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any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak?

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  any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? T <T@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-12 00:28 -0700
    Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-05-12 15:34 +0000
      Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-12 18:04 +0200
        Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Dave Royal <dave@dave123royal.com> - 2026-05-12 18:07 +0100
          Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-05-12 10:30 -0700
            Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-12 19:49 +0200
              Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Jörg Knobloch <jorgk@jorgk.com> - 2026-05-12 21:07 +0200
            Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-05-12 10:50 -0700
              Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-05-12 11:12 -0700
          Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-12 19:45 +0200
            Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-05-12 10:58 -0700
              Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-12 21:10 +0200
                Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Jörg Knobloch <jorgk@jorgk.com> - 2026-05-12 21:22 +0200
                  Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-12 21:27 +0200
                Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Nazi Hunter <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-12 22:51 +0100
                  Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-05-12 15:19 -0700
                  Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Jörg Knobloch <jorgk@jorgk.com> - 2026-05-13 10:30 +0200
                    Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Nazi Hunter <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-13 17:59 +0100
                      Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Jörg Knobloch <jorgk@jorgk.com> - 2026-05-13 19:48 +0200
                        Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Jörg Knobloch <jorgk@jorgk.com> - 2026-05-15 11:16 +0200
                      Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-05-13 12:35 -0700
                        Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? T <T@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-14 17:34 -0700
                          Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? sticks <wolverine01@charter.net> - 2026-05-14 20:22 -0500
    Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-05-12 14:14 -0400
      Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-05-14 08:34 -0400
    Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Jörg Knobloch <jorgk@jorgk.com> - 2026-05-12 21:11 +0200
      Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> - 2026-05-12 21:25 +0200
    Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? T <T@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-12 14:34 -0700
      Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? Mike Easter <MikeE@ster.invalid> - 2026-05-12 15:30 -0700
        Re: any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak? T <T@invalid.invalid> - 2026-05-12 17:09 -0700

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#20439 — any trick to get FF eMail Link to work with Betterbird flatpak?

Hi All,

Fedora 44
eu.betterbird.Betterbird 140.10.1esr-bb22  (flatpak)
firefox-150.0-1.fc44.x86_64
xfce4-about-4.20.2-2.fc44.x86_64

Is there any trick to getting Firefox's "File --> Email Link"
to work with Betterbird flatpak?

Yours in Confusion,
-T

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#20440

On Tue, 12 May 2026 00:28:27 -0700, T wrote:

> Hi All,
> 
> Fedora 44 eu.betterbird.Betterbird 140.10.1esr-bb22  (flatpak)
> firefox-150.0-1.fc44.x86_64 xfce4-about-4.20.2-2.fc44.x86_64
> 
> Is there any trick to getting Firefox's "File --> Email Link"
> to work with Betterbird flatpak?
> 
> Yours in Confusion,
> -T

Here in xfce on Debian, Firefox's "File --> Email Link" appears to go to 
the default 'mail reader' specified in xfce settings > default 
applications > internet. My default, Thunderbird, is at /usr/bin/
thunderbird. It appears that I can specify a 'custom application' ('other' 
> 'choose a custom mail reader') by setting the path and executable and 
make that the default.

I know nothing about flatpaks, but if you can call Betterbird from a shell 
I think you could set it as the default xfce email reader and Firefox 
would use it.

I also have Thunderbird beta installed as a tarball. I wondered if Firefox 
would use that if it were already running. It doesn't. But I expect I 
could set that as the default mail reader. I notice Betterbird is also 
available as a tarball.
-- 
(Remove any numerics from my email address.)

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#20441

Dave Royal wrote:
> On Tue, 12 May 2026 00:28:27 -0700, T wrote:

>> Fedora 44 eu.betterbird.Betterbird 140.10.1esr-bb22  (flatpak)
>> firefox-150.0-1.fc44.x86_64 xfce4-about-4.20.2-2.fc44.x86_64
>> 
>> Is there any trick to getting Firefox's "File --> Email Link"
>> to work with Betterbird flatpak?

> Here in xfce on Debian, Firefox's "File --> Email Link" appears to go to 
> the default 'mail reader' specified in xfce settings > default 
> applications > internet. My default, Thunderbird, is at /usr/bin/
> thunderbird. It appears that I can specify a 'custom application' ('other' 
>> 'choose a custom mail reader') by setting the path and executable and 
> make that the default.
> 
> I know nothing about flatpaks, but if you can call Betterbird from a shell 
> I think you could set it as the default xfce email reader and Firefox 
> would use it.
> 
> I also have Thunderbird beta installed as a tarball. I wondered if Firefox 
> would use that if it were already running. It doesn't. But I expect I 
> could set that as the default mail reader. I notice Betterbird is also 
> available as a tarball.

It's sometimes a little bit tricky to set a default program in Linux,
especially Mozilla's FF and TB. BTDT.
First there is basically "update-alternatives" for the whole underlying
operating system.
On top of that there is the desktop which you use, which can add or
tweak some of these given values.
Then there are programs like Mozilla's FF and TB which you can call
and start with different profiles.
And if you want to put another layer of complexity on top of that pile
you can use Flatpaks, Snaps or even tarballs.

I can't remember how i got to play FF and TB nicely with each other,
back then when i installed *both* as a tarball in "/opt". I managed to
do it but it was a PITA.
My advice is to use the given packet of your distribution whenever you
can. And no Flatpak, Snap or even tarballs - unless you are ready to
stumble over problems which you never can solve maybe.

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#20442

Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> Wrote in message:

> Dave Royal wrote:
>> On Tue, 12 May 2026 00:28:27 -0700, T wrote:
> 
>>> Fedora 44 eu.betterbird.Betterbird 140.10.1esr-bb22  (flatpak)
>>> firefox-150.0-1.fc44.x86_64 xfce4-about-4.20.2-2.fc44.x86_64
>>> 
>>> Is there any trick to getting Firefox's "File --> Email Link"
>>> to work with Betterbird flatpak?
> 
>> Here in xfce on Debian, Firefox's "File --> Email Link" appears to go to 
>> the default 'mail reader' specified in xfce settings > default 
>> applications > internet. My default, Thunderbird, is at /usr/bin/
>> thunderbird. It appears that I can specify a 'custom application' ('other' 
>>> 'choose a custom mail reader') by setting the path and executable and 
>> make that the default.
>> 
>> I know nothing about flatpaks, but if you can call Betterbird from a shell 
>> I think you could set it as the default xfce email reader and Firefox 
>> would use it.
>> 
>> I also have Thunderbird beta installed as a tarball. I wondered if Firefox 
>> would use that if it were already running. It doesn't. But I expect I 
>> could set that as the default mail reader. I notice Betterbird is also 
>> available as a tarball.
> 
> It's sometimes a little bit tricky to set a default program in Linux,
> especially Mozilla's FF and TB. BTDT.
> First there is basically "update-alternatives" for the whole underlying
> operating system.
> On top of that there is the desktop which you use, which can add or
> tweak some of these given values.
> Then there are programs like Mozilla's FF and TB which you can call
> and start with different profiles.
> And if you want to put another layer of complexity on top of that pile
> you can use Flatpaks, Snaps or even tarballs.
> 
> I can't remember how i got to play FF and TB nicely with each other,
> back then when i installed *both* as a tarball in "/opt". I managed to
> do it but it was a PITA.
> My advice is to use the given packet of your distribution whenever you
> can. And no Flatpak, Snap or even tarballs - unless you are ready to
> stumble over problems which you never can solve maybe.

I assumed Betterbird is not in Fedora's repos otherwise he
 wouldn't be using flatpaks.

He could use rpmbuild. I've done so on opensuse - once.
-- 
Remove numerics from my email address.

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#20443

Dave Royal wrote:
> I assumed Betterbird is not in Fedora's repos otherwise he
>   wouldn't be using flatpaks.

Jesse Smith of DistroWatch says Fed44 is a mess; recommends staying w/ 43.

https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20260511#fedora
> Unfortunately, I found virtually every aspect of Fedora 44 to be a mess. 

JS is a very strong and 'moderate' reviewer in terms of kindness vs 
unkindness.

Fed43
https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20251110#fedora
> On the whole, Fedora 43 has some good points and some problems.

I haven't investigated the repo vs 'other packaging' aspect of Betterbird.

BB's docs are of course unhappy w/ the linux ecosystem for providing 
packages; they say they built 140 on Ub 22.4, whereas the flatpak would 
have a better chance, but the 'combo' still seems a little far-out.

Maybe it is time to practice compiling :-)



-- 
Mike Easter

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#20445

Mike Easter wrote:
[..snip..]
> I haven't investigated the repo vs 'other packaging' aspect of Betterbird.

Betterbird isn't in any serious linux repo. And never will be as long
as Thunderbird exists.

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#20450

On 12 May 2026 19:49, Frank Miller wrote:
> Betterbird isn't in any serious linux repo. And never will be as long
> as Thunderbird exists.

It will be in Debian soon:
https://salsa.debian.org/iskunk/betterbird-debian

-- 
Viele Grüße, Jörg
Sent with Betterbird. Simply better.
www.betterbird.eu - www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable
Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich: Kaum macht man's richtig, schon funktioniert's!

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#20446

Mike Easter wrote:
> Maybe it is time to practice compiling 🙂

The gglAIov googleAIoverview LLM says that the flatpak route is the
easiest, but an alternative is the script at github:

https://github.com/Betterbird/thunderbird-patches/blob/main/install-on-linux/install-betterbird.sh

> Betterbird installation script for Linux, adapted from
https://github.com/risaer/betterbird-dirty-update/blob/main/
updateBetterbird.sh


-- 
Mike Easter

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#20448

Mike Easter wrote:
> The gglAIov googleAIoverview LLM says that the flatpak route is the
> easiest, but an alternative is the script at github:

This is a very helpful page for anyone making a 'project of BB:

https://www.betterbird.eu//support/

Since I didn't understand the BB 'situation' before, now I see better 
what is going on in its relationship w/ Tb. Thanks FM.

-- 
Mike Easter

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#20444

Dave Royal wrote:
> Frank Miller <miller@posteo.ee> Wrote in message:
[..snip..]
>> My advice is to use the given packet of your distribution whenever you
>> can. And no Flatpak, Snap or even tarballs - unless you are ready to
>> stumble over problems which you never can solve maybe.
> 
> I assumed Betterbird is not in Fedora's repos otherwise he
>  wouldn't be using flatpaks.

Betterbird is just a small soft fork of Thunderbird, managed by a hand
full of people. The "head" maintainer who brought Betterbird to life
once worked for Mozilla and was kicked out because of reasons.
The whole Betterbird project depends completely on Thunderbird and it's
source code. So if you don't urgently really need some of the little
tweaks or small bugfixes just use Thunderbird. 

> He could use rpmbuild. I've done so on opensuse - once.

Yes, he could. Or he could install Thunderbird from the repos, or
Claws Mail, Sylpheed, whatever. Every mail program from the Fedora repos
will integrate more smoothly and functional into his system than a
flatpak from a hobby project.

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#20447

Frank Miller wrote:
> The "head" maintainer who brought Betterbird to life
> once worked for Mozilla and was kicked out because of reasons.

I'm not any kind of dev, but having 'watched' the interaction in the dev 
'channel' of Tb ng/s, it seems to me that the Tb dev/s are a 
'narrow-minded' group; so being 'kicked out' of the club wouldn't 
necessarily be a bad thing :-)

-- 
Mike Easter

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#20451

Mike Easter wrote:
> Frank Miller wrote:
>> The "head" maintainer who brought Betterbird to life
>> once worked for Mozilla and was kicked out because of reasons.
> 
> I'm not any kind of dev, but having 'watched' the interaction in the dev 
> 'channel' of Tb ng/s, it seems to me that the Tb dev/s are a 
> 'narrow-minded' group; so being 'kicked out' of the club wouldn't 
> necessarily be a bad thing :-)

Yes, maybe. I didn't get to know any (former) developer of Thunderbird
but Jörg Knobloch, the 'creator' and 'mastermind' of Betterbird.
He's German like me and has interacted a bit for some months in the last
year in the german speaking newsgroup "de.comm.software.mozilla.mailnews".
After some questions, discussions and criticism he quit.
His eh.. style, attitude and ego left an impression for me. This mustn't
be the impression for anybody else. I'm just saying.

2cent

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#20453

On 12 May 2026 21:10, Frank Miller wrote:
> He's German like me and has interacted a bit for some months in the last
> year in the german speaking newsgroup "de.comm.software.mozilla.mailnews".
> After some questions, discussions and criticism he quit.

Yes, that's the NG with a high proportion of personal feud, insults and OT.
Waste of time.

-- 
Viele Grüße, Jörg
Sent with Betterbird. Simply better.
www.betterbird.eu - www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable
Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich: Kaum macht man's richtig, schon funktioniert's!

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#20455

Jörg Knobloch wrote:
> On 12 May 2026 21:10, Frank Miller wrote:
>> He's German like me and has interacted a bit for some months in the last
>> year in the german speaking newsgroup "de.comm.software.mozilla.mailnews".
>> After some questions, discussions and criticism he quit.
> 
> Yes, that's the NG with a high proportion of personal feud, insults and OT.
> Waste of time.

QED ^^

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#20457

On 12/05/2026 20:10, Frank Miller wrote:
> Mike Easter wrote:
>> Frank Miller wrote:
>>> The "head" maintainer who brought Betterbird to life
>>> once worked for Mozilla and was kicked out because of reasons.
>>
>> I'm not any kind of dev, but having 'watched' the interaction in the dev
>> 'channel' of Tb ng/s, it seems to me that the Tb dev/s are a
>> 'narrow-minded' group; so being 'kicked out' of the club wouldn't
>> necessarily be a bad thing :-)
> 
> Yes, maybe. I didn't get to know any (former) developer of Thunderbird
> but Jörg Knobloch, the 'creator' and 'mastermind' of Betterbird.
> He's German like me and has interacted a bit for some months in the last
> year in the german speaking newsgroup "de.comm.software.mozilla.mailnews".
> After some questions, discussions and criticism he quit.
> His eh.. style, attitude and ego left an impression for me. This mustn't
> be the impression for anybody else. I'm just saying.
> 
> 2cent

Jörg Knobloch, a German developer, was banned by Mozilla due to his 
attitude. He threatened other developers of Thunderbird extensions, and 
Mozilla decided that this behaviour was unacceptable. He acted more like 
a Nazi than the friendly, cooperative open-source developers he was 
supposed to be working with. Search on Reddit to find out what he did to 
prompt such drastic action from Mozilla.

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#20458

Nazi Hunter wrote:
> more like a Nazi

Premature Godwin* for a thread of modest link...

> As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a
> comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.

Reductio ad Hitlerum = playing the Nazi card,

Perhaps that is why you like to wear the NH nym.

* Godwin's law of Nazi analogies

-- 
Mike Easter

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#20461

On 12 May 2026 23:51, Nazi Hunter wrote:
> Jörg Knobloch, a German developer, was banned by Mozilla due to his
> attitude. He threatened other developers of Thunderbird extensions, and
> Mozilla decided that this behaviour was unacceptable. He acted more like
> a Nazi than the friendly, cooperative open-source developers he was
> supposed to be working with. Search on Reddit to find out what he did to
> prompt such drastic action from Mozilla.

This is not accurate.

I was the first employee of the Thunderbird project back in 2016:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210402042906/https://mail.mozilla.org/pipermail/tb-planning/2016-December/005142.html

After discovering and publishing some internal corruption
https://web.archive.org/web/20210402042324/https://mail.mozilla.org/pipermail/tb-planning/2019-August/006903.html
while being part of the Thunderbird Council, other members of the Council ousted 
me in 2020 by weaponising the Mozilla Community Participation Guidelines (CPG) and 
letting Mozilla do the dirty expulsion work.

This is all documented, including the wording of Mozilla's ban:
https://www.betterbird.eu/faq/former.html

Later on in 2023 an add-on author who felt the need to come up with a 
"replacement" for my ThunderHTMLedit add-on took offence of being advised that the 
ThunderHTMLedit was under a proprietary license. Nothing else happened. Currently, 
this add-on author has been operating in a "friendly, cooperative open-source" 
manner, by making his add-on incompatible with Betterbird, at least temporarily, 
and additionally even disabling forking his repository:
https://blog.betterbird.eu/2026/05/early-warning-to-quicktext-users

So instead of mixing it all up, how about you stick to the documented facts?

The only truth in your statement is that I was banned due to my attitude to make 
Thunderbird an excellent product since it has great potential. Instead, the 
leadership continues to maintain the status quo, with many bugs so old that some 
of the readers here will not live to the day they are fixed.

Here are some features my project has implemented that Thunderbird users have been 
waiting for since 1999:
https://www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable
Hands up who will be around in 27 years from now.

-- 
Viele Grüße, Jörg
Sent with Betterbird. Simply better.
www.betterbird.eu - www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable
Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich: Kaum macht man's richtig, schon funktioniert's!

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#20462

On 13/05/2026 09:30, Jörg Knobloch wrote:

> So instead of mixing it all up, how about you stick to the documented 
> facts?

People should stick to independently verifiable facts, not the claims 
you make in your blog.

The fact is that you threatened people with legal action unless they did 
what you wanted. This was unacceptable to Mozilla and other independent 
extension creators. You are gone, but they are still going strong. What 
you are doing now is stealing the Mozilla source code, changing the word 
  'Thunderbird' to 'BetterBird' (or whatever it is called), and claiming 
that you developed it!, when in fact you are doing nothing of the sort. 
Some unsuspecting users on this newsgroup are falling for your trickery.

The beauty of Open Source is that people are allowed to steal other 
people's work and distribute it as their own under a different name, of 
course. Google is doing and Microsoft is also doing.

<https://youtu.be/jPDKbSZfXQE?si=-z41JTNUe32aGM4I>

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#20463

On 13 May 2026 18:59, Nazi Hunter wrote:
> The fact is that you threatened people with legal action unless they did
> what you wanted. This was unacceptable to Mozilla and other independent
> extension creators.

Show proof. Have you seen any document or are you just repeating what others said 
who also didn't see any document? How many people were allegedly threatened? When 
was that, and how does it relate to the ban from August 2020?

-- 
Viele Grüße, Jörg
Sent with Betterbird. Simply better.
www.betterbird.eu - www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable
Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich: Kaum macht man's richtig, schon funktioniert's!

[toc] | [prev] | [next] | [standalone]

#20468

On 13 May 2026 19:48, Jörg Knobloch wrote:
> On 13 May 2026 18:59, Nazi Hunter wrote:
>> The fact is that you threatened people with legal action unless they did
>> what you wanted. This was unacceptable to Mozilla and other independent
>> extension creators.
> 
> Show proof. Have you seen any document or are you just repeating what others said 
> who also didn't see any document? How many people were allegedly threatened? When 
> was that, and how does it relate to the ban from August 2020?

Since you don't seem to have any answers, let me provide some 1st hand information 
here.

In 2020 there was a ban, which is documented here:
https://www.betterbird.eu/faq/former.html
All documents linked there are "independently verifiable".

In 2023 there as a quarrel with a single add-on author, he took offence at some 
wording in a personal e-mail that said that a copyright infringement would have 
consequences. There was no copyright infringement, so nothing happened. As far as 
I know, this personal communication was not made public.

Consequently, the ban of 2020 had nothing to do with the incident in 2023, which 
was blown out of proportion on social media.

What you tried to sell as "fact" is therefore mostly false, and it is questionable 
whether a copyright reminder can be classified as "threat". "Unless they did what 
you wanted" is made up, and the plural "they" is also not applicable.

-- 
Viele Grüße, Jörg
Sent with Betterbird. Simply better.
www.betterbird.eu - www.betterbird.eu/#featuretable
Es ist immer wieder erstaunlich: Kaum macht man's richtig, schon funktioniert's!

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