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Ahh, yes, the "drug dealer" model of sales. Netflix also famously went this route, allowing rampant password sharing and then deciding "Hey, we want to get pai

Ahh, yes, the "drug dealer" model of sales. Netflix also famously went this route, allowing rampant password sharing and then deciding "Hey, we want to get paid!" On one hand I don't have a problem with companies wanting to get paid for what they produce, but on the other, given that allowing the piracy is a deliberate decision they made from the get-go, I don't have a problem telling them to get bent once they decide "Time for profits! Enshittification it is..."

okr 2y ago
I wish i had a product that people just wanna use and i have not figured out yet, how to monetize it. What a luxury position to be in. Sigh.
- eru 2y ago
  You can give away dollar bills. It's a service that lots of people really want to use. You just need to figure out how to charge for it. (Lest you think I am joking, have a look at the 'MoviePass economy.')
johnnyanmac 2y ago
There's defintieyl some MBA's crunching numbers, but I don't think piracy is "deliberate" per se. It's more an inevtiability, as inevitable as it is that businesses find ways around it. Deliberacy is companies dumping low key sanctioned torrents themselves (which is stupid, because even back in the 90's there was the idea of "lite/trial/watermarked" versions of software). That said, this strategy is surefire when it comes to consumer products like Windows. Consumers will stick with what thye are comfortable with. The Network Effect. It's a huge gamble for professional tools like Adobe, and they are somewhat lucky there wasn't a timeline where GIMP un-GIMPED itself, nor where Krita and other modern competitors didn't get adopted faster. There's money at stake, so professionals can and will learn new tools if the tools bite them.
jameshart 2y ago
I’m not sure you can get away with the syllogism that just because some business practice is used by drug dealers it is automatically unethical if a legitimate business does the same thing. It’s like when someone offers to sell you a product weighed in grams, you can’t just say ‘ah yes, the drug dealer measurement system’ and dismiss their business out of hand. Because I don’t think the moral issue people have with drug dealers is that they take a deliberately easy going attitude to theft of their merchandise and allow others to profit from selling it to a territory, only to later on increase their prices.
- caseyohara 2y ago
  This is an especially weird thing for you to point out because they made no judgement of the ethics of the sales model, only remarked on the likeness.
  - dotancohen 2y ago
    To be fair, the consumer computer industry is the only industry other than drug dealers who call their clients "users".
    - biglost 2y ago
      Here un Chile, pacients at hospitals are called users by nurses and others alike. It's really weird
      - eru 2y ago
        Well, 'patient' comes from the Latin word for 'sufferer'. So I'd rather nurses and doctors call me a 'customer' or even a 'user.
- fastball 2y ago
  Also drug dealers don't even do that. No drug dealer is just gonna give you drugs for free because you're a first time customer and they want you to get addicted.

okr 2y ago

I wish i had a product that people just wanna use and i have not figured out yet, how to monetize it. What a luxury position to be in. Sigh.

eru 2y ago
You can give away dollar bills. It's a service that lots of people really want to use. You just need to figure out how to charge for it. (Lest you think I am joking, have a look at the 'MoviePass economy.')

johnnyanmac 2y ago

There's defintieyl some MBA's crunching numbers, but I don't think piracy is "deliberate" per se. It's more an inevtiability, as inevitable as it is that businesses find ways around it. Deliberacy is companies dumping low key sanctioned torrents themselves (which is stupid, because even back in the 90's there was the idea of "lite/trial/watermarked" versions of software). That said, this strategy is surefire when it comes to consumer products like Windows. Consumers will stick with what thye are comfortable with. The Network Effect. It's a huge gamble for professional tools like Adobe, and they are somewhat lucky there wasn't a timeline where GIMP un-GIMPED itself, nor where Krita and other modern competitors didn't get adopted faster. There's money at stake, so professionals can and will learn new tools if the tools bite them.

jameshart 2y ago

I’m not sure you can get away with the syllogism that just because some business practice is used by drug dealers it is automatically unethical if a legitimate business does the same thing. It’s like when someone offers to sell you a product weighed in grams, you can’t just say ‘ah yes, the drug dealer measurement system’ and dismiss their business out of hand. Because I don’t think the moral issue people have with drug dealers is that they take a deliberately easy going attitude to theft of their merchandise and allow others to profit from selling it to a territory, only to later on increase their prices.

caseyohara 2y ago
This is an especially weird thing for you to point out because they made no judgement of the ethics of the sales model, only remarked on the likeness.
- dotancohen 2y ago
  To be fair, the consumer computer industry is the only industry other than drug dealers who call their clients "users".
  - biglost 2y ago
    Here un Chile, pacients at hospitals are called users by nurses and others alike. It's really weird
    - eru 2y ago
      Well, 'patient' comes from the Latin word for 'sufferer'. So I'd rather nurses and doctors call me a 'customer' or even a 'user.
fastball 2y ago
Also drug dealers don't even do that. No drug dealer is just gonna give you drugs for free because you're a first time customer and they want you to get addicted.