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GNOME and Mozilla Discuss Proposal to Disable Middle Mouse Paste on Linux (linuxiac.com)
submitted 1 month ago by cm0002@ttrpg.network to c/linux@programming.dev
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Some projects keep surprising me with their “solutions,” and this is one of those cases. A proposal under review by developers from GNOME and Mozilla could change how middle-mouse-button paste behaves on Linux and other Unix-like systems.

The discussions, visible in Mozilla’s Phabricator revision D277804 and a linked GNOME gsettings-desktop-schemas merge request, focus on disabling the traditional primary selection paste by default.

Mozilla proposes changing the default behavior of the Firefox browser on Unix builds so that pressing the middle mouse button no longer pastes text by default. The author of the revision frames the current behavior as a source of confusion and accidental pastes, especially when users press the middle button without expecting the clipboard contents to be inserted into text fields.

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[-] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

Middle mouse paste was great on true 3 button mice. It became a liability with the invention of the mouse wheel, which made it a total crapshoot to try to click that damn button without rolling the wheel at the same time. It’s a classic case of overloaded functionality.

Like imagine if cars put the accelerator into the steering wheel, so you had to press the steering wheel down to accelerate. Everyone would hate it and it would be a safety nightmare. We put up with things on computers that we never would in other areas of life.

[-] who@feddit.org 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

This is why I buy 3-button mice. A wheel is too fiddly to be a suitable replacement.

For example:

https://3dconnexion.com/ca/product/cadmouse-pro/

https://www.contourdesign.com/collection/contour-unimouse

[-] Vorpal@programming.dev 1 points 1 month ago

For many people this is a non-issue. I think this a case of just accepting we are different and don't need to force our view on everyone else.

Maybe 15 years ago I had a mouse with a tilting scroll wheel (for side scrolling), on that one I did have issues with middle click, for about a month until I got used to clicking straight down.

So maybe it is just a question of practice? Maybe not. But since both options exist there is no need to get upset.

[-] who@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago

Did you mean to reply to someone else?

Because your comment makes no sense as a response to what I wrote.

[-] Vorpal@programming.dev 1 points 1 month ago

No, it was your assertion that a wheel being too fiddly. It seemed quite broad (stating it as an universal truth). It might be for you, but not for most people (but you wrote it as an unqualified statement).

[-] who@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago

The qualification was established in the first sentence.

And nothing about my comment suggested being upset or trying to force a view on anyone else.

Good day.

this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2026
137 points (100.0% liked)

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