# Question for Mozilla Users - about:mozilla **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 12, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843 "2003-11-12T17:07:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/1 "2003-11-12T17:07:57Z")
To all the Mozilla users, type in about:mozilla in your url bar and hit enter. Up pops the follwing words on a red background: > [@](#): > > And so at last the beast fell and the unbelievers rejoiced. But all was not lost, for from the ash rose a great bird. The bird gazed down upon the unbelievers and cast fire and thunder upon them. For the beast had been reborn with its strength renewed, and the followers of Mammon cowered in horror. > > from The Book of Mozilla, 7:15 Does this actually mean anything or did some Mozilla programmers, suffering from lack of sleep, decide to put in an easter egg/joke for the hell of it? ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/2 "2003-11-12T17:10:11Z")
That should be **about:mozilla**. No space. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/3 "2003-11-12T17:13:34Z")
Why does the board keep putting a space? ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/4 "2003-11-12T17:17:49Z")
I got: > [@](#): > > And the beast shall be made legion. Its numbers shall > be increased a thousand thousand fold. The din of a > million keyboards like unto a great storm shall cover > the earth, and the followers of Mammon shall tremble. > > from The Book of Mozilla, 3:31 > > (Red Letter Edition) for Mozilla 1.3a ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/5 "2003-11-12T17:18:52Z")
Using Mozilla 1.5 here. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/6 "2003-11-12T17:37:30Z")
easter eggs are fun ---
**Author:** ![Parallax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Parallax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Parallax)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/7 "2003-11-12T17:38:34Z")
It seems to be an easter egg - I think the recent versions are referring to the new browser they are working on which was originally called Phoenix and is now called Firebird after a naming dispute. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/8 "2003-11-12T17:55:50Z")
And no prizes for guessing what ‘the followers of Mammon’ is referring to. What, you want me to spell it out? Four letters, rearrange them and split them into two: SIME ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/9 "2003-11-12T18:02:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Futile Gesture \* > \*\*And no prizes for guessing what ‘the followers of Mammon’ is referring to. > What, you want me to spell it out? Four letters, rearrange them and split them into two: SIME \*\* Oh, yeah! The plural of “mouse”! Mise. Good call! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dylan\_73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@dylan\_73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dylan_73)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/10 "2003-11-12T18:09:55Z")
All the prophecies with commentary are at [http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla#Origins\_and\_prophecies:\_the\_Mozilla\_name](http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozilla#Origins_and_prophecies:_the_Mozilla_name) ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/11 "2003-11-12T20:19:02Z")
You have to look closely at the wikipedia article, or know something about Mozilla’s development to catch it, but “fire” and “thunder” (bolded in my version) are clearly referring to the Firebird and Thunderbird applications. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/12 "2003-11-12T20:31:51Z")
Oops, I see **parallax** already mentioned that. ‘Thunderbird’ is the standalone mail/news app. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/13 "2003-11-12T22:03:33Z")
- - - Hmmm: ```auto about:mozilla ``` -it puts a space even in code tags…? Oh well. By the by, you get the egg-screen in Netscape 7.1 also… ~ ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/14 "2003-11-12T23:40:52Z")
Neat trick-works in Firebird too. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/15 "2003-11-13T00:32:04Z")
Do it in Explorer and all you get is a blue screen. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/16 "2003-11-13T03:49:08Z")
Explorer goes to a blue screen as a supposed Blue Screen of Death if you use Mozilla - I actually used to have IE crash on me more, back when I used it! Though at work, I set my homepage to about:mozilla in Explorer, and got lots of “WTF???” comments from people using my computer! ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/17 "2003-11-13T04:19:53Z")
Clearly, that was a record of a historical event, which is the fall of Netscape and the rise of Mozilla/Firebird ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/18 "2003-11-13T04:41:53Z")
I dunno. New versions of Netscape also get the faux scripture passages when you go to about:mozilla ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/19 "2003-11-13T05:10:10Z")
Actually, it’s pretty clear that it’s the fall of Mozilla (the beast) and the rise of Firebird. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-mozilla-users-about-mozilla/212843/20 "2003-11-13T05:21:02Z")
Actually, even _old_ versions of Netscape did this. Mozilla was originally the internal Netscape codename for their browser (from Mosaic, which the Netscape code was based on, plus Godzilla). about:mozilla dates back at least to early versions of Netscape 4.x, from my own personal experience. I don’t know if it’s any older than that. (FTR, you can hit ‘quote’ on my post to see how I got the space out. I’m rather pleased with myself for accomplishing it. 😉