Welcome to Mozilla University!
Mozilla University is a virtual institution dedicated to building and educating a strong Mozilla community through collaboration and innovation.
Mozilla History
Millions of people have heard of Firefox, and for most of them it's their favorite Web browser. However, a lot of people still don't know what Mozilla really is. That's because Mozilla has been many things to many people over the years, including a Web browser and a few different types of organizations.
The Mozilla Project: An open source project that began at Netscape in 1998, with the mozilla.org announcement in February, followed by the public release of the source code in March.
The Mozilla Foundation: An independent, non-profit organization established in July 2003 with some funding from AOL to help carry on the mission of the Mozilla Project.
The Mozilla Corporation: A wholly-owned taxable subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation was created during a reorganization in August 2005.
It's important to know Mozilla's history to fully appreciate what Firefox is and to better understand Mozilla in its many forms. There are plenty of great articles on the Web, so do a bit of research to learn more.
Stay Connected
One of the best ways to get started with Mozilla is to meet people online and stay connected. We use a number of communication channels to maintain a vibrant global open source community, including two very important ones.
Join the Mozilla IRC (Internet Relay Chat) Network, where the community is active 24 hours a day. People from all over the world stay connected to chat and work together. We recommend starting in #firefox or #thunderbird for general discussion, but you can pick any channel and jump right in! Be sure to say hello, participate in the discussions, and ask lots of questions.
Follow the Mozilla newsgroups to discuss all aspects of the Mozilla project. They are a great place to keep up with what's happening with the community and our products, including the latest information on Firefox planning, development, quality assurance, and support.
Get Involved
TEST
Testing is the easiest way to get involved with Mozilla and to help make Firefox better. Whether you log a new bug or run through a set of tests, every bit of feedback helps. We have a growing QA community at QMO (quality.mozilla.org), so head on over and sign up today!
Work with bugs in Bugzilla, the Mozilla bug database. Understand what issues our users are having and what the community is doing to fix them. Find out about exciting new features being developed for the next version of Firefox.
Run user tests with Litmus, our testcase repository and online test tracker. Whether you are interested in working with a specific feature in Firefox or want to run a complete suite of tests, you can do it through this tool.
Try out nightly "Trunk builds" to help us test the latest Firefox features and bug fixes. Thousands of people take a chance with these often buggy and unstable test versions to get a sneak peek of the next generation Firefox browser. Use at your own risk!
Anyone can be a tester, so give it a shot! Don't just be a Firefox user, help us make it even better by joining the Mozilla QA community. You can contact the Mozilla QA team on IRC in #qa or through the forums on QMO.
HACK
If you're interested in open source software development and want to challenge yourself, check out the Mozilla Developer Center (developer.mozilla.org). You'll find plenty of documentation to familiarize yourself with the Mozilla codebase and should be ready to start hacking in no time!
Create a Firefox Extension. Have an idea to improve the Web experience? With very little code you can completely change the Firefox experience by creating cool new functionality to help users do anything you can imagine on the Web.
Design a Firefox Theme. Wish you could make Firefox look even better? Get creative to customize the Firefox user interface with a unique look and feel and share it with the world.
Hack on the Mozilla codebase. Want to show off your programming skills? Gain valuable real-world software engineering experience as you work with talented open source hackers from around the world.
Remember, the Mozilla community is always there to help you out, so don't be afraid to ask questions! Hang out on IRC in #seneca and follow the mozilla.dev.* newsgroups.
LEAD
One of the greatest perks of being a part of the Mozilla community is that you can represent Firefox everywhere you go. What better way to get involved than to tell others about Firefox and inspire them to join the Mozilla community.
Be a Mozilla Campus Rep. Work with the Mozilla community to organize events both on and off campus to spread Firefox and educate people about Mozilla and open source.
Start a Mozilla Club. Bring together other students and faculty that share a love of Firefox and a passion for open source. Empower them to become active members of the Mozilla community. Check out Club Moz at Seneca College for inspiration.
Provide Firefox Support. Learn about common Firefox issues to help friends and family with their problems. Recommend Firefox to people that are frustrated with other browsers. Help everyone have a better Web experience.
Be the bridge between Mozilla and millions of Firefox fans out there that want to get involved. There are Mozilla community projects for people of various skill levels and interests. It's up to you to lead them in the right direction.
Feedback
Please tell us more about yourself and how you would like to get involved! Your ideas and feedback will help us make Mozilla University better for everyone.