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Missing one fundamental feature of a ponzi scheme: the transfer of value from the victims to the entity running the scheme. Folks have occasionally claimed with

Missing one fundamental feature of a ponzi scheme: the transfer of value from the victims to the entity running the scheme. Folks have occasionally claimed without evidence that photos are being used to train nefarious machine learning models. But in fact the free tier of storage has simply been that: an entirely free halo product.

taeric 6y ago
At least for internet bandwidth, it is more like an insurance scheme. You pay more than you probably need/use. Such that the seller gets to price in the risk for them that you will actually be a heavy user. And, like insurance, if you are actually a high cost user, you are probably SOoL. :(
- asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
  I think all these analogies are quite leaky. There is a very simple rule that can be used to explain situations like this, without any awkward analogies: don't expect to be able to indefinitely cost a company much more money than they make from you.
  - taeric 6y ago
    I don't even really disagree. But I should be able to expect that they can't advertise what they can't deliver.
    - asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
      I don't know why you would expect that. There is copious evidence that, over time, the signal from advertisements and statements decays. There are a few companies that still follow policies they put in place decades ago, but it is the unusual case. Moreover, "unlimited storage," of course, does not mean unlimited storage forever. Nobody and nothing can give you forever. It means there is no limit presently.
      - taeric 6y ago
        You are arguing past me. I'm talking about "unlimited" plans being sold today, that have rather low limits. You are grand standing that everything is limited. Which, yes. Yes it is. Should we allow folks to sell unlimited gigabit connections, but only have a connector in their data center? That you can only use for limited time? Now, do I agree with unlimited promotionals that will eventually go away? Yes. Do I like loss leaders that are basically made to gas light and destroy competition with the obvious goal of just out lasting how long the competition can manage? No. I find that rather reprehensible.
    - dodobirdlord 6y ago
      They don't, the fine print always explains what the company means by "unlimited".
      - taeric 6y ago
        Of course they do. But they are certainly playing on the mind of the average consumer who thinks they are buying more access than they are. We don't accept that from "door buster" deals in papers. Curious why we fully accept it from cell providers.

taeric 6y ago

At least for internet bandwidth, it is more like an insurance scheme. You pay more than you probably need/use. Such that the seller gets to price in the risk for them that you will actually be a heavy user. And, like insurance, if you are actually a high cost user, you are probably SOoL. :(

asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
I think all these analogies are quite leaky. There is a very simple rule that can be used to explain situations like this, without any awkward analogies: don't expect to be able to indefinitely cost a company much more money than they make from you.
- taeric 6y ago
  I don't even really disagree. But I should be able to expect that they can't advertise what they can't deliver.
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 6y ago
    I don't know why you would expect that. There is copious evidence that, over time, the signal from advertisements and statements decays. There are a few companies that still follow policies they put in place decades ago, but it is the unusual case. Moreover, "unlimited storage," of course, does not mean unlimited storage forever. Nobody and nothing can give you forever. It means there is no limit presently.
    - taeric 6y ago
      You are arguing past me. I'm talking about "unlimited" plans being sold today, that have rather low limits. You are grand standing that everything is limited. Which, yes. Yes it is. Should we allow folks to sell unlimited gigabit connections, but only have a connector in their data center? That you can only use for limited time? Now, do I agree with unlimited promotionals that will eventually go away? Yes. Do I like loss leaders that are basically made to gas light and destroy competition with the obvious goal of just out lasting how long the competition can manage? No. I find that rather reprehensible.
  - dodobirdlord 6y ago
    They don't, the fine print always explains what the company means by "unlimited".
    - taeric 6y ago
      Of course they do. But they are certainly playing on the mind of the average consumer who thinks they are buying more access than they are. We don't accept that from "door buster" deals in papers. Curious why we fully accept it from cell providers.