5 ms·

>>We are unable to issue refunds. Executive order 13884, orders the cessation of all activity with the entities including no sales, service, support, refunds, c

>>We are unable to issue refunds. Executive order 13884, orders the cessation of all activity with the entities including no sales, service, support, refunds, credits, etc. this is ridiculous.. No refunds? if their cycle starts on 1st of Oct, they have paid for entire month(let alone annual subscriptions) but cant use any and cant get a refund..

inscionent 7y ago
The US government cares not.
- blunte 7y ago
  this is not the US government. this is the mad orange flexing.
  - make3 7y ago
    they voted for him, saddly, and quantitative analyses show he might get elected again
    - whymauri 7y ago
      Where is this analysis?
      - rjf72 7y ago
        As an indirect response to this, if you'd like to see impartial predictions for the next election - turn to Vegas [1]. People betting have a financial incentive, not a political one - so it tends to be a great way to avoid potential bias. If you're not familiar with betting terminology something like "+110" (current odds on Trump) means if you bet $100, you will win $110 in profit. By contrast something like -450 (Clinton's odds on the morning of the election in 2016) means you need to bet $450 to win $100 in profit. So the smaller a number, the more likely it is to happen. Factored into this is going to be a bit of juice. Trump's currently on +110 so Vegas is saying the next election is basically a coin flip. For an example of this revealing things that regular polls might not, it's also showing that Biden is a pretty sizable dog to Warren (+550 vs +375). You can now use these numbers to see how close your predictions come to what the market is suggesting. So for instance let's imagine you think Trump has a 50% chance of winning. What would be your expected value if you bet $100 on this? It's: 0.5 * -$100 + 0.5 * $110 = $5. So you have expected value there of a 5% gain, so you're slightly more optimistic than Vegas - though once you factor in the juice/vig/'tax' it's about even. Now let's imagine that you think Biden or Warren stand a 60% chance of winning (30% a piece) with 40% for Trump, and so you put $100 on each of them. We can again work out the math. 0.4 * -$200 + 0.3 * $550 + 0.3 * $375 = $197.5. That means that if your expectation is accurate, you would have an expected value of doubling any wager. So you are going pretty far away from what the market thinks, and if you believe this to be objectively accurate - it'd be a terrific wagering opportunity. [1] - http://www.lasvegassportsbetting.com/2020-US-Presidential-Election-Las-Vegas-Odds_P14398.html http://www.lasvegassportsbetting.com/2020-US-Presidential-El...
    - blunte 7y ago
      If by "they" you mean the electoral college, then yes. But if you mean "they" as in The People, then no - they voted for Hillary Clinton. I'm not a fan of either, for the record; but even with the voting irregularities which indicate fraud in favor of Trump, > 50% of the popular vote was for Clinton.
      - rootlocus 7y ago
        Trump's campaign was finely tuned to win the electoral college, because that was the winning condition. If there was no electoral college, his campaign would've been different, and he might've won either way.
      - make3 7y ago
        I'm against Trump, but you can't move the goalposts after an election. There is no reason to think he would not have had a different strategy had the system been on popular vote instead of using the electoral college
  - Matticus_Rex 7y ago
    Well, that's how the US Government works in practice, so...
    - blunte 7y ago
      Not traditionally. Executive Orders are essentially out-of-band governmental actions. Normally (the normality that preceded the current administration and even the previous one), Congress would produce bills which sometimes would become laws. Those would be the significant policy changes. Now there are comparatively few Congressional effects and more Executive Orders.
      - Matticus_Rex 7y ago
        It's the way it works today, and the way it has worked in the last two presidencies as well. Yes, I'd love a big crackdown on EOs (a drum I've been beating since the Bush presidency).
      - nickysielicki 7y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_executive_orders#Consolidated_list_by_President https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_... It's not really true that it's "not traditionally" the way that government works. The first half of the 20th century is the watermark. Not that I remotely disagree with you in principle, just want to make the point that this isn't some recent development that we can swing back towards normalcy --- it's been this way and there's no going back.
      - rjf72 7y ago
        This insanity started much earlier than that. For one extreme example see executive order 6102 [1]. In 1933 FDR passed an executive order that made it a criminal act for Americans to possess any private gold coins, bullion, or certificated ownership. They were required to turn over all their gold to the government in exchange for about $400 per ounce in inflation adjusted prices. Refusing to do so was punishable by up to a $194,000 fine and ten years in prison. And this was topped off by the "gold reserve act" [2] passed the following year which let the government artificially set the price of gold. FDR chose a 75% increase. Makes modern executive orders look downright tame by comparison, and this is from a president that would go down extremely positively in history. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Reserve_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Reserve_Act
jpablo 7y ago
You can get a refund trough your credit card I guess.
- sharpneli 7y ago
  Unless it was done via non american credit card (No Visa nor Mastercard) it’s no can do. They also lose their credit cards.
  - aembleton 7y ago
    I wonder if this will be a good opportunity for AliPay to move into Venezuela.
  - im3w1l 7y ago
    Could they counter by not paying off their credit card balance?
khawkins 7y ago
Can we put this into perspective? The Venezuelan economy is in shambles, a hyperinflationary crisis that has forced millions out of the country as food is so scarce people are forced to eat zoo animals and pets. The government is illegitimate and destroying aid trucks trying to bring food and medical supplies to their people. But here we are, complaining that the well-connected wealthy at the top of this mess can't get a refund for their purchase of Adobe Photoshop. Given that Maduro has nationalized nearly all of the major corporations in the nation, you necessarily can't be wealthy enough to own this software without being an open ally. This action hurts people in that country, but it's supposed to hurt because until they get rid of their self-destructive government things won't begin to get better.
- MichaelDickens 7y ago
  Being unable to get a refund for Photoshop is clearly not the biggest problem in Venezuela right now, but it's still a problem, and it's relevant to OP's link. We are allowed to talk about problems even if they're relatively small.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > But here we are, complaining that the well-connected wealthy at the top of this mess can't get a refund for their purchase of Adobe Photoshop. I'd be more concerned that, e.g.,non-regime-aligned publishers can't continue using Creative Cloud that they've paid for than that anyone can't get a refund.
  - mkhpalm 7y ago
    Are there any non-regime-aligned publishers around in Venezuela? I suspect you start doing that sort of thing and you find yourself facing bigger problems than Adobe Creative Cloud.
  - nojvek 7y ago
    It’s still a problem because Adobe stole money from their users and didn’t deliver on their promise. Sure it’s in the name of Executive order but still leaves a bad taste. It says you can’t trust Adobe.
tagh 7y ago
I'd like to see what Adobe's plans are for the profits they receive in not refunding their clients (however small). A donation to a Venezuela emergency appeal would go down well. Edit: deleted "Can't apologise after you drop a sales nuke" in favour of a more measured comment.
- CamelCaseName 7y ago
  "A donation to a Venezuela emergency appeal would go down well." Unfamiliar with these things, I read the executive order and was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is actually possible: --- Sec. 5. Nothing in this order shall prohibit: (b) transactions related to the provision of articles such as food, clothing, and medicine intended to be used to relieve human suffering. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/07/2019-17052/blocking-property-of-the-government-of-venezuela https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/07/2019-17...

inscionent 7y ago

The US government cares not.

blunte 7y ago
this is not the US government. this is the mad orange flexing.
- make3 7y ago
  they voted for him, saddly, and quantitative analyses show he might get elected again
  - whymauri 7y ago
    Where is this analysis?
    - rjf72 7y ago
      As an indirect response to this, if you'd like to see impartial predictions for the next election - turn to Vegas [1]. People betting have a financial incentive, not a political one - so it tends to be a great way to avoid potential bias. If you're not familiar with betting terminology something like "+110" (current odds on Trump) means if you bet $100, you will win $110 in profit. By contrast something like -450 (Clinton's odds on the morning of the election in 2016) means you need to bet $450 to win $100 in profit. So the smaller a number, the more likely it is to happen. Factored into this is going to be a bit of juice. Trump's currently on +110 so Vegas is saying the next election is basically a coin flip. For an example of this revealing things that regular polls might not, it's also showing that Biden is a pretty sizable dog to Warren (+550 vs +375). You can now use these numbers to see how close your predictions come to what the market is suggesting. So for instance let's imagine you think Trump has a 50% chance of winning. What would be your expected value if you bet $100 on this? It's: 0.5 * -$100 + 0.5 * $110 = $5. So you have expected value there of a 5% gain, so you're slightly more optimistic than Vegas - though once you factor in the juice/vig/'tax' it's about even. Now let's imagine that you think Biden or Warren stand a 60% chance of winning (30% a piece) with 40% for Trump, and so you put $100 on each of them. We can again work out the math. 0.4 * -$200 + 0.3 * $550 + 0.3 * $375 = $197.5. That means that if your expectation is accurate, you would have an expected value of doubling any wager. So you are going pretty far away from what the market thinks, and if you believe this to be objectively accurate - it'd be a terrific wagering opportunity. [1] - http://www.lasvegassportsbetting.com/2020-US-Presidential-Election-Las-Vegas-Odds_P14398.html http://www.lasvegassportsbetting.com/2020-US-Presidential-El...
  - blunte 7y ago
    If by "they" you mean the electoral college, then yes. But if you mean "they" as in The People, then no - they voted for Hillary Clinton. I'm not a fan of either, for the record; but even with the voting irregularities which indicate fraud in favor of Trump, > 50% of the popular vote was for Clinton.
    - rootlocus 7y ago
      Trump's campaign was finely tuned to win the electoral college, because that was the winning condition. If there was no electoral college, his campaign would've been different, and he might've won either way.
    - make3 7y ago
      I'm against Trump, but you can't move the goalposts after an election. There is no reason to think he would not have had a different strategy had the system been on popular vote instead of using the electoral college
- Matticus_Rex 7y ago
  Well, that's how the US Government works in practice, so...
  - blunte 7y ago
    Not traditionally. Executive Orders are essentially out-of-band governmental actions. Normally (the normality that preceded the current administration and even the previous one), Congress would produce bills which sometimes would become laws. Those would be the significant policy changes. Now there are comparatively few Congressional effects and more Executive Orders.
    - Matticus_Rex 7y ago
      It's the way it works today, and the way it has worked in the last two presidencies as well. Yes, I'd love a big crackdown on EOs (a drum I've been beating since the Bush presidency).
    - nickysielicki 7y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_executive_orders#Consolidated_list_by_President https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_federal_... It's not really true that it's "not traditionally" the way that government works. The first half of the 20th century is the watermark. Not that I remotely disagree with you in principle, just want to make the point that this isn't some recent development that we can swing back towards normalcy --- it's been this way and there's no going back.
    - rjf72 7y ago
      This insanity started much earlier than that. For one extreme example see executive order 6102 [1]. In 1933 FDR passed an executive order that made it a criminal act for Americans to possess any private gold coins, bullion, or certificated ownership. They were required to turn over all their gold to the government in exchange for about $400 per ounce in inflation adjusted prices. Refusing to do so was punishable by up to a $194,000 fine and ten years in prison. And this was topped off by the "gold reserve act" [2] passed the following year which let the government artificially set the price of gold. FDR chose a 75% increase. Makes modern executive orders look downright tame by comparison, and this is from a president that would go down extremely positively in history. [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_6102 [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Reserve_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Reserve_Act

jpablo 7y ago

You can get a refund trough your credit card I guess.

sharpneli 7y ago
Unless it was done via non american credit card (No Visa nor Mastercard) it’s no can do. They also lose their credit cards.
- aembleton 7y ago
  I wonder if this will be a good opportunity for AliPay to move into Venezuela.
- im3w1l 7y ago
  Could they counter by not paying off their credit card balance?

khawkins 7y ago

Can we put this into perspective? The Venezuelan economy is in shambles, a hyperinflationary crisis that has forced millions out of the country as food is so scarce people are forced to eat zoo animals and pets. The government is illegitimate and destroying aid trucks trying to bring food and medical supplies to their people. But here we are, complaining that the well-connected wealthy at the top of this mess can't get a refund for their purchase of Adobe Photoshop. Given that Maduro has nationalized nearly all of the major corporations in the nation, you necessarily can't be wealthy enough to own this software without being an open ally. This action hurts people in that country, but it's supposed to hurt because until they get rid of their self-destructive government things won't begin to get better.

MichaelDickens 7y ago
Being unable to get a refund for Photoshop is clearly not the biggest problem in Venezuela right now, but it's still a problem, and it's relevant to OP's link. We are allowed to talk about problems even if they're relatively small.
dragonwriter 7y ago
> But here we are, complaining that the well-connected wealthy at the top of this mess can't get a refund for their purchase of Adobe Photoshop. I'd be more concerned that, e.g.,non-regime-aligned publishers can't continue using Creative Cloud that they've paid for than that anyone can't get a refund.
- mkhpalm 7y ago
  Are there any non-regime-aligned publishers around in Venezuela? I suspect you start doing that sort of thing and you find yourself facing bigger problems than Adobe Creative Cloud.
- nojvek 7y ago
  It’s still a problem because Adobe stole money from their users and didn’t deliver on their promise. Sure it’s in the name of Executive order but still leaves a bad taste. It says you can’t trust Adobe.

tagh 7y ago

I'd like to see what Adobe's plans are for the profits they receive in not refunding their clients (however small). A donation to a Venezuela emergency appeal would go down well. Edit: deleted "Can't apologise after you drop a sales nuke" in favour of a more measured comment.

CamelCaseName 7y ago
"A donation to a Venezuela emergency appeal would go down well." Unfamiliar with these things, I read the executive order and was pleasantly surprised to discover that this is actually possible: --- Sec. 5. Nothing in this order shall prohibit: (b) transactions related to the provision of articles such as food, clothing, and medicine intended to be used to relieve human suffering. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/07/2019-17052/blocking-property-of-the-government-of-venezuela https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/08/07/2019-17...