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Some additional context to the #deleteDidi online campaign and the death of 2 passengers, which was missing in the article but important in understanding Didi s

Some additional context to the #deleteDidi online campaign and the death of 2 passengers, which was missing in the article but important in understanding Didi struggle, not just financially, but with its product and culture: the victims were using the low-cost product inside Didi (akin to UberX) that somehow allows drivers to see would-be passengers' photos and in order to "increase engagement." The driver who murdered the most recent victim has been reported by other passengers for suspicious/inappropriate behaviors before, but was not taken off the platform. This victim just happens to be an attractive flight attendant. This is all to say the product culture within Didi is not just cut-throat and competitive, but borderline amoral--driving growth and engagement at all cost, literally at the expense of their customers.

shawn 8y ago
I don’t understand this argument. Murderers will find ways to murder people. If that’s their goal, then that’s their goal. So why is Didi related at all to the bad behavior of a few outliers? You’re far more likely to die on the highway or being robbed.
- nemothekid 8y ago
  >the most recent victim has been reported by other passengers for suspicious/inappropriate behaviors before, but was not taken off the platform
- jjeaff 8y ago
  Ya, it's kind of like the worry people have about Amazon sending "regular" people to make deliveries. Gasp! They'll know where you live! Which is just nonsensical. They don't know who you are and don't need a delivery job to find a house to rob.
- ZeroBugBounce 8y ago
  The argument is that Didi made it easier for this alleged killer to get his victim into a vulnerable position (as a presumably backseat passenger in his car). Didi allegedly did not respond to multiple negative comments about this guy's behavior, nor did they expose these comments to future passengers, which might have flagged him as a threat. If not for Didi, or if they had been more safety-minded as a company, then this guy would not have had the opportunity to rape and murder this woman, allegedly. That's the argument.
- flente 8y ago
  It is Didi's responsibility to police their platform. If the offending drivers had already been reported multiple times and Didi had not taken action, it clearly indicates passenger safety was not high on their list of concerns. If you are a predator, bring a driver affords you all kinds of opportunities to prey you people that you otherwise would not have. How often are you going to find a young woman walking in a dark park by herself late at night? Compare that to how easy it is to pick one up as an Didi/Uber driver. At the end of the day, a ride sharing company's users literally entrust their lives to the company. It is the responsibility of the company to act on a way worthy of that trust. If they don't, it is definitely a reasonable response to #deleteDidi.
  - djsumdog 8y ago
    As much as I'm against the Uber corporate culture, which seems to be pretty similarly reflected here in this particular Chinese counterpart; so devils advocate here: it's probably not easy to police a huge pool of contract drivers. I mean if anything, it's more an argument that ride-share companies should vet their drivers, do basic background checks .. you know, treat them as real employees instead of this "gig economy" bullshit. Even then, you're still going to get a psycho in the mix, but at least you can say you attempted to do due diligence.
    - Tyrek 8y ago
      it's not easy to policy a pool of drivers, but that's not my concern as a consumer - that's on you to figure out your business model - if you've lost the consumer confidence, that's a direct threat to your business, not just a 'whoops I tried my best I promise I'll do better'
baby 8y ago
I see a lot of reactions down there, but we have no idea how much negative feedback and what kind was left about the driver right? Can you imagine if only a few unfair complaints could get drivers out of the system?
- chaostheory 8y ago
  What a lot of people have presumed is that nothing was done i.e. the driver wasn't closely monitored until someone got hurt.
  - bopbop 8y ago
    Well, they managed to murder someone - I'm not sure the fact that it was or wasn't closely observed makes such a difference. There can be a fair argument as at what stage would it be necessary to remove the driver, but I think the main thrust of the issue is that to the clients, it is promoted as a taxi service and to the drivers, it is promoted as a dating service. EDIT: This is literally what happened: "As Huang Jieli—the woman who had served as Hitch’s general manager until she was demoted last week—said in an interview in 2015: “Like a coffee shop, or a bar, a private car can become a half-open, half-private social space. It’s a very sexy application scenario.” And in another interview (link in Chinese) in 2017, she said “the biggest motivation for our drivers is to share a trip with a passenger.”" https://qz.com/1374431/after-female-passengers-murder-didis-sexual-ads-have-resurfaced/ https://qz.com/1374431/after-female-passengers-murder-didis-...
    - chaostheory 8y ago
      > Well, they managed to murder someone - I'm not sure the fact that it was or wasn't closely observed makes such a difference. Maybe you can argue that the first time that this happens. Well, it happened twice already. > “Like a coffee shop, or a bar, a private car can become a half-open, half-private social space. It’s a very sexy application scenario.” You're right. The vision and marketing are also to blame.
    - shoo 8y ago
      > The service had a feature on the app that let drivers tag passengers with phrases like “long legs” and “hot as hell.” All Hitch drivers were able to read the tags, which have since been removed from the app, and they were also able to specify a preference for female or male passengers,
bduerst 8y ago
>This is all to say the product culture within Didi is not just cut-throat and competitive, but borderline amoral Isn't this a characteristic of the asset-sharing industry in general? From Uber's God View [1] to AirBnB's out-of-home campaigns [2] ? [1] https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/19/7245447/uber-allegedly-tracked-journalist-with-internal-tool-called-god-view https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/19/7245447/uber-allegedly-t... [2] https://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/10/21/passive-aggressive-pro-airbnb-ads-appear-on-muni-shleters https://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/10/21/passive-a...
- bhb0 8y ago
  The two incidents don't seem at all comparable to each other.
dang 8y ago
A recent discussion about this is at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17861878 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17861878.

shawn 8y ago

I don’t understand this argument. Murderers will find ways to murder people. If that’s their goal, then that’s their goal. So why is Didi related at all to the bad behavior of a few outliers? You’re far more likely to die on the highway or being robbed.

nemothekid 8y ago
>the most recent victim has been reported by other passengers for suspicious/inappropriate behaviors before, but was not taken off the platform
jjeaff 8y ago
Ya, it's kind of like the worry people have about Amazon sending "regular" people to make deliveries. Gasp! They'll know where you live! Which is just nonsensical. They don't know who you are and don't need a delivery job to find a house to rob.
ZeroBugBounce 8y ago
The argument is that Didi made it easier for this alleged killer to get his victim into a vulnerable position (as a presumably backseat passenger in his car). Didi allegedly did not respond to multiple negative comments about this guy's behavior, nor did they expose these comments to future passengers, which might have flagged him as a threat. If not for Didi, or if they had been more safety-minded as a company, then this guy would not have had the opportunity to rape and murder this woman, allegedly. That's the argument.
flente 8y ago
It is Didi's responsibility to police their platform. If the offending drivers had already been reported multiple times and Didi had not taken action, it clearly indicates passenger safety was not high on their list of concerns. If you are a predator, bring a driver affords you all kinds of opportunities to prey you people that you otherwise would not have. How often are you going to find a young woman walking in a dark park by herself late at night? Compare that to how easy it is to pick one up as an Didi/Uber driver. At the end of the day, a ride sharing company's users literally entrust their lives to the company. It is the responsibility of the company to act on a way worthy of that trust. If they don't, it is definitely a reasonable response to #deleteDidi.
- djsumdog 8y ago
  As much as I'm against the Uber corporate culture, which seems to be pretty similarly reflected here in this particular Chinese counterpart; so devils advocate here: it's probably not easy to police a huge pool of contract drivers. I mean if anything, it's more an argument that ride-share companies should vet their drivers, do basic background checks .. you know, treat them as real employees instead of this "gig economy" bullshit. Even then, you're still going to get a psycho in the mix, but at least you can say you attempted to do due diligence.
  - Tyrek 8y ago
    it's not easy to policy a pool of drivers, but that's not my concern as a consumer - that's on you to figure out your business model - if you've lost the consumer confidence, that's a direct threat to your business, not just a 'whoops I tried my best I promise I'll do better'

baby 8y ago

I see a lot of reactions down there, but we have no idea how much negative feedback and what kind was left about the driver right? Can you imagine if only a few unfair complaints could get drivers out of the system?

chaostheory 8y ago
What a lot of people have presumed is that nothing was done i.e. the driver wasn't closely monitored until someone got hurt.
- bopbop 8y ago
  Well, they managed to murder someone - I'm not sure the fact that it was or wasn't closely observed makes such a difference. There can be a fair argument as at what stage would it be necessary to remove the driver, but I think the main thrust of the issue is that to the clients, it is promoted as a taxi service and to the drivers, it is promoted as a dating service. EDIT: This is literally what happened: "As Huang Jieli—the woman who had served as Hitch’s general manager until she was demoted last week—said in an interview in 2015: “Like a coffee shop, or a bar, a private car can become a half-open, half-private social space. It’s a very sexy application scenario.” And in another interview (link in Chinese) in 2017, she said “the biggest motivation for our drivers is to share a trip with a passenger.”" https://qz.com/1374431/after-female-passengers-murder-didis-sexual-ads-have-resurfaced/ https://qz.com/1374431/after-female-passengers-murder-didis-...
  - chaostheory 8y ago
    > Well, they managed to murder someone - I'm not sure the fact that it was or wasn't closely observed makes such a difference. Maybe you can argue that the first time that this happens. Well, it happened twice already. > “Like a coffee shop, or a bar, a private car can become a half-open, half-private social space. It’s a very sexy application scenario.” You're right. The vision and marketing are also to blame.
  - shoo 8y ago
    > The service had a feature on the app that let drivers tag passengers with phrases like “long legs” and “hot as hell.” All Hitch drivers were able to read the tags, which have since been removed from the app, and they were also able to specify a preference for female or male passengers,

bduerst 8y ago

>This is all to say the product culture within Didi is not just cut-throat and competitive, but borderline amoral Isn't this a characteristic of the asset-sharing industry in general? From Uber's God View [1] to AirBnB's out-of-home campaigns [2] ? [1] https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/19/7245447/uber-allegedly-tracked-journalist-with-internal-tool-called-god-view https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/19/7245447/uber-allegedly-t... [2] https://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/10/21/passive-aggressive-pro-airbnb-ads-appear-on-muni-shleters https://archives.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2015/10/21/passive-a...

bhb0 8y ago
The two incidents don't seem at all comparable to each other.

dang 8y ago

A recent discussion about this is at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17861878 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17861878.