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The incumbent in this space is https://www.beeminder.com https://www.beeminder.com where the specific use case shown here about screen time can be configured wi

The incumbent in this space is https://www.beeminder.com https://www.beeminder.com where the specific use case shown here about screen time can be configured with e.g. their RescueTime integration. Beeminder however just take your money for themselves as opposed to giving it to charity. They claim people would otherwise be more prone to giving up on their goals, thinking "oh well, the money is going to charity anyway so I'm doing a good thing by breaking my commitment". The opposite approach would be setting it up so the money goes to an organization whose goals you disagree with.

stri8ted 3y ago
I do hear that. But it seems to me, having the company take the deposit creates perverse incentives, e.g. the company is basically betting on the user breaking their commitment. A key difference also is, by requiring the deposit before resolving the commitment, it removes the escape hatch of just canceling your credit-card. It also generalizes to any app on the platform. I was considering supporting anti-charities (e.g. NRA, DNC etc..), but I thought that was unnecessarily distracting.
- mbork_pl 3y ago
  Long-time Beeminder user here. You are theoretically right, but I don't think it works like this in practice. I've never had a problem with declaring that they should not charge me, and the charge was always canceled if that was TRT. As for the escape hatch: true, but the counterargument by Beeminder people is that you basically cheat yourself then, so what would the point be? In fact, I have many "goals" on Beeminder where I enter data manually, so it's based on a honor system – and I don't think I'm the only one. As for the anti-charities: this is a terrible, terrible idea from moral point of view. Much worse than just "distracting". If I agree (even conditionally) to donate money to an evil cause, I am just committing evil right now. Why would I want to do it?
1123581321 3y ago
While Beeminder does collect when you fail, they make their money from people maintaining premium subscriptions for custom goals and other features. Curiously, one of the premium features is the ability to skip over the small penalties and start at a financial commitment that's too painful for you to let happen. Another premium feature is that some of the money goes to charity. They're dancing with perversity but they make so much more money if their system works for you for a long time.
OJFord 3y ago
> The opposite approach would be setting it up so the money goes to an organization whose goals you disagree with. That's hilarious, but could be really dark & depressing!
kokanee 3y ago
Another incumbent is https://gofuckingdoit.com https://gofuckingdoit.com by the bootstrapping cult icon Pieter Levels.
- ekanes 3y ago
  I love the simplicity and interface, but it seems unclear where the money goes. I can't find a FAQ.
dreeves 3y ago
Beeminder cofounder here! Thanks for the plug! So much to say here but maybe I'll start with a pointer to our philosophy on anti-charities: https://blog.beeminder.com/anticharity/ https://blog.beeminder.com/anticharity/ (short version: we hate them).

stri8ted 3y ago

I do hear that. But it seems to me, having the company take the deposit creates perverse incentives, e.g. the company is basically betting on the user breaking their commitment. A key difference also is, by requiring the deposit before resolving the commitment, it removes the escape hatch of just canceling your credit-card. It also generalizes to any app on the platform. I was considering supporting anti-charities (e.g. NRA, DNC etc..), but I thought that was unnecessarily distracting.

mbork_pl 3y ago
Long-time Beeminder user here. You are theoretically right, but I don't think it works like this in practice. I've never had a problem with declaring that they should not charge me, and the charge was always canceled if that was TRT. As for the escape hatch: true, but the counterargument by Beeminder people is that you basically cheat yourself then, so what would the point be? In fact, I have many "goals" on Beeminder where I enter data manually, so it's based on a honor system – and I don't think I'm the only one. As for the anti-charities: this is a terrible, terrible idea from moral point of view. Much worse than just "distracting". If I agree (even conditionally) to donate money to an evil cause, I am just committing evil right now. Why would I want to do it?

1123581321 3y ago

While Beeminder does collect when you fail, they make their money from people maintaining premium subscriptions for custom goals and other features. Curiously, one of the premium features is the ability to skip over the small penalties and start at a financial commitment that's too painful for you to let happen. Another premium feature is that some of the money goes to charity. They're dancing with perversity but they make so much more money if their system works for you for a long time.

OJFord 3y ago

> The opposite approach would be setting it up so the money goes to an organization whose goals you disagree with. That's hilarious, but could be really dark & depressing!

kokanee 3y ago

Another incumbent is https://gofuckingdoit.com https://gofuckingdoit.com by the bootstrapping cult icon Pieter Levels.

ekanes 3y ago
I love the simplicity and interface, but it seems unclear where the money goes. I can't find a FAQ.

dreeves 3y ago

Beeminder cofounder here! Thanks for the plug! So much to say here but maybe I'll start with a pointer to our philosophy on anti-charities: https://blog.beeminder.com/anticharity/ https://blog.beeminder.com/anticharity/ (short version: we hate them).