Fortunately, this is a setting that you can change. Here’s how:

1. Open a new tab and type about:config in the address bar.
2. In the Filter search field type backspace — this should bring up the browser.backspace_action preference.
3. Right-click on the value (defaults to 2) and select Modify.
4. In the pop-up window change the value to 0 (that’s zero) and accept.
5. Enjoy your backspace key to go back a page in history again.

For more information see the mozillazine knowledge base page on about:config.

image by James Gordon

This week I want to write a series of blog posts on “How to be a Successful Gentoo User.” I regularly spend time in #gentoo, our IRC support channel, as well as on the forums. Having been a Gentoo user myself for over 5 years now, maintaining a public overlay for the last few years and now recently having become a dev, I have always tried to help other users, but have seen certain types of issues coming back again and again.

The first thing you should ask yourself as a (potential) new user, is if Gentoo is right for you. It has a notoriously steep learning curve. And no, that is not a myth. First of all, you should not be afraid of the commandline. If you want something that “just works out of the box” without you having to go edit some textfiles to configure things, then Gentoo is not for you. If you like your operating system to make most choices for you, then Gentoo is not for you. If you don’t want to read manuals, then Gentoo is not for you.

But if you are a power-user, a tweaker, a bit of a geek, who loves to dive “under the bonnet” to see how things work and what can be fine-tuned, to make the system run the way you want, then Gentoo is for you! Gentoo gives you the power, hands you tools to control your system with fine-grained configuration options. With Gentoo you are the wizard! Are you up to the task?

I promise you, if that is what you are looking for, then Gentoo is very rewarding. You will need to put in some effort, read manuals, use your brain, analyse problems and be pro-active in looking for answers. But with those efforts and the tools Gentoo offers you, you can be the proud owner of a fine-tuned system. You can be a successful Gentoo user.

Of course, nothing in this universe is perfect, and both hardware and software can behave in sometimes unexpected ways. You will from time to time meet frustrating problems, that’s the nature of the beast. Then it is good to remind yourself of the saying “no pain, no gain.” And realize how happy you will be when you have mastered the tools and overcome the problems. So, do you want to be a successful Gentoo user?

Tomorrow: know your distro. Subscribe to this blog, or come back for more!