This is really a shame. I'm not upgrading from version 14 until this issue is fixed.

I just did a fresh install of FF16.0.1 downloaded from Mozilla onto a computer without FF. I found that the Tabs On Top right click option is NOT there. I went into about:config and double-clicked the browser.tabs.ontop option changing it to false. When I returned to the main screen, the Tabs On Top option magically appeared in the right-click menu.

Weird.

That is interesting. I've known about the ability to change the tabs on top option using the manual configuration, but as I stated in an earlier post, Mozilla says that it breaks the warranty. However, it is new information to me that the tabs on top right click option shows up once you've used the manual configuration. The fact that using this method, the menu comes back, just illustrates how asinine it is that the tabs on top option isn't there to begin with!

The tabs on top isn't the only option that Mozilla Firefox has taken from its users. One of the reasons I started using Firefox, way back at version 3.0, was because there was a native option to open a new tab to the right of the current tab. Internet Explorer took that option away when it went from version 7 to version 8, and there was no addon/plugin to enable it either. So I switched to Firefox because it had it, but eventually they took out the native support for that as well. I use a plugin to enable this function, but my point is that NONE of the browser makers seem to listen to their customers.

Users will always have different preferences for things and desire OPTIONS for settings and the ability to customize the layout, but the programmers just seem hell bent on forcing us to accept things they way THEY think they should be. I will continue to abandon any company or product that ignores its customers, the latest of which is Mozilla Firefox.

I have a little "+" sign next to my Tabs for opening a new Tab. Is that not native to FF? I do use a Duplicate Tab extension, but I do not think it is part of that.

Usually it is. Please see this.

The option I mentioned that used to be a native option in FF controlled WHERE a new tab would be opened. In FF 3.0 (maybe even 4) and below, a new tab opened directly to the right of the CURRENT tab, not at the end of your line of tabs. Whether by clicking on the + sign, or clicking on a link while holding Ctrl, or any other means of opening a new tab, I prefer to have that tab open directly to the right of the currently active tab. In FF 4.0 up to a certain version (I can't remember exactly which), the default changed to where FF would open a new tab at the end of the line of tabs, but there was an option you could check to tell it to open a new tab to the right of the current tab. Then as of version 7 or so, that option just disappeared, even though there are thousands of people like myself who need and use this option. As I stated before, there is a plugin that I use so that I still have this capability, but the point I am making here is that FF took out an option that many people use and it's a simple option that makes people happy. They are not listening to their customers and seem overly busy adding things nobody cares about and taking out things people rely on, prefer, and use.

It could be browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent in about:config which is True by default.

about:config Entries

The Config Descriptions add-on adds helpful source comments in about:config.

Also, the comment I made about users wanting to be able to customize the layout is not referring to toolbars in FF. The issue with the layout in FF is the lack of the right click option to have Tabs on Top or not. Yes, there is a manual workaround for Tabs on Top, but it is inconvenient and breaks the warranty. Therefore, FF IS in effect forcing users to accept their way or go back to the days of DOS like line commands followed by abandoning them as a customer.

The extension that I use that gives me the option to have FF open a new tab to the right of the current tab is called Tab Control. I have not done any research on the command you listed, dumdidadida, but it sounds to me like that command is to control tab groups where it is always set to True to insert a RELATED tab (would be the same color in the same group) after the current tab, which would keep it in the correct group. Logically, the command you listed cannot be the option I am speaking of because you said it's set to True by default, and I know for a fact that without the extension Tab Control, that FF does NOT open a new tab to the right of the current tab, instead, it opens it at the far right END of the current tab group (related tabs). I also know a new tab opening to the right of the current tab used to be the default, then it became an option (under Options>Tabs), and then even the option was removed.

It seems to be the default (Firefox 16). You can try to check in a new profile and later delete it. This would help to keep your current profile/settings intact.

Profiles Howto

Managing profiles

Profile Manager

Profile Folder & Files

Does anyone know anything about version 16.0.2 regarding this issue?

Current Firefox versions only show the "Tabs on Top" menu entry in the "View > Toolbars" menu and in context menus if the tabs aren't in the default position on top.

If the tabs are on top and the menu entry isn't available and you want to move the tabs below the navigation toolbar then you need to flip the browser.tabs.onTop pref to false on the about:config page.

You can show or hide the menu bar via the View > Toolbars menu or the Firefox > Options menu or just right-click en empty space on a visible toolbar.
If the menu bar is hidden you get the Firefox menu button.

That behavior is still the same in current Firefox versions and 17-19 versions that are under development.

As cor-el points out the problem still exists in Firefox 16.0.2 which I can confirm. I downloaded a fresh copy of 16.0.2 at work (using a new profile) to check how one of our systems reacted to web browsers with a non-English UI. Still no GUI option present to change tab position if tabs are already on top.

I still struggle to see any logic behind this change, and fail completely to see the advantage of having an inconsistent GUI that only gives you the option to "toggle" between two states when tabs are underneath.

There is no logic behind this change apart from that the Mozilla developers prefer that Firefox users have the tab bar on top.
It is quite possible that some future Firefox version no longer support moving the tab bar to its previous position below the other toolbars.

You will have to flip the above mentioned browser.tabs.onTop pref to false if the tab bar is currently in the top position.

@cor-el I like my tabs underneath. Telling me they are better is one thing but forcing me to use tabs on top is another. That's the kind of patronising arrogance I have grown accustomed to from companies like MS, Apple and Oracle.

"Be careful how you choose your enemy, for you will come to resemble him. The moment you adapt your enemy's methods your enemy has won."

Well stated and that is exactly how I feel and I stated that earlier in the post. They are acting just like Microsoft by not giving the users the options and ability to customize that they want and need. They want to force us to browse in a particular way and they do not seem to comprehend that there are quite a few different browsing methods that I've seen described and they each have their reasons for it. This is similar to the way in which each individual person can have one or more teaching methods which they excel at, such as audio, visual, or printed form. It is the intuitive way in which each of us operates that differs from one another. Forcing one way upon a user and not allowing options and customization are the whole reason that I stopped using Microsoft Internet Explorer and started using Mozilla Firefox in the first place. I will continue to use a product that works in the manner that I think, and which works in the manner I prefer.