3 ms·

I don't know if free is necessarily an indicator or not. Craigslist at one point was a start-up and usage of the site is free with the exception of ads for some

by DASD 14y ago

I don't know if free is necessarily an indicator or not. Craigslist at one point was a start-up and usage of the site is free with the exception of ads for some categories(apartment listings I believe?) in dense areas such as NYC. I would say the business supported the founder well enough and even so he was able to create a philanthropic extension because of it. "Something similar" being companies that subscribe to an idea of "not heading towards acquihire." Substitute idea with ethos/loose organization/alliance/whatever other non-hostile word might suffice here. I'm not suggessting that by participating you elect to be lynched by a mob at the slightest whim of misunderstanding or error. It is more of a self-certify that a company has an intention of providing a service and not a portfolio to be hired in 180 days.

cperciva 14y ago
Cases like craigslist are why I said "in some cases". A simple website which can handle millions of users from a single low-end server can survive being free for a long time. An online backup service where a single user might cost many dollars a month to serve, on the other hand, needs revenue to survive in the long term. Your idea of self-certification is why I wrote that blog post. It's an open invitation to lynch me if Tarsnap gets acquired and shut down a few months later.