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> In long running games, untrustworthy players lose out. Amazon and Microsoft seem to be doing really well for themselves.

by KPGv2 2y ago

Barrin92 2y ago
Because they're trustworthy. If you buy a package on Amazon or Craigslist, who do you trust to deliver it to your door tomorrow? People love the trope that their neighbor is trustworthy and the evil big company isn't, but in reality it's exactly the other way around. If you buy your heart medication you buy it from Bayer or an indie startup? Big, long lived companies excel at delivering exactly what they say they are, and people vote with their wallet on this.
- cynicalpeace 2y ago
  I don't know if Amazon or Microsoft are trustworthy or not. But I agree with your point. And it gets very ugly when these big institutions suddenly lose trust. They almost always deserve it, but it can upend daily life.
- justinclift 2y ago
  > Because they're trustworthy. Amazon are trustworthy? That's going to be news to the large number of people who've received counterfeit books, dodgy packages, and so on. This is not a new problem: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=amazon+counterfeit https://hn.algolia.com/?q=amazon+counterfeit
  - fastball 2y ago
    And that is Amazon deliberately pawning counterfeits? Or is that other bad actors taking advantage of "Fulfilled by Amazon" infrastructure and its weakpoints? There is a difference between the two.
    - justinclift 2y ago
      > There is a difference between the two. Amazon has been ignoring the problem for a long time, and is well aware of it. They're so aware of it that I'd personally (not a lawyer though) consider them culpable due to their inaction in making any substantial actions towards fixing the problems.
      - fastball 2y ago
        How do you know that haven't tried?
        justinclift 2y ago
        Would the massive, ongoing counterfeiting problems be something you'd except as evidence of that? :)
        fastball 2y ago
        No. It being an ongoing problem doesn't mean they're not trying to fix it. Is that the only evidence you have? "Problem exists"? Some problems are just... hard problems. Google has massive issues with SEO spam, and has for a long time. Does that mean they're not trying to deliver higher quality search results?
        justinclift 2y ago
        > Does that mean they're not trying to deliver higher quality search results? Clearly that's not a goal they're aiming for, nor have they been aiming for that for years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSGVk2KVokQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSGVk2KVokQ
        justinclift 2y ago
        In that case, what would you find acceptable as evidence?
        fastball 2y ago
- KPGv2 2y ago
  > If you buy a package on Amazon or Craigslist, who do you trust to deliver it to your door tomorrow? Amazon tracks which small businesses on their platform do decent business and then use that data to create a competing product and crush the original business. I don't consider that trustworthy even if that thing is delivered to me on time. > If you buy your heart medication you buy it from Bayer or an indie startup? I don't trust either. I trust the regulations put in place by our democracy.

> In long running games, untrustworthy players lose out. Amazon and Microsoft seem to be doing really well for themselves.

by KPGv2 2y ago

> In long running games, untrustworthy players lose out. Amazon and Microsoft seem to be doing really well for themselves.

Barrin92 2y ago

Because they're trustworthy. If you buy a package on Amazon or Craigslist, who do you trust to deliver it to your door tomorrow? People love the trope that their neighbor is trustworthy and the evil big company isn't, but in reality it's exactly the other way around. If you buy your heart medication you buy it from Bayer or an indie startup? Big, long lived companies excel at delivering exactly what they say they are, and people vote with their wallet on this.

cynicalpeace 2y ago
I don't know if Amazon or Microsoft are trustworthy or not. But I agree with your point. And it gets very ugly when these big institutions suddenly lose trust. They almost always deserve it, but it can upend daily life.
justinclift 2y ago
> Because they're trustworthy. Amazon are trustworthy? That's going to be news to the large number of people who've received counterfeit books, dodgy packages, and so on. This is not a new problem: https://hn.algolia.com/?q=amazon+counterfeit https://hn.algolia.com/?q=amazon+counterfeit
- fastball 2y ago
  And that is Amazon deliberately pawning counterfeits? Or is that other bad actors taking advantage of "Fulfilled by Amazon" infrastructure and its weakpoints? There is a difference between the two.
  - justinclift 2y ago
    > There is a difference between the two. Amazon has been ignoring the problem for a long time, and is well aware of it. They're so aware of it that I'd personally (not a lawyer though) consider them culpable due to their inaction in making any substantial actions towards fixing the problems.
    - fastball 2y ago
      How do you know that haven't tried?
      - justinclift 2y ago
        Would the massive, ongoing counterfeiting problems be something you'd except as evidence of that? :)
        fastball 2y ago
        No. It being an ongoing problem doesn't mean they're not trying to fix it. Is that the only evidence you have? "Problem exists"? Some problems are just... hard problems. Google has massive issues with SEO spam, and has for a long time. Does that mean they're not trying to deliver higher quality search results?
        justinclift 2y ago
        > Does that mean they're not trying to deliver higher quality search results? Clearly that's not a goal they're aiming for, nor have they been aiming for that for years. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSGVk2KVokQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSGVk2KVokQ
        justinclift 2y ago
        In that case, what would you find acceptable as evidence?
        fastball 2y ago
KPGv2 2y ago
> If you buy a package on Amazon or Craigslist, who do you trust to deliver it to your door tomorrow? Amazon tracks which small businesses on their platform do decent business and then use that data to create a competing product and crush the original business. I don't consider that trustworthy even if that thing is delivered to me on time. > If you buy your heart medication you buy it from Bayer or an indie startup? I don't trust either. I trust the regulations put in place by our democracy.