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I hope the govt sees the reliance on this service and does something positive about it (for example, build their own or tie up with some company). Such massive

by educar 10y ago

I hope the govt sees the reliance on this service and does something positive about it (for example, build their own or tie up with some company). Such massive dependence on a company with no contracts is going to end up in a mess later.

visarga 10y ago
On the other hand, using a government issued instant messenger seems even more dangerous. I think Brazilians have more to fear from their own government than foreign governments.
- educar 10y ago
  Well, fear of government and police seems to be some hip thing amongst some HN commenters. This doesn't make sense and shakes the whole foundation of democracy. Do we really have democratic nations that would rather rely on some corporation than the government? Is brazil such a nation. That is semi-alarming to me.
ptaipale 10y ago
I do not understand this approach. A market solution works and is popular, so the government should step in and try to develop something better with "contracts"?
- educar 10y ago
  It's just a form of standardization by the government in terms of the technical protocol. Just like EU has some with OOXML and ODF. This ensures that other players can come in and build alternative clients. Without regulations, it's going to be a nation relying on a company. I don't think that is good.
  - EuAndreh 10y ago
    Many people in fact rely on WhatsApp. But that's not like they own the only road available. If for some reason WhatsApp suddenly vanished, people would switch to the competitors, like Telegram, Messenger, Viber, etc. There would be chaos during the change, but that's just because the change happens suddenly. If it happens slowly (if the government continues to block WhatsApp, people will rely on an alternative), then I see no harm.
  - icebraining 10y ago
    The EU has been trying to enforce open formats for their own use; it doesn't try to force private individuals or companies to use them among themselves. (It also failed; as of 2014, .doc was still used more than .odt by orders of magnitude in the major institutions - Commission, Council and Parliament)

by educar 10y ago

visarga 10y ago

On the other hand, using a government issued instant messenger seems even more dangerous. I think Brazilians have more to fear from their own government than foreign governments.

educar 10y ago
Well, fear of government and police seems to be some hip thing amongst some HN commenters. This doesn't make sense and shakes the whole foundation of democracy. Do we really have democratic nations that would rather rely on some corporation than the government? Is brazil such a nation. That is semi-alarming to me.

ptaipale 10y ago

I do not understand this approach. A market solution works and is popular, so the government should step in and try to develop something better with "contracts"?

educar 10y ago
It's just a form of standardization by the government in terms of the technical protocol. Just like EU has some with OOXML and ODF. This ensures that other players can come in and build alternative clients. Without regulations, it's going to be a nation relying on a company. I don't think that is good.
- EuAndreh 10y ago
  Many people in fact rely on WhatsApp. But that's not like they own the only road available. If for some reason WhatsApp suddenly vanished, people would switch to the competitors, like Telegram, Messenger, Viber, etc. There would be chaos during the change, but that's just because the change happens suddenly. If it happens slowly (if the government continues to block WhatsApp, people will rely on an alternative), then I see no harm.
- icebraining 10y ago
  The EU has been trying to enforce open formats for their own use; it doesn't try to force private individuals or companies to use them among themselves. (It also failed; as of 2014, .doc was still used more than .odt by orders of magnitude in the major institutions - Commission, Council and Parliament)