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Explicitly telling some junior software developer in China that he can call an API for free an unlimited number of times, then afterwards calling it abuse and h

Explicitly telling some junior software developer in China that he can call an API for free an unlimited number of times, then afterwards calling it abuse and him and a-hole dev is definitively a bit of an a-hole thing to do in my view.

wiseowise 3y ago
It says that you can call it unlimited number of times, not millions of devices that you’re selling.
- nitrammm 3y ago
  It says: > Supports unlimited requests and is free. Typically "unlimited" is more than a million.
  - wiseowise 3y ago
    Water in a lake is also technically free (depending on local laws), do I have to make it clear that inviting millions to take a cup out of it is not a good idea?
    - nitrammm 3y ago
      This is the internet? If there are a million people around the lake fond of tea then of course you need to tell them that they can't consume all the water. Offering a free service and being upset when people use it is just naive.
- KomoD 3y ago
  Last I checked unlimited is more than millions
  - junon 3y ago
    This mindset is why we need "do not use while sleeping" warning labels on toasters and hair dryers.
    - nitrammm 3y ago
      This would be very valid comment if toasters had manuals telling that they are perfectly safe to use while sleeping. If you lie in your marketing material then you may put yourself in a mess. Big surprise.
    - KomoD 3y ago
      No, advertising unlimited and then complaining when someone truly does use unlimited is not a problem with my mindset, it's a problem with the person who runs the service, if you don't want people to truly use unlimited, don't advertise unlimited.
  - wiseowise 3y ago
    Sure, you specifically can use it million times, or even more (given your span of life). If your audience is millions of users it’s millions * millions, not cool.
    - nitrammm 3y ago
      So if someone doesn't undeestand this assumption, then they are an asshole? That's pretty crazy viewpoint.
      - wiseowise 3y ago
        > So if someone doesn't undeestand this assumption, then they are an asshole? Yes. > That's pretty crazy viewpoint. Companies that make millions of devices while abusing free APIs without giving anything back are assholes. Hmm, let me think? No, it’s not.
        nitrammm 3y ago
        You must be living in a bubble if you think that's how companies operate. Saying that someone is an asshole for using an API in a way which clearly should be possible according to the documentation is a very clear sign of that person being a junior developer who don't have actual real world experience of anything except toy projects. Any developer with some years of experience would understand that this would happen and he should not be surprised over it. It's very possible that no one involved in this is even aware of this issue, so automatically calling them assholes is somewhat incompetent at best.
        KomoD 3y ago
        > Companies that make millions of devices while abusing free APIs without giving anything back are assholes. If a service is free & "unlimited" and they start using it, and you get mad, then that is not their fault, it's yours.
Dudeman112 3y ago
There's always an individual with autism-level consideration for what one says, isn't there? No, effectively DDOS-ing a service just because it says it's free and unlimited is a dick move People like those are a big reason for why we can't have nice things
- nitrammm 3y ago
  To me it just screams naivety to put up a free service, advertise it as unlimited and then calling people asshole when they make too many requests. Personally I would never rely on a service like this since it's 100% obvious it would be sudpectible to junior developers misunderstanding what is reasonable usage. If you're putting up an API assuming all consumers will consume it in some limited and reasonable way, then you need to rethink things a bit.
- corobo 3y ago
  > There's always an individual with autism-level consideration for what one says, isn't there? What does this sentence even mean lmao Autism-level consideration for what one says or not, if you say something is unlimited I'm going to take your word for it. If it's limited, tell me the limits. If it's free to a point, tell me the point. If I need to bust out the CC, tell me I need to bust out the CC. Don't say your thing is free and unlimited if you can't handle unlimited traffic for free.. Hacker News would be on the complete opposite end of the anger scale if this was an ISP telling their users they can't actually use the "unlimited" they promised, haha
  - Dudeman112 3y ago
    >What does this sentence even mean lmao >if you say something is unlimited I'm going to take your word for it The sentence refers to people like you. It doesn't make you incredibly clever to consider those sentences literally, like small children or those with under-developed empathy and theory of mind often do It just makes you an inconsiderate numpty >Hacker News would be on the complete opposite Yes, there are lots of people on the tech scene that just don't get ideas like "don't abuse it", or "considering the consequences for other people"

wiseowise 3y ago

It says that you can call it unlimited number of times, not millions of devices that you’re selling.

nitrammm 3y ago
It says: > Supports unlimited requests and is free. Typically "unlimited" is more than a million.
- wiseowise 3y ago
  Water in a lake is also technically free (depending on local laws), do I have to make it clear that inviting millions to take a cup out of it is not a good idea?
  - nitrammm 3y ago
    This is the internet? If there are a million people around the lake fond of tea then of course you need to tell them that they can't consume all the water. Offering a free service and being upset when people use it is just naive.
KomoD 3y ago
Last I checked unlimited is more than millions
- junon 3y ago
  This mindset is why we need "do not use while sleeping" warning labels on toasters and hair dryers.
  - nitrammm 3y ago
    This would be very valid comment if toasters had manuals telling that they are perfectly safe to use while sleeping. If you lie in your marketing material then you may put yourself in a mess. Big surprise.
  - KomoD 3y ago
    No, advertising unlimited and then complaining when someone truly does use unlimited is not a problem with my mindset, it's a problem with the person who runs the service, if you don't want people to truly use unlimited, don't advertise unlimited.
- wiseowise 3y ago
  Sure, you specifically can use it million times, or even more (given your span of life). If your audience is millions of users it’s millions * millions, not cool.
  - nitrammm 3y ago
    So if someone doesn't undeestand this assumption, then they are an asshole? That's pretty crazy viewpoint.
    - wiseowise 3y ago
      > So if someone doesn't undeestand this assumption, then they are an asshole? Yes. > That's pretty crazy viewpoint. Companies that make millions of devices while abusing free APIs without giving anything back are assholes. Hmm, let me think? No, it’s not.
      - nitrammm 3y ago
        You must be living in a bubble if you think that's how companies operate. Saying that someone is an asshole for using an API in a way which clearly should be possible according to the documentation is a very clear sign of that person being a junior developer who don't have actual real world experience of anything except toy projects. Any developer with some years of experience would understand that this would happen and he should not be surprised over it. It's very possible that no one involved in this is even aware of this issue, so automatically calling them assholes is somewhat incompetent at best.
      - KomoD 3y ago
        > Companies that make millions of devices while abusing free APIs without giving anything back are assholes. If a service is free & "unlimited" and they start using it, and you get mad, then that is not their fault, it's yours.

Dudeman112 3y ago

There's always an individual with autism-level consideration for what one says, isn't there? No, effectively DDOS-ing a service just because it says it's free and unlimited is a dick move People like those are a big reason for why we can't have nice things

nitrammm 3y ago
To me it just screams naivety to put up a free service, advertise it as unlimited and then calling people asshole when they make too many requests. Personally I would never rely on a service like this since it's 100% obvious it would be sudpectible to junior developers misunderstanding what is reasonable usage. If you're putting up an API assuming all consumers will consume it in some limited and reasonable way, then you need to rethink things a bit.
corobo 3y ago
> There's always an individual with autism-level consideration for what one says, isn't there? What does this sentence even mean lmao Autism-level consideration for what one says or not, if you say something is unlimited I'm going to take your word for it. If it's limited, tell me the limits. If it's free to a point, tell me the point. If I need to bust out the CC, tell me I need to bust out the CC. Don't say your thing is free and unlimited if you can't handle unlimited traffic for free.. Hacker News would be on the complete opposite end of the anger scale if this was an ISP telling their users they can't actually use the "unlimited" they promised, haha
- Dudeman112 3y ago
  >What does this sentence even mean lmao >if you say something is unlimited I'm going to take your word for it The sentence refers to people like you. It doesn't make you incredibly clever to consider those sentences literally, like small children or those with under-developed empathy and theory of mind often do It just makes you an inconsiderate numpty >Hacker News would be on the complete opposite Yes, there are lots of people on the tech scene that just don't get ideas like "don't abuse it", or "considering the consequences for other people"