4 ms·

They can give their password to a trusted friend/family member, and have them log in once every few months to keep the account active. Yes, it’s a pain, what if

They can give their password to a trusted friend/family member, and have them log in once every few months to keep the account active. Yes, it’s a pain, what if they forget, etc, but it means a 2+ year sentence does not necessarily entail losing one’s account. Could someone start a subscription paid service for the incarcerated - “we keep your accounts alive while you are inside”? More broadly, could provide other “manage your affairs for you while you are incarcerated” services. I suppose many incarcerated people would have no income or assets to pay for it, but some would, or their family might be willing to pay for it.

echelon 3y ago
Seems like an opportunity (sadly) for a service to manage these things. Google isn't the only provider that would need regular logins. Twitter, Twitch, etc. have account inactivity policies.
bombcar 3y ago
Hell, the local police will probably happily login to your email whilst you're in jail, just sign away your 4th and 5th while you're at it ... It's one more thing you have to know to think about - though if the system counts automated logins as logins, then maybe fetchmail has a purpose again.
tuukkah 3y ago
Yes, let's profit from their misery and invest some of the proceeds to lobby for policies that secure and further grow this customer segment. /s
- skissane 3y ago
  You make it sound like the only possible motivation a person might have to start such a business would be to exploit the incarcerated. What if the founder is a former inmate, and says “I wish there was something like that available when I was on the inside?” Even if the business is officially classified as “for-profit”, there’s a big difference between a business seeking a living wage for its founders and employees versus one trying to make as much money as possible. In fact, it could even be owned by a charity - sometimes charities start 100% owned for-profit businesses, not because they want immense returns, but simply because sometimes the legal constraints on a charity can be too limiting, but a for-profit subsidiary isn’t subject to them I have no interest in starting such a business myself, anyway.
  - prophesi 3y ago
    It's a large nation-wide industry, so I imagine at some point during the business's growth, the founder may be bought out, or the oversight of corporate management lets profit drive the decisions in its various departments.
    - skissane 3y ago
      It is possible if you design the corporate structure right to prevent that. See my other comment about the Scott Trust - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35967694 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35967694
  - tuukkah 3y ago
    I know this is HN but the first reaction to a broken system should be to fix it, not build a business on top of it.
    - sokoloff 3y ago
      You can effect change in May 2023 if you start now on the business. When will you be able to effect change if the only strategy is “fix the whole system”? It won’t be this year and probably not this decade. Which strategy gives a better outcome for someone incarcerated today?
      - kerkeslager 3y ago
        > You can effect change in May 2023 if you start now on the business. And in May 2033, you can lobby to keep the system broken so that you can maintain your business! Businesses solve one problem, and one problem only: how to get money into the business owner's pockets.
        xpe 3y ago
        This is far too simplistic. Some businesses don’t even really want to make money; some intentionally lose it for tax purposes. :) But seriously… in the course of doing business, businesses affect the world, which can indirectly lead to various impacts, some of which are good.
vuln 3y ago
They have email, internet, social media and video chat in jail. It costs a lot of money but they have the ability to access the internet. The library has free or reduced cost internet but the tablet in the cell is the big bucks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_prisons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_prisons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPay
gessha 3y ago
How about we stop monetizing people’s misery and start treating them like humans? People get drunk on money and start trying to monetize every single interaction in life. People make mistakes, go down the wrong path and go to jail if their wrongs are bad enough. That doesn’t mean they should have even more of a mine stripped road back to society.
- Gigachad 3y ago
  This is already common for most business models. When you chuck your stuff in a storage locker and then vanish for 2 years without paying, you know what they do? They cut the lock off and sell your stuff to some stranger.
  - gessha 3y ago
    You choose to put your belongings in a storage locker. You don’t choose to go to jail.

echelon 3y ago

Seems like an opportunity (sadly) for a service to manage these things. Google isn't the only provider that would need regular logins. Twitter, Twitch, etc. have account inactivity policies.

bombcar 3y ago

Hell, the local police will probably happily login to your email whilst you're in jail, just sign away your 4th and 5th while you're at it ... It's one more thing you have to know to think about - though if the system counts automated logins as logins, then maybe fetchmail has a purpose again.

tuukkah 3y ago

Yes, let's profit from their misery and invest some of the proceeds to lobby for policies that secure and further grow this customer segment. /s

skissane 3y ago
You make it sound like the only possible motivation a person might have to start such a business would be to exploit the incarcerated. What if the founder is a former inmate, and says “I wish there was something like that available when I was on the inside?” Even if the business is officially classified as “for-profit”, there’s a big difference between a business seeking a living wage for its founders and employees versus one trying to make as much money as possible. In fact, it could even be owned by a charity - sometimes charities start 100% owned for-profit businesses, not because they want immense returns, but simply because sometimes the legal constraints on a charity can be too limiting, but a for-profit subsidiary isn’t subject to them I have no interest in starting such a business myself, anyway.
- prophesi 3y ago
  It's a large nation-wide industry, so I imagine at some point during the business's growth, the founder may be bought out, or the oversight of corporate management lets profit drive the decisions in its various departments.
  - skissane 3y ago
    It is possible if you design the corporate structure right to prevent that. See my other comment about the Scott Trust - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35967694 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35967694
- tuukkah 3y ago
  I know this is HN but the first reaction to a broken system should be to fix it, not build a business on top of it.
  - sokoloff 3y ago
    You can effect change in May 2023 if you start now on the business. When will you be able to effect change if the only strategy is “fix the whole system”? It won’t be this year and probably not this decade. Which strategy gives a better outcome for someone incarcerated today?
    - kerkeslager 3y ago
      > You can effect change in May 2023 if you start now on the business. And in May 2033, you can lobby to keep the system broken so that you can maintain your business! Businesses solve one problem, and one problem only: how to get money into the business owner's pockets.
      - xpe 3y ago
        This is far too simplistic. Some businesses don’t even really want to make money; some intentionally lose it for tax purposes. :) But seriously… in the course of doing business, businesses affect the world, which can indirectly lead to various impacts, some of which are good.

vuln 3y ago

They have email, internet, social media and video chat in jail. It costs a lot of money but they have the ability to access the internet. The library has free or reduced cost internet but the tablet in the cell is the big bucks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_prisons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_prisons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JPay

gessha 3y ago

How about we stop monetizing people’s misery and start treating them like humans? People get drunk on money and start trying to monetize every single interaction in life. People make mistakes, go down the wrong path and go to jail if their wrongs are bad enough. That doesn’t mean they should have even more of a mine stripped road back to society.

Gigachad 3y ago
This is already common for most business models. When you chuck your stuff in a storage locker and then vanish for 2 years without paying, you know what they do? They cut the lock off and sell your stuff to some stranger.
- gessha 3y ago
  You choose to put your belongings in a storage locker. You don’t choose to go to jail.