See Netscape and Mozilla
When given the URL about:mozilla, the various versions of the Netscape browser would display a message, in white text on a lurid red background, in the browser window. Versions 1 to 4 displayed the following prophecy:
- And the beast shall come forth surrounded by a roiling cloud of vengeance.
- The house of the unbelievers shall be razed and they shall be scorched to the earth. Their tags shall blink until the end of days.
- from The Book of Mozilla, 12:10
- from The Book of Mozilla, 12:10
Later Netscape browser versions (as well as the Mozilla browser itself), which were actually based on the Mozilla code, displayed the following:
- 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)
The next installment (7:15) is said to be written by Neil Deakin, to mark the establishment of the Mozilla Foundation, which cuts Mozilla loose from its parent company Netscape/AOL. Moreover it hints at the separation of the browser (Firebird) and the mail-client (Thunderbird). This is a reference to the name "Phoenix," which was what Mozilla Firebird was called before the name was changed to avoid copyright difficulty.
- 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
- (Red Letter Edition)