4 ms·

I don't understand how unions would help here. Closed platforms are in the interest of developers. Devs make a good amount of money on closed platforms like iOS

by durovo 5y ago

I don't understand how unions would help here. Closed platforms are in the interest of developers. Devs make a good amount of money on closed platforms like iOS. Closed platforms are not in the interest of users.

arvinsim 5y ago
Developers are also users.
- whatshisface 5y ago
  A consumer union is an interesting idea but not what people think of when you say "union." It is actually a really good idea if you think about it... if labor unions can counterbalance labor monopsonies maybe consumer unions can counterbalance monopolies.
  - nomel 5y ago
    I think the problem is that the overwhelming majority of consumers don't care at all about, or even are aware of (because they don't care), anything being discussed here. Tell a non-tech person that their data is being harvested by Google and Facebook, and see what they reaction is.
heavyset_go 5y ago
Unions can help implement democratic processes for deciding how to work and what to work on. For example, Kickstarter unionized in 2020. One of things that initiated unionization was this lack of democratic decision making at Kickstarter[1]: > One of the changes that most angered employees was the decision to end Drip, announced in late 2018. Drip was a tool that had been developed to let creators of projects on the site start subscriptions, similar to Patreon, allowing them to build sustainable revenue streams. Eliminating the tool “came out of the blue,” Zhang says, with “no consultation” with employees who were affected. “It seemed to be at the whim of one person to just make a blanket decision,” she adds. If employees are working on projects that go against their users' interests, democratic decision making can give them a voice that they otherwise wouldn't have. [1] https://www.wired.com/story/how-kickstarter-employees-formed-union/ https://www.wired.com/story/how-kickstarter-employees-formed...

by durovo 5y ago

arvinsim 5y ago

Developers are also users.

whatshisface 5y ago
A consumer union is an interesting idea but not what people think of when you say "union." It is actually a really good idea if you think about it... if labor unions can counterbalance labor monopsonies maybe consumer unions can counterbalance monopolies.
- nomel 5y ago
  I think the problem is that the overwhelming majority of consumers don't care at all about, or even are aware of (because they don't care), anything being discussed here. Tell a non-tech person that their data is being harvested by Google and Facebook, and see what they reaction is.

heavyset_go 5y ago

Unions can help implement democratic processes for deciding how to work and what to work on. For example, Kickstarter unionized in 2020. One of things that initiated unionization was this lack of democratic decision making at Kickstarter[1]: > One of the changes that most angered employees was the decision to end Drip, announced in late 2018. Drip was a tool that had been developed to let creators of projects on the site start subscriptions, similar to Patreon, allowing them to build sustainable revenue streams. Eliminating the tool “came out of the blue,” Zhang says, with “no consultation” with employees who were affected. “It seemed to be at the whim of one person to just make a blanket decision,” she adds. If employees are working on projects that go against their users' interests, democratic decision making can give them a voice that they otherwise wouldn't have. [1] https://www.wired.com/story/how-kickstarter-employees-formed-union/ https://www.wired.com/story/how-kickstarter-employees-formed...