5 ms·

That's literally all business. It's just that some industries are easier to sympathize.

r00fus 9y ago
No, there is a difference between profit-seeking and rent-seeking [1]. Rent-seeking outfits tend to want monopolies, captive audiences, and other massive barriers to entry. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking
- wav-part 9y ago
  (Slightly off topic) Looking at the wiki page, In what universe is that criticism of capitalism considering taxation/statism is most obvious example of rent-seeking behaviour ???
  - rexpop 9y ago
    Great question! 1. taxation/statism is most obvious example of rent-seeking behaviour 2. rent-seeking is bad QED capitalism is bad I can see why you don't think this works.
- arkis22 9y ago
  If the publisher or developer doesn't share the revenue that comes from mods with the mod creators they are technically rent seeking
  - gshulegaard 9y ago
    Not really. The publisher and/or the developer is not diverting revenue from the mod creators to themselves. They created a platform that someone decided to extend...they are a passive beneficiary of someone else's elective work, but they aren't actively rent seeking.
    - arkis22 9y ago
      The wikipedia definition linked above says: >Rent-seeking implies extraction of uncompensated value from others without making any contribution to productivity. The classic example of rent-seeking, according to Robert Shiller, is that of a feudal lord who installs a chain across a river that flows through his land and then hires a collector to charge passing boats a fee (or rent of the section of the river for a few minutes) to lower the chain. The company is the feudal lord and the chain is their claim on their IP. They made a base game for people to buy, they arranged bits in a very precise order. They sold those bits to consumers. They are not arranging the bits for mods, and yet they get the revenue for it (charging boats as they pass). It's easier to sympathize with game companies because people are indeed doing things free of charge because they like the game. If you charge money for a mod of a game, you will get a letter from that company's lawyers.
  - Godel_unicode 9y ago
    You're on HN: anything we like is innovation or good business. Anything we don't like is rent-seeking. Be sure not to mention that apartment complexes have maintenance staff and grounds keepers, it won't go well for you.
    - desdiv 9y ago
      Rent-seeking is an economic term that refers to things like Microsoft getting $5 to $15 for each Android device sold despite doing jack shit to improve Android. It has nothing to do with property rental. [0] https://www.howtogeek.com/183766/why-microsoft-makes-5-to-15-from-every-android-device-sold/ https://www.howtogeek.com/183766/why-microsoft-makes-5-to-15...
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
    - Pica_soO 9y ago
      Contributing nothing, demanding everything, that is rent seeking. Groundskeepers and maintenance stuff contribute much.
  - zitterbewegung 9y ago
    TBH thats pretty much what happened with Minecraft the main modding group was taken apart by Mojang doing rent seeking behavior.
    - pitay 9y ago
      To be fair though, a good fraction of the Minecraft modding community is rotten; especially with mod authors trying to make money from their mods by relying on a reverse engineered Minecraft. In an effort to make money, they have put clickthroughs to ads that people have to go through to download the mod. Keep in mind that Minecraft is rated 'E' for everyone, the modders are deliberately ignoring the fact that they put children in a spot where advertisers can abuse them. I am specifically going to point out the 'Feed the Beast' team on promoting this behaviour, and them promoting that modders are the ultimate authority. It's pretty bad that permission has to be obtained from each mod author to include it in a modpack, even if it is just for a private server. It's pretty hypocritical of them, I'm pretty sure they didn't ask Mojang for permission to use the Minecraft game for their mods. Note that I am not criticising all the Minecraft modders, just the ones who created the current toxic culture that pervades the Minecraft modding community. If you look at other modding communities, say for Skyrim, you will see it is completely different and someone coming from that community to the Minecraft modding scene will be shocked at the awfulness that pervades the culture there.

No, there is a difference between profit-seeking and rent-seeking [1]. Rent-seeking outfits tend to want monopolies, captive audiences, and other massive barriers to entry. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking

wav-part 9y ago
(Slightly off topic) Looking at the wiki page, In what universe is that criticism of capitalism considering taxation/statism is most obvious example of rent-seeking behaviour ???
- rexpop 9y ago
  Great question! 1. taxation/statism is most obvious example of rent-seeking behaviour 2. rent-seeking is bad QED capitalism is bad I can see why you don't think this works.
arkis22 9y ago
If the publisher or developer doesn't share the revenue that comes from mods with the mod creators they are technically rent seeking
- gshulegaard 9y ago
  Not really. The publisher and/or the developer is not diverting revenue from the mod creators to themselves. They created a platform that someone decided to extend...they are a passive beneficiary of someone else's elective work, but they aren't actively rent seeking.
  - arkis22 9y ago
    The wikipedia definition linked above says: >Rent-seeking implies extraction of uncompensated value from others without making any contribution to productivity. The classic example of rent-seeking, according to Robert Shiller, is that of a feudal lord who installs a chain across a river that flows through his land and then hires a collector to charge passing boats a fee (or rent of the section of the river for a few minutes) to lower the chain. The company is the feudal lord and the chain is their claim on their IP. They made a base game for people to buy, they arranged bits in a very precise order. They sold those bits to consumers. They are not arranging the bits for mods, and yet they get the revenue for it (charging boats as they pass). It's easier to sympathize with game companies because people are indeed doing things free of charge because they like the game. If you charge money for a mod of a game, you will get a letter from that company's lawyers.
- Godel_unicode 9y ago
  You're on HN: anything we like is innovation or good business. Anything we don't like is rent-seeking. Be sure not to mention that apartment complexes have maintenance staff and grounds keepers, it won't go well for you.
  - desdiv 9y ago
    Rent-seeking is an economic term that refers to things like Microsoft getting $5 to $15 for each Android device sold despite doing jack shit to improve Android. It has nothing to do with property rental. [0] https://www.howtogeek.com/183766/why-microsoft-makes-5-to-15-from-every-android-device-sold/ https://www.howtogeek.com/183766/why-microsoft-makes-5-to-15...
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
  - Pica_soO 9y ago
    Contributing nothing, demanding everything, that is rent seeking. Groundskeepers and maintenance stuff contribute much.
- zitterbewegung 9y ago
  TBH thats pretty much what happened with Minecraft the main modding group was taken apart by Mojang doing rent seeking behavior.
  - pitay 9y ago
    To be fair though, a good fraction of the Minecraft modding community is rotten; especially with mod authors trying to make money from their mods by relying on a reverse engineered Minecraft. In an effort to make money, they have put clickthroughs to ads that people have to go through to download the mod. Keep in mind that Minecraft is rated 'E' for everyone, the modders are deliberately ignoring the fact that they put children in a spot where advertisers can abuse them. I am specifically going to point out the 'Feed the Beast' team on promoting this behaviour, and them promoting that modders are the ultimate authority. It's pretty bad that permission has to be obtained from each mod author to include it in a modpack, even if it is just for a private server. It's pretty hypocritical of them, I'm pretty sure they didn't ask Mojang for permission to use the Minecraft game for their mods. Note that I am not criticising all the Minecraft modders, just the ones who created the current toxic culture that pervades the Minecraft modding community. If you look at other modding communities, say for Skyrim, you will see it is completely different and someone coming from that community to the Minecraft modding scene will be shocked at the awfulness that pervades the culture there.