What's going on with Thunderbird v45.x?
Hi All,
At https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/releases/ there used to be all Thunderbird version, up to the most recent, v45. But that's gone. Now the versions go up to 31.6. I've read that Mozilla was toying with the idea of divorcing Thunderbird. Is this the starting of that?
To clarify: this is NOT about updating Thunderbird or downloading the latest version. I simply check that page to see if there's a new version out (please don't tell me about Thunderbird's own option to check for updates).
Solution eye eponami
I have never used that page. I'd guess that the current "owners" of Thunderbird haven't seen fit to update it.
I look for the current version here:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/all/
and back copies here:
https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/releases/
There is even a slot named "latest" on this ftp server, and the text there may provide a clue as to why the page you referenced is broken.
Tanga eyano oyo ndenge esengeli 👍 0All Replies (5)
Solution eye oponami
I have never used that page. I'd guess that the current "owners" of Thunderbird haven't seen fit to update it.
I look for the current version here:
https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/all/
and back copies here:
https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/releases/
There is even a slot named "latest" on this ftp server, and the text there may provide a clue as to why the page you referenced is broken.
Zenos said
I have never used that page. I'd guess that the current "owners" of Thunderbird haven't seen fit to update it. I look for the current version here: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/all/ and back copies here: https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/thunderbird/releases/ There is even a slot named "latest" on this ftp server, and the text there may provide a clue as to why the page you referenced is broken.
Did you even read my question?
"I'd guess that the current "owners" of Thunderbird haven't seen fit to update it" Is irrelevant. It was always updated, and about a week ago all versions 4x were REMOVED from the page. The page WAS being updated ever since. (This CHANGE is what hinted me at the start of the Thunderbird break-off)
I read the file at https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/thunderbird/releases/latest/ and I cannot figure out what you mean by a reason why the page I referenced isn't updated. No idea.
Because rather than just posting a link to the latest version, as was done in the past, they now have a static page that tells you how to construct the URL yourself. It smacks of some backing away from using pages that need constant maintenance. IIRC the current "ownership" came into force round about v38. So changes applied to Thunderbird since then are no longer Mozilla's business or responsibility. Maybe that's why they were taken down.
Thunderbird is now managed by the Thunderbird Council. This will matter to you as they, of necessity, move apart from Mozilla and all of the support infrastructure, such as the build machines, the release sites and probably this support forum. Mozilla are moving towards a change in underlying technology in Firefox that has serious consequences for Thunderbird, particularly in respect of add-ons. Thunderbird is currently reliant on Firefox code.
I was under the impression that the split is old news. The press were hyping it up for for last few years, predicting the imminent death of Thunderbird, and the Council represents a grouping of developers etc who intend to keep it alive. It can be argued that product development and bugfixes have actually been on the increase under the new Council.
That page is updated again. They put back v4x
The page has been updated since last Thursday.