There are two browser engines in the world. Dave considers what might be lost if that were to become one. He argues that browser diversity forces the standards process to be slow – and therefore deliberate and considered – and non-corporate. A single browser means whoever controls it has an outsized influence on how the web works.
There’s a lot of value in slow thinking. You use the non-lizard side of your brain. You make more deliberate decisions. You prioritize design over instant gratification. You can “check” your gut instincts and validate your hypothesis before incurring mountains of technical debt.
To make good platform features requires consensus, not competition, and the web’s potential is born out of cooperation, not a single corporation.
If the Web is governed by a single corporation, it will start looking like that corporation’s vision of the Web, ultimately limiting its own potential. Trading short term gain on new shiny features for long term
If we do see a major reduction in browser diversity, I think we lose the intentional slowness and the cooperation mechanisms we have in place. Who knows what will happen, but my hope is that just like iron can sharpen iron, maybe chromium can sharpen chromium.
