About the Alternative Browser Alliance

About This Site

I launched this site in response to the overblown rivalry between Firefox and Opera users. The way I see it, both groups have a common enemy: dominance of the web by a single browser, currently Internet Explorer. At this stage of the game, every percentage point Firefox pulls from IE is a win for Opera, and vice versa, because it spreads awareness that there are alternatives, and that it might be worth trying them out.

This site is intended as a truce. We're in this together.

It was also inspired in part by the fact that after nearly a year, Browse Happy's testimonials are still overwhelmingly Firefox-centric. I had hoped they would be adding more over time, but that doesn't seem to have happened.

Similar campaigns include:

Site History

December 28, 2007: Removing Netscape from the list, since it's being discontinued.
June 11, 2007: Safari 3 is now available on Windows as well as Mac OS. Also, Netscape is cross-platform again. Split out "major" browsers since the cross-platform area is getting crowded.
April 30, 2007: Added links to the new Choose Opera site.
April 1, 2007: Ran an April Fools joke about removing Firefox because it was too mainstream.
February 24, 2007: New Logo designed by k3vin.net.
December 20, 2006: Added phishing detection to Opera and Firefox feature lists.
October 18, 2006: Comments re: IE7.
October 16, 2006: Added links to Try Firefox and Firefox Beginner's Guide. Updated Flock banner link. Dropped Mozilla Suite from SeaMonkey entry.
June 29, 2006: Added list of Allies (i.e. sites that link here). Initial list based on referrer stats for June.
June 25, 2006: Updated Opera features for Opera 9. Added Flock. Emphasized SeaMonkey over Mozilla Suite.
February 16, 2006: Camino is out of beta. Also added link to InternetWeek's big browser shoot-out.
January 31, 2006: SeaMonkey is out of beta. Minor change to CSS to work with IE 7 beta 2.
November 29, 2005: Added a note on SeaMonkey to the Mozilla Suite.
September 20, 2005: Opera is now free.
September 4, 2005: Added iCapture link.
August 23, 2005: Updated Camino icon.
August 21, 2005: Added descriptions of Linux browsers. Tightened text a bit. Removed the (beta) label since it's about as meaningless as an “under construction” graphic.
August 15, 2005: Added links to browser banner/button sites, review of Mac OS X browsers, and Browsershots. Icons for Linux browsers.
August 8, 2005: Official launch.
July 10, 2005: First posted with request for feedback.

About the Author

I'm a web developer and sysadmin. I've been using computers since I was five, using the Internet since high school, and building websites since college.

These days I mainly use Firefox on Windows and Linux, with Opera maybe 15-20% of the time on each, and I use Safari about 90% of the time on Mac, with Firefox the other 10%. I write my web pages as close to the standard as possible, design for graceful degradation, and test in everything I can think of.

Hyperborea, my personal website
K-Squared Ramblings, my weblog
Web Advocacy Activities

Contact Information

Please use the contact form.

Legal Information

The Alternative Browser Alliance website is copyright 2005-2007 Kelson Vibber. Logo designed by k3vin.net. The names and logos of each browser may be trademarked by the individual companies. This site is not endorsed or supported by the Mozilla Foundation or Corporation, by Opera Software, by Apple Computer, or by any other browser manufacturer.

Permission is granted to use the link banners for linking to this site.