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Why was Bounce Back/Rubber Band Scrolling removed in Firefox 27?

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Hello, I have recently upgraded to Firefox 27 to find with horror that the Bounce Back/Rubber Band scrolling effect had been removed.

I've been an iOS user for years and value the high amount of detail magic that Apple has put into its iOS UI concept. One glorious detail is Rubber Band scrolling. Whenever I have picked up an Android device it bugged me that it had no rubber band, nor bounce back. Then I have tested a new build of Firefox for Android and was overly happy that you guys put this feature into it.

Now you have removed it and I wonder why. I know that Apple has patented its invention but there was a case [1] and the patent was ruled invalid. This was after Google had already avoided the patent by using blue glow in Android 3+. Blue glow became the standard for most Android devices and I suspect that you received letters from irritated Android-only users who don't grasp why bounce back is a good thing and only see that it seems an alien UI metaphor in an Android app. But I want to seriously give you reasons for keeping this metaphor:

• Without bounce back Firefox feels less organic, technical, not like an object that you manipulate. Feels like a PC program.

• Without bounce back you can't easily see so fast when you are at the left/right/top/bottom. Is this the edge or is the app hanging?

• Missing overview over LONG websites via zooming out!

• Zooming out: It suddenly stops, you have a moment of irritation, then you feel cramped because there is no further zooming.

• If the page is zoomed out at max already (and you don't know the zooming level) a pinch gesture scrolls the page. It doesn't feel right!


• With rubber-band: The frame tells you immediately when you reach the max and you don't feel cramped, nor do the program feel stuttery.

The Rubber Band effect is skeuomorphism at its best: It is borrowing a metaphor from real life that the human brain intuitively recognizes.

It is not bad skeuomorphism, it isn't a wooden table texture. It is the right amount of skeuomorphism that the brain gets a help without fooling it with a faked real life object.

I encourage you to not just follow Google's decision – Google had to avoid a valid patent at its time that isn't valid anymore. Google has build its Holo design around the blue glow metaphor but you can stand out. Users won't understand the difference by intuition but they will *feel* the better concept behind. You can have a *better* FEELING for the user than Chrome. Maybe you should gather user opinions in tests (no, not with a survey on Android Central. ;) ). You can stand on Apple's strong research in usability.

You are one of the fewest browsers on Android that can do this stunt and ignore the blue glow patent avoidance because you have your own rendering engine. Be proud of that and use its unique possibilities!


[1] http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/10/23/oh-snap-us-patent-office-issues-initial-invalidation-of-apples-rubber-banding-patent/

Hello, I have recently upgraded to Firefox 27 to find with horror that the Bounce Back/Rubber Band scrolling effect had been removed. I've been an iOS user for years and value the high amount of detail magic that Apple has put into its iOS UI concept. One glorious detail is Rubber Band scrolling. Whenever I have picked up an Android device it bugged me that it had no rubber band, nor bounce back. Then I have tested a new build of Firefox for Android and was overly happy that you guys put this feature into it. Now you have removed it and I wonder why. I know that Apple has patented its invention but there was a case [1] and the patent was ruled invalid. This was after Google had already avoided the patent by using blue glow in Android 3+. Blue glow became the standard for most Android devices and I suspect that you received letters from irritated Android-only users who don't grasp why bounce back is a good thing and only see that it seems an alien UI metaphor in an Android app. But I want to seriously give you reasons for keeping this metaphor: • Without bounce back Firefox feels less organic, technical, not like an object that you manipulate. Feels like a PC program. • Without bounce back you can't easily see so fast when you are at the left/right/top/bottom. Is this the edge or is the app hanging? • Missing overview over LONG websites via zooming out! • Zooming out: It suddenly stops, you have a moment of irritation, then you feel cramped because there is no further zooming. • If the page is zoomed out at max already (and you don't know the zooming level) a pinch gesture scrolls the page. It doesn't feel right! • With rubber-band: The frame tells you immediately when you reach the max and you don't feel cramped, nor do the program feel stuttery. The Rubber Band effect is skeuomorphism at its best: It is borrowing a metaphor from real life that the human brain intuitively recognizes. It is not bad skeuomorphism, it isn't a wooden table texture. It is the right amount of skeuomorphism that the brain gets a help without fooling it with a faked real life object. I encourage you to not just follow Google's decision – Google had to avoid a valid patent at its time that isn't valid anymore. Google has build its Holo design around the blue glow metaphor but you can stand out. Users won't understand the difference by intuition but they will *feel* the better concept behind. You can have a *better* FEELING for the user than Chrome. Maybe you should gather user opinions in tests (no, not with a survey on Android Central. ;) ). You can stand on Apple's strong research in usability. You are one of the fewest browsers on Android that can do this stunt and ignore the blue glow patent avoidance because you have your own rendering engine. Be proud of that and use its unique possibilities! [1] http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/10/23/oh-snap-us-patent-office-issues-initial-invalidation-of-apples-rubber-banding-patent/

Modified by frumble

Chosen solution

hello, this has been removed for consistency with other apps on the android plattform: www.mozilla.org/en-US/mobile/27.0/releasenotes/

the support forum here probably isn't the right place to discuss such changes, since it is primarily community-run and we cannot implement any features or have a say in design decisions.

please either use https://input.mozilla.org/feedback for general feedback or post your thoughts on the https://www.mozilla.org/about/forums/#mobile-firefox-dev mailing-list.

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All Replies (5)

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Screenshot: Rubber band effect on top left (Firefox 26).

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Screenshot: Zooming out for a page overview (Firefox 26).

Modified by frumble

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Chosen Solution

hello, this has been removed for consistency with other apps on the android plattform: www.mozilla.org/en-US/mobile/27.0/releasenotes/

the support forum here probably isn't the right place to discuss such changes, since it is primarily community-run and we cannot implement any features or have a say in design decisions.

please either use https://input.mozilla.org/feedback for general feedback or post your thoughts on the https://www.mozilla.org/about/forums/#mobile-firefox-dev mailing-list.

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OK, thank you. I will get in contact with the mailing list members.

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i m trying to solve ur problem very fast