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There's a rich tradition of self-interested complaint in this industry. This reminds me of Fred Wilson's complaining about startup lawyer fees[1], Aaron Greensp

There's a rich tradition of self-interested complaint in this industry. This reminds me of Fred Wilson's complaining about startup lawyer fees[1], Aaron Greenspan's complaining about the Money Transmission Act[2], and pg's Patent Pledge[3]. Not that people shouldn't speak for the causes of their choosing, but you do lose some rhetorical impact if you only do so once you have a horse in the race. [1] http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/03/a-challenge-to-startup-lawyers.html http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/03/a-challenge-to-startup-lawye... [2] http://www.quora.com/Aaron-Greenspan/In-Fifty-Days-Payments-Innovation-Will-Stop-In-Silicon-Valley http://www.quora.com/Aaron-Greenspan/In-Fifty-Days-Payments-... [3] http://www.paulgraham.com/patentpledge.html http://www.paulgraham.com/patentpledge.html

pjin 15y ago
Don't forget the classic Open Letter to Hobbyists [4]. [4] http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/gateswhine.html http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/gateswhine.html
thinkcomp 15y ago
At least in my case (I'm Aaron) I don't think that a fair comparison at all. Sean Parker is concerned that not enough talented people work at a company he has a stake in. That's fair, but only that company can benefit if his concern is alleviated (at the cost of others). I'm concerned that an entire industry of companies has been quashed by anti-competitive laws, not just in California, but nationwide, raising prices for merchants and consumers across the country due to monopolistic business tactics that have been well-documented. It's affected my company, as well as about ten I've gotten e-mails from and probably a hundred that never started up in the first place or don't want to admit that they're caught up in it, too. Therefore it seems a bit broader than my own self-interest. And you can call me selfish, but I don't see any other self-interested parties stepping up to the plate on this one. The counterpoint to the horse-in-the-race argument is that there is absolutely no way I would have known anything about money transmission laws unless I had a horse in the race. Some of these topics are pretty esoteric and I think that it's good when specialists speak up about them.

pjin 15y ago

Don't forget the classic Open Letter to Hobbyists [4]. [4] http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/gateswhine.html http://www.blinkenlights.com/classiccmp/gateswhine.html

thinkcomp 15y ago

At least in my case (I'm Aaron) I don't think that a fair comparison at all. Sean Parker is concerned that not enough talented people work at a company he has a stake in. That's fair, but only that company can benefit if his concern is alleviated (at the cost of others). I'm concerned that an entire industry of companies has been quashed by anti-competitive laws, not just in California, but nationwide, raising prices for merchants and consumers across the country due to monopolistic business tactics that have been well-documented. It's affected my company, as well as about ten I've gotten e-mails from and probably a hundred that never started up in the first place or don't want to admit that they're caught up in it, too. Therefore it seems a bit broader than my own self-interest. And you can call me selfish, but I don't see any other self-interested parties stepping up to the plate on this one. The counterpoint to the horse-in-the-race argument is that there is absolutely no way I would have known anything about money transmission laws unless I had a horse in the race. Some of these topics are pretty esoteric and I think that it's good when specialists speak up about them.