4 ms·

From a company whose marketing strategy is "act like assholes", with a business plan of "break the law and then whine when anyone points out that we're a bunch

From a company whose marketing strategy is "act like assholes", with a business plan of "break the law and then whine when anyone points out that we're a bunch of criminals in suits", nothing surprises me anymore, including the fact that they're still in business.

jrochkind1 11y ago
I still remember when the HN groupthink LOVED Uber. I am not nostalgic. I like it better this way.
- beedogs 11y ago
  Some of us have hated them all along.
  - randycupertino 11y ago
    I'll have you know I hated Uber before it was cool.
    - EGreg 11y ago
      I'd like everyone here to know that I was always indifferent towards Uber and still am.
- zanny 11y ago
  I also hate the regulations they cite as a reason why Uber should not exist. No, the regulations should not exist. We could have had Uber and more competitors sooner if not for taking calculated legal risk against archaic institutions of regulation surrounding everything today. Almost all progress is a constant battle not against innovation or creativity but against legal traps keeping you from thinking outside the box.
  - TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
    Why is Uber better than regulated systems? What is superior about poorly-paid drivers, lack of labour rights, surge pricing, lack of disabled accommodations, no guarantee of service in all areas, lack of fare caps, no concessionary travel, having to use a smartphone to pay, unaccredited and unknowledgeable drivers, generic unmarked vehicles, etc.?
    - eru 11y ago
      Drivers are poorly paid in systems that have taxi medallions, too.
      - mahyarm 11y ago
        I would ask a few taxi drivers how their compensation structure works and if they are independent contractors or not. I asked one in BC, Canada recently, and found out they have to take monthly $100/day taxi lease, minimum 1 month and then make that money + more back with whatever hours they can get. I'm guessing the drivers are 'independent contractors' too.
    - eru 11y ago
      > What is superior about poorly-paid drivers, There's a labour market for that. > lack of labour rights, That's for the government to deal with. > surge pricing, Surge pricing is awesome: at least you can still get a cab if you are willing to pay. As opposed to no cab at any price. > lack of disabled accommodations, Yeah, that's annoying for those in need. I propose giving disabled people more money, so they can then vote with their newly enlarged wallets. (And perhaps there's something more efficient for them than enticing taxi drivers.) > no guarantee of service in all areas, Why should city dwellers subsidise those yokels? > lack of fare caps, As long as the fare structure is known before I get into the cab, no problem. > no concessionary travel, Just give poor people more money. No need for concessions. (I've never seen any regulated taxi with concession fares. Only in public transport.) > having to use a smartphone to pay, > unaccredited and unknowledgeable drivers, Not less knowledgeable than most `normal' cabbies, as far as I can tell. But, depends on the area. Eg London has some pretty knowledgeable cabbies. > generic unmarked vehicles, etc.? Who cares? You can pay more for an UberBlack, if you want to have a non-generic car.
- yggydrasily 11y ago
  Yes, things have dramatically improved, but there are still taboo subjects on HN. For example, try saying any of the same things about YC's own AirBnB and see how that goes over. In fact, this very article had an early comment[1] comparing Uber's logo re-design to AirBnB's paperclip thingy[2]. That comment is now deleted. No way to tell if it was self-deleted or mod deleted, but either way it seems someone wasn't comfortable having that on here, for whatever reason. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11038131 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11038131 [2] http://blog.airbnb.com/belong-anywhere http://blog.airbnb.com/belong-anywhere
  - icebraining 11y ago
    The most upvoted and commented story about AirBnB is "Airbnb Nightmare: No End In Sight"[1]. Also in the top 10 are "The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As Users Home Is Utterly Trashed"[2], "Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry"[3] and "Dear AirBNB, No thank you for the XXX Freak Fest"[4]. There are more in the top 20. A single comment sounds like poor evidence to me. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820615 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820615 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820605 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820605 [4] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796
    - yggydrasily 11y ago
      I draw the opposite conclusion, as all of your examples are from several years ago. Three of your four links are more than 1600 days old! Ever since AirBnB became the most valuable company in YC's portfolio, there has been a remarkable groupthink on HN where everything they do is good and criticism basically vanishes. Yet criticism of a non-YC company like Uber gets upvoted and creates a big dogpile, even when it could be equally applied to both companies.
      - icebraining 11y ago
        The "past few years" is a bigger sample than just "the past year", so assuming the posts are equally distributed through time, you're still going to get more of them in the first bucket. Still, from the top 10 of past year: "Why Airbnb is dead to me" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10291070 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10291070) "The two faces of Airbnb" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10487447 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10487447) "AirBNB why did you terminate my account? – An Open Letter to AirBNB" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10090119 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10090119) "Living and Dying on Airbnb" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10531229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10531229) And many of the others in the top are not really about AirBNB itself, just of related topics. I don't see much praise.
marincounty 11y ago
The requirement for a late model, four dour, Uber approved vechicle is brilliant. With this requirement, you exclude a whole socioeconomic sector of the population out of the hiring process. What's ironic is these poeople might be better off? I didn't quite understand it at first. I looked at the NY Uber approved vechicles, and threw up my hands. I now get it. Oh, and it's not about car safety.
- YuriNiyazov 11y ago
  What was there ever to get? Their motto was "everyone's private driver", not "everyone's college buddy with a car" People with private drivers get driven in expensive cars.
- mahyarm 11y ago
  It looks like NYC stands out, according to this page it's usually year 2000+ : http://www.idrivewithuber.com/uber-car-requirements/#UberX_Car_Requirements http://www.idrivewithuber.com/uber-car-requirements/#UberX_C...

jrochkind1 11y ago

I still remember when the HN groupthink LOVED Uber. I am not nostalgic. I like it better this way.

beedogs 11y ago
Some of us have hated them all along.
- randycupertino 11y ago
  I'll have you know I hated Uber before it was cool.
  - EGreg 11y ago
    I'd like everyone here to know that I was always indifferent towards Uber and still am.
zanny 11y ago
I also hate the regulations they cite as a reason why Uber should not exist. No, the regulations should not exist. We could have had Uber and more competitors sooner if not for taking calculated legal risk against archaic institutions of regulation surrounding everything today. Almost all progress is a constant battle not against innovation or creativity but against legal traps keeping you from thinking outside the box.
- TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
  Why is Uber better than regulated systems? What is superior about poorly-paid drivers, lack of labour rights, surge pricing, lack of disabled accommodations, no guarantee of service in all areas, lack of fare caps, no concessionary travel, having to use a smartphone to pay, unaccredited and unknowledgeable drivers, generic unmarked vehicles, etc.?
  - eru 11y ago
    Drivers are poorly paid in systems that have taxi medallions, too.
    - mahyarm 11y ago
      I would ask a few taxi drivers how their compensation structure works and if they are independent contractors or not. I asked one in BC, Canada recently, and found out they have to take monthly $100/day taxi lease, minimum 1 month and then make that money + more back with whatever hours they can get. I'm guessing the drivers are 'independent contractors' too.
  - eru 11y ago
    > What is superior about poorly-paid drivers, There's a labour market for that. > lack of labour rights, That's for the government to deal with. > surge pricing, Surge pricing is awesome: at least you can still get a cab if you are willing to pay. As opposed to no cab at any price. > lack of disabled accommodations, Yeah, that's annoying for those in need. I propose giving disabled people more money, so they can then vote with their newly enlarged wallets. (And perhaps there's something more efficient for them than enticing taxi drivers.) > no guarantee of service in all areas, Why should city dwellers subsidise those yokels? > lack of fare caps, As long as the fare structure is known before I get into the cab, no problem. > no concessionary travel, Just give poor people more money. No need for concessions. (I've never seen any regulated taxi with concession fares. Only in public transport.) > having to use a smartphone to pay, > unaccredited and unknowledgeable drivers, Not less knowledgeable than most `normal' cabbies, as far as I can tell. But, depends on the area. Eg London has some pretty knowledgeable cabbies. > generic unmarked vehicles, etc.? Who cares? You can pay more for an UberBlack, if you want to have a non-generic car.
yggydrasily 11y ago
Yes, things have dramatically improved, but there are still taboo subjects on HN. For example, try saying any of the same things about YC's own AirBnB and see how that goes over. In fact, this very article had an early comment[1] comparing Uber's logo re-design to AirBnB's paperclip thingy[2]. That comment is now deleted. No way to tell if it was self-deleted or mod deleted, but either way it seems someone wasn't comfortable having that on here, for whatever reason. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11038131 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11038131 [2] http://blog.airbnb.com/belong-anywhere http://blog.airbnb.com/belong-anywhere
- icebraining 11y ago
  The most upvoted and commented story about AirBnB is "Airbnb Nightmare: No End In Sight"[1]. Also in the top 10 are "The Moment Of Truth For Airbnb As Users Home Is Utterly Trashed"[2], "Airbnb Victim Speaks Again: Homeless, Scared And Angry"[3] and "Dear AirBNB, No thank you for the XXX Freak Fest"[4]. There are more in the top 20. A single comment sounds like poor evidence to me. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820615 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820615 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2813956 [3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820605 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2820605 [4] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7407796
  - yggydrasily 11y ago
    I draw the opposite conclusion, as all of your examples are from several years ago. Three of your four links are more than 1600 days old! Ever since AirBnB became the most valuable company in YC's portfolio, there has been a remarkable groupthink on HN where everything they do is good and criticism basically vanishes. Yet criticism of a non-YC company like Uber gets upvoted and creates a big dogpile, even when it could be equally applied to both companies.
    - icebraining 11y ago
      The "past few years" is a bigger sample than just "the past year", so assuming the posts are equally distributed through time, you're still going to get more of them in the first bucket. Still, from the top 10 of past year: "Why Airbnb is dead to me" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10291070 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10291070) "The two faces of Airbnb" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10487447 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10487447) "AirBNB why did you terminate my account? – An Open Letter to AirBNB" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10090119 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10090119) "Living and Dying on Airbnb" (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10531229 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10531229) And many of the others in the top are not really about AirBNB itself, just of related topics. I don't see much praise.

marincounty 11y ago

The requirement for a late model, four dour, Uber approved vechicle is brilliant. With this requirement, you exclude a whole socioeconomic sector of the population out of the hiring process. What's ironic is these poeople might be better off? I didn't quite understand it at first. I looked at the NY Uber approved vechicles, and threw up my hands. I now get it. Oh, and it's not about car safety.

YuriNiyazov 11y ago
What was there ever to get? Their motto was "everyone's private driver", not "everyone's college buddy with a car" People with private drivers get driven in expensive cars.
mahyarm 11y ago
It looks like NYC stands out, according to this page it's usually year 2000+ : http://www.idrivewithuber.com/uber-car-requirements/#UberX_Car_Requirements http://www.idrivewithuber.com/uber-car-requirements/#UberX_C...