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Early morning devil's advocacy: Why are you allowed to complain about other people's free content? You weren't paying for the content they provided where they

by thorax 16y ago

Early morning devil's advocacy: Why are you allowed to complain about other people's free content? You weren't paying for the content they provided where they complained about outages, surely? Or was a mild irony an intended part of the article? In addition, if they are being "used", shouldn't they vote with their feet to be "used" by another site (read: evil boyfriend) that treats them better and gives them shinier things? The first step in that is voicing their discontent so other suitors get the hint. /advocacy For what it's worth, I also much prefer your less negative articles-- more hit than miss usually. But, well... I can't complain.

jgrahamc 16y ago
Don't worry, I've got plenty of other interesting things to write about. Normal (expected) service will be resumed shortly.
- swombat 16y ago
  In the meantime, we are all complaining about the downtime in normal services.
  - jgrahamc 16y ago
    That made me laugh. I've got the message! :-)
Goronmon 16y ago
Why are you allowed to complain about other people's free content? Are you suggesting he is not allowed? If time is money, then time spent using a service is still an investment made in that service regardless of any currency changing hands. Plus, making a free service doesn't make you immune from criticism.
- thorax 16y ago
  > Are you suggesting he is not allowed? You misunderstand-- that line comes from shifting the original author's opinion back at his own complaint. The devil's advocate I channeled doesn't really have an opinion of its own. The point is that it's somewhat worth noting that complaining about someone else's complaints hints at self-contradiction. [Aside: I guess sometimes other people use the "devil's advocate" voice for their own opinions? Not in my circles-- it's always used for giving a view that may be contrary (or different) from your own for logical discussions and/or debate.] Certainly I personally have no opinion/say on what he's allowed to talk about. Though I do admit a preference for positive or neutral topics over negative ones.
  - pyre 16y ago
    > I guess sometimes other people use the "devil's advocate" voice > for their own opinions? I think that sometimes people use it in a "don't shoot the messenger, this is just food for thought" way when opposing a statement (i.e. being non-confrontational). But, in general, it is best used when you are presenting beliefs that are not your own (i.e. a way of distancing your personal beliefs from what you are saying, in an effort to spawn discussion/present an oppsing viewpoint/etc).

by thorax 16y ago

jgrahamc 16y ago

Don't worry, I've got plenty of other interesting things to write about. Normal (expected) service will be resumed shortly.

swombat 16y ago
In the meantime, we are all complaining about the downtime in normal services.
- jgrahamc 16y ago
  That made me laugh. I've got the message! :-)

Goronmon 16y ago

Why are you allowed to complain about other people's free content? Are you suggesting he is not allowed? If time is money, then time spent using a service is still an investment made in that service regardless of any currency changing hands. Plus, making a free service doesn't make you immune from criticism.

thorax 16y ago
> Are you suggesting he is not allowed? You misunderstand-- that line comes from shifting the original author's opinion back at his own complaint. The devil's advocate I channeled doesn't really have an opinion of its own. The point is that it's somewhat worth noting that complaining about someone else's complaints hints at self-contradiction. [Aside: I guess sometimes other people use the "devil's advocate" voice for their own opinions? Not in my circles-- it's always used for giving a view that may be contrary (or different) from your own for logical discussions and/or debate.] Certainly I personally have no opinion/say on what he's allowed to talk about. Though I do admit a preference for positive or neutral topics over negative ones.
- pyre 16y ago
  > I guess sometimes other people use the "devil's advocate" voice > for their own opinions? I think that sometimes people use it in a "don't shoot the messenger, this is just food for thought" way when opposing a statement (i.e. being non-confrontational). But, in general, it is best used when you are presenting beliefs that are not your own (i.e. a way of distancing your personal beliefs from what you are saying, in an effort to spawn discussion/present an oppsing viewpoint/etc).