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it's a cute hack, but there is something uncomfortably parasitic about this whole class of "exploit" (building a fuse-based filesystem atop gmail was probably t
by zem 14y ago
it's a cute hack, but there is something uncomfortably parasitic about this whole class of "exploit" (building a fuse-based filesystem atop gmail was probably the most prominent example). like or hate these services, they have assumed the status of commons where lots of people are living, and abusing their resources merely raises the spectre of degrading everyone's service if it catches on.
(i agree that this particular hack is more cute and creative than actively damaging to facebook; i just dislike the general culture of appreciation for what is little more than overusing a free, shared resource just because you can)
- malandrew 14y agoFacebook is not a free shared resource. We pay for the service with our privacy. It's not money, but it is a tradable good.
- zem 14y agothat's just sophistry. as far as the people using facebook to socially network with their friends are concerned, it's a free resource that benefits everyone. trying to layer a cdn atop it benefits no one except the defectors getting free hosting[0], and hurts everyone else by degrading their qos[0]. [0] again, this is all in theory; as far as this particular hack goes i agree it's fairly harmless insofar as no one is really going to try hosting a website off fb updates.