Michael Kohler

Contributing to different Open Source projects, most noteably Mozilla

Date	Type	Description
2024-12-09	GitHub Commit	mozillach/mozilla-watcher: Rename stylesheet
2024-12-09	GitHub Commit	mozillach/mozilla-watcher: Adjust to reflect new Mozilla design
2024-12-07	GitHub Commit	mozillach/mozilla-watcher: Disable Wiki fetching for now
2024-12-06	GitHub Commit	mozillach/mozilla-watcher: Add Wiki URL to logs
2024-12-06	GitHub Commit	mozillach/mozilla-watcher: Update GitHub actions

See all contributions

Why Mozilla?

I've always been interested in the Open Web since I started creating my first websites. Mozilla’s mission is to "ensure the Internet is a global public resource, open and accessible to all". This resonates with me very well because a lot of my knowledge comes from research on the internet.

I started to use Firefox around version 1 and never have switched since then. In the beginning I was using the release channel. After my math teacher in high school introduced us to Mozilla and what he is working on for Firefox (he wrote the initial code for Session Restore) I was hooked and started to use the nightly build and report bugs. Soon after that I wrote my first patch to improve the sorting the bookmarks backup menu. Since then I have written patches, started to bring Swiss Mozillians together, went as far as Germany and Austria to help build the German speaking community and I was also involved in the Mozilla Reps (Representative) program.

These days I am not as active as I was before, though I still try to contribute where I can. These days that is mostly by using and testing Firefox as well as advocating for an open internet.

Profiles

Bugzilla: bugzilla.mozilla.org
Mozilla Reps: community.mozilla.org
People Directory: people.mozilla.org

Firefox

2008 - now

Using Firefox Nightly on a daily basis to test new features and look out for regressions
Filed more than 130 bugs
Submitted more than 250 patches for several different Firefox components

Common Voice

2018 - 2024

Worked on different tooling for the Common Voice project mostly around sentence collections
Improved and maintained the Common Voice Sentence Collector before it got integrated into the platform.
Maintainer of the Common Voice Sentence Extractor
Answered questions about Common Voice in the forums

Community Building

2010 - 2024

Michael in front of the Brandenburger Tor with a group of Mozillians

Started with another Mozillian in Switzerland to build the mozilla.ch community
Organized (almost) monthly meetups in Zurich
Lead Participation in Switzerland
In 2013, 2014 and 2015 I helped develop the German-speaking community (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
I've spoken about Mozilla at several conferences
Organized Firefox hackathons around Switzerland to share my knowledge
Hosted bi-weekly Meetups in Berlin from April 2018 to early 2020, and organizing other events

Mozilla Reps

2012 - 2023

Michael and the rest of the Reps Council and Peers in Berlin in April 2016

Started as Mozilla Rep in 2012 and was a member of the program until its sunset in 2023
Officially represented Mozilla in Switzerland and supporting Community Development
Reps Mentor from 2014 onwards to coach other Mozilla Reps
I was voted to be a Reps Council member from May 2015 to November 2017 to bring the Reps program to the next phase and take care of operational and strategic responsibilities of the Reps program
From December 2017 in the leadership body (Module Peers) of the Reps Program
Organized Mozilla's virtual presence at FOSDEM 2022, hosting a developer room with talks.