by ordinary email. The send email via context menu, as it was, was the easiest and most effective way for Firefox users to do this.

The feature should not have been removed without adequate consultation with ordinary Firefox users rather than test pilot users who are (as admitted in bug 239307) a technologically-savvy audience.

This has been a feature in Firefox since the very early days and it is unwise from a usability perspective to remove long-standing features (which will have become an user-ingrained action for many users) without adequate consultation or options to return it (e.g. via a user setting in the about:config screen.).

If it genuinely was underused (which I doubt), perhaps it was only because it was not widely known about and under-advertised. The better approach, compared to removing it altogether, may have been to advertise the feature more to Firefox users (as is being done with other useful features) through the Facebook fan page, newsletter, Firefox home page etc. as a useful, time-saving, social-sharing feature. 

Only then consider removing it if the general feedback is that it is not wanted or useful while still providing the option to return in about:config for long-time users.

Comment 1

[Mark Jones]

Please leave this open long enough for people to vote and comment. You have NOT provided adequate opportunity for general feedback about this before removing it and the bulk of comment where it has been discussed has been against removing it. The last thing I want to do is deal with another software organisation with a god-complex (i.e. we know best, users must adapt). That is not the Mozilla I have known over the years so don't become it now. Thank you.

Comment 2

[Paul Menchini]

I (used to) use this feature at least daily. The "Email This" addon is less convenient, and, as another poster in a duplicate has pointed out, seems not to be actively supported.

Comment 3

[kobimaru]

I am very disheartened by this change to a user interface without at least asking for some additional feedback.  I have to tell you FireFox developers - bad move to remove this function.  I, and many others that continue to trumpet Firefox as browser of choice, used this context menu option religiously.  I think you should put it back on the menu.

Comment 4

[[:Aleksej]]

WONTFIXed bugs can be reopened.

Comment 5

[hamiglorr]

I've submitted the following two feedback items to Firefox:

Sent to "Firefox Made Me Sad" at http://input.mozilla.org/en-US/feedback#sad:
You still haven't put "send link" back onto the right-click context menu - see bugs 239307, 786185, 800565, 803805, 804124, 804424, 805134, and 805949


Sent to "I Have an Idea for Firefox" at http://input.mozilla.org/en-US/feedback#idea:
Put "send link" back onto the right-click context menu - see bugs 239307, 786185, 800565, 803805, 804124, 804424, 805134, and 805949

Feel free to do the same - you're welcome to cut-and-paste the above messages.