Gmail + Firebug + Firefox = Crash + Burn
No matter how you try to balance it, this equation is bad news.
And if it's happened to you, most likely it is now happening to you every day. And if you're like me, it's really, really starting to work your nerves.*
A good while ago I saw the big red banner and heeded the warning from Google to disable firebug for gmail. In all the smoke and confusion after Google's gmail upgrade I can't remember if I saw a performance spike of any persuasion. But I do remember that shortly thereafter Firefox started to bail out on me every time I browsed away from my gmail. I can open a new tab and move on from there without a hitch. The problem seems to arise with any navigation away from gmail to anywhere else. I've killed every plugin I have save firebug, to no effect. They just will not play nice.
So why don't I just check my gmail in Safari, you ask? Hmmm. Good point.
But no! if you've cared enough to pore over dry, dusty fields of dead-end forum threads for what seems like eons in the browser/plugin paradigm, then you know that this is just not an acceptable solution. In fact, it's no solution at all - it's a farce!
Of COURSE I'm checking my gmail in safari now. But I don't feel good about it. I'm a problem solver by trade. By genetic make-up, even. This just doesn't sit well with me. Yet the intertron offers nothing. I'm willing to go with the open-new-tab-and-close-gmail-tab option, which is also merely a sidestep. I just want to know the cause, and I want to see a solution.
I hesitate to even bring this up, because I know I'll just be called a hater. The reason I fell in love with firebug in the first place was because it offered me x-ray vision, with which to peer inside the jacked-up mess that is CSS support for Internet Explorer. Of course, now I am a power user and find it difficult to remember how I was even remotely competent at my [web dev] job without it. Give firebug lite a try - I'm going to throw it on my red-headed stepchild IE 6 machine as soon as I get back to work tomorrow.
Beyond that, I don't really see a solution for the moment. If you've googled any number of the same keywords I have, you have no doubt traveled down some of the same dead-end roads. To maybe ease your burden a bit, here are a few of the highlights:
this google groups thread offered a hodge-podge of solutions that fell short
http://groups.google.com/group/firebug/web/faq-about-firebug
http://groups.google.it/group/Gmail-Problem-solving/msg/b45d82b372db8585
Now, don't get me wrong. It's frustrating, sure. But I want you to know, Google, that I'm not mad at you. And I'm not going anywhere. And Firefox, you know I'm on your side. You're my browser Obama. We - and by we I mean you two - are just going to have to work it out. It's no good, living with all these windows open. I pose the question to the rest of the class:
Who's problem is it? Gmail? Firefox? Firebug? ...Ajax??
Finger-pointing and wild speculation abound, but I can't find a clear answer anywhere. Insights and links are welcome...
*Really.
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