Zen Browser is an Open Source FireFox browser that competes against Arc; a browser that I am searching a replacement for. A browser that I have enjoyed since it’s launch for the MacOS. After the recent news and drama about the Arc browser, I decided to look for alternatives out there. Zen Browser is often mentioned as the replacement for Arc. Plus it’s even Open Source, something I Really got excited by when I read this. They are growing and you will see the browser being recommended more often. I was eager to try it out and to dive into its community.
But sadly, the experience has been a complete letdown. it turns out that Zen Browser’s community is toxic and hateful. Instead of being a collaborative community it is more about intolerance and uncheked hostility. I wouldn’t recommend the browser to anyone who doesn’t condone this kind of toxic behavior.
Now more than ever, transphobia, racism and other forms of hate are being mainstreamed through the media, with politicians doing politics based around outrage and by scapegoating minorities. But, it’s particulary distrubing to find these attitudes in opensource spaces…—communities that should foster creativity and inclusion to make great products. One of these communities, Zen Browser, is no exception. Here the very same outrage is allowed to run wild without any acccountability.
These are not just random trolls: the creator, Mauro Baladés, tolerates and propagete such behavior in his community. He has been banned from multiple communities already with multiple warnings. Not only does he misgenders a transwoman; he also thinks it’s okay to ask her what bathroom she goes to…why you’d ask? Cos being, “2 meters tall, black, fucking Lebron James, with tits” seems to be a good enough reason to harass someone. This was posted in 2023. He is a “different person” now…right? Not if his current lack of moderation and accountability is anything to go by.
The moment he got called out, things started to get a little heated. He decided to delete his old messages. Hoping he wouldn’t be held accountable for his past.
If he truly changed, Mauro would moderate and warn users of misconduct, but he does not. Mauro is actively avoiding his responsibility as an community leader, hence why he deleted those messages. He doesn’t feel bad about it, he literally doesn’t care.
For e.x. one of the active community members, user Z3RO, openly reacts to my messages; thinking it is funny when the transphobia is being called out for. Well, this come as as no surprise from a user who has openly expressed sentiments about Hitler, like: “Yeah … should have finished the job”. Where is Mauro warning him for his behavior? He ignores it like everything else.
Z3R0’s behavior doesn’t stop there. He also expressed a desire for racial slurs to come back. Despite this behavior, he has received no warnings or consequences, highlighting a serious lack of moderation and accountability within the Zen Browser’s Community. These transphobic examples are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of hate and conspiratorial rhetoric.
We as a people should held communities accountable and call it out whenever it happens. Let’s hope, that the team at Zen Browser will start feeling the same way and that we as people don’t support these kind of projects unless they change.
* Some of my images can be found here: https://imgur.com/a/Qvb7pSv
* Exported chat logs can be found here: https://mega.nz/folder/W90CmQKR#QX3duOyH-_PrlCsooN0QSA