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> One problem with this attitude is that it doesn't lead to a smoothly functioning economy. If I have to worry that any online service might chose to shut down

> One problem with this attitude is that it doesn't lead to a smoothly functioning economy. If I have to worry that any online service might chose to shut down my access for any arbitrary reason, then I am strongly disincentived from using online services. You're looking at only one side of the issue, and the smaller one at that. Let me flip it around for you: One problem with the attitude that by providing an online service I'm obligated to maintain it for users I don't wish to is that it doesn't lead to a smoothly functioning economy. If I have to worry about supporting users when it's against my better interest, then I am strongly disincentivized from offering an online service.

nessus42 14y ago
> If I have to worry about supporting users when it's against my better interest, then I am strongly disincentivized from offering an online service. The situation is different for individuals or small companies than it is for large companies. Large companies (that are not structured as mutuals, or somesuch) generally only have one interest: maximizing their profit. But they often tend to use a Prisoner's Dilemma's strategy against the world that might maximize their next quarterly return but does not act to make the economic pie bigger for everyone.