4 ms·

That is an interesting point. I feel like there will be people telling me that I am exploiting people's loneliness if I ever make a penny from this. I do not p

That is an interesting point. I feel like there will be people telling me that I am exploiting people's loneliness if I ever make a penny from this. I do not plan to put the current experience behind a paywall ever. This platform should be available to everyone as they need it. But I was thinking of providing cute premium features like stickers to enrich their experience. Would you say those are a no-go as well?

wittenbunk 3y ago
It would undermine your stated mission imo
p-e-w 3y ago
> I feel like there will be people telling me that I am exploiting people's loneliness if I ever make a penny from this. That would be a silly objection, like claiming restaurants are exploiting people's hunger by selling food for money. That being said, the moment such a platform makes a single iota of data about their users (even seemingly mundane information such as how many users there are, their geographic distribution, how many messages the average user writes etc.) available to anyone for any purpose – including research and non-profit purposes – I would consider the whole enterprise to have turned unethical. It doesn't matter whether the field of psychology could benefit from it, or what the "greater good" might be. It has to be crystal clear and non-negotiable that the only use for those messages is going to be letting other regular users listen to them. You should also think about what you will do in case law enforcement demands access to user data. The less information you store, the better. Consider automatically deleting messages after a period of time, or similar proactive measures. And of course, maintain a strict process for disposing of backups, else the "delete my data" function is effectively worthless.
- jaybhum 3y ago
  I appreciate your thoughtful input! I agree, if we EVER make an iota of data about the users, that should be included in the terms and conditions of the app. The way we put the app out there to the users right now is with the understanding that we will not make any data, so we will uphold that. Regarding law enforcement: I think that could be a good idea. Have the data permanently deleted after a period of time and/or ensure backups are deleted completely. Thank you for your feedback!
- h0l0cube 3y ago
  > That would be a silly objection, like claiming restaurants are exploiting people's hunger by selling food for money. A bit of a broken analogy, but if I were to indulge, it’s similar to denying rice to starving people who’ve lost all worldly possessions in a war-ravaged country because they couldn’t pay up. There are wellness apps that give a no-questions-asked zero subscription to anyone who says they can't afford the cost. This is potentially one way out. But a freemium model, where paying people get better features of some consequence, is a little demoralizing, and you probably don't want to demoralize people with mental health issues, IMHO

wittenbunk 3y ago

It would undermine your stated mission imo

p-e-w 3y ago

> I feel like there will be people telling me that I am exploiting people's loneliness if I ever make a penny from this. That would be a silly objection, like claiming restaurants are exploiting people's hunger by selling food for money. That being said, the moment such a platform makes a single iota of data about their users (even seemingly mundane information such as how many users there are, their geographic distribution, how many messages the average user writes etc.) available to anyone for any purpose – including research and non-profit purposes – I would consider the whole enterprise to have turned unethical. It doesn't matter whether the field of psychology could benefit from it, or what the "greater good" might be. It has to be crystal clear and non-negotiable that the only use for those messages is going to be letting other regular users listen to them. You should also think about what you will do in case law enforcement demands access to user data. The less information you store, the better. Consider automatically deleting messages after a period of time, or similar proactive measures. And of course, maintain a strict process for disposing of backups, else the "delete my data" function is effectively worthless.

jaybhum 3y ago
I appreciate your thoughtful input! I agree, if we EVER make an iota of data about the users, that should be included in the terms and conditions of the app. The way we put the app out there to the users right now is with the understanding that we will not make any data, so we will uphold that. Regarding law enforcement: I think that could be a good idea. Have the data permanently deleted after a period of time and/or ensure backups are deleted completely. Thank you for your feedback!
h0l0cube 3y ago
> That would be a silly objection, like claiming restaurants are exploiting people's hunger by selling food for money. A bit of a broken analogy, but if I were to indulge, it’s similar to denying rice to starving people who’ve lost all worldly possessions in a war-ravaged country because they couldn’t pay up. There are wellness apps that give a no-questions-asked zero subscription to anyone who says they can't afford the cost. This is potentially one way out. But a freemium model, where paying people get better features of some consequence, is a little demoralizing, and you probably don't want to demoralize people with mental health issues, IMHO