7 ms·

I've been thinking about the connection between biological signaling and advertising; like colored plumage or a large chest cavity, a multi-million ad campaign

by lukifer 14y ago

I've been thinking about the connection between biological signaling and advertising; like colored plumage or a large chest cavity, a multi-million ad campaign is a hard-to-fake signal, and in a way, such campaigns are as much about overt displays of power than the contents of the ad. In that sense, this move is the pinnacle of the best form of advertising. Whether they are acting out of pure altruism or pure strategy (it's probably both), they are demonstrating their values with non-trivial risks and resources, thereby earning genuine trust with current and prospective customers. Awesome.

charonn0 14y ago
Right. Even if they are doing it solely to look good, it's heartening to their customers (and potential customers) that they understand that it does make them look good, and why.
mark212 14y ago
the signalling isn't primarily to current and prospective customers, it's to other trolls out there. The $75k (negotiable) offer of compromise is on the low end of such demands and the signal to other NPEs thinking about suing Rackspace is Be Prepared for War. That customers think this is a good thing and burnishes Rackspace's reputation for being on the side of developers, etc. is a nice bonus.
- cwp 14y ago
  Exactly. And further, if you go to war with us and lose, it'll cost you, because we'll go after your patents.
- hkmurakami 14y ago
  In that light, the strongest anti-patent-troll signaler has got to be Newegg and their legal team: "Then they pop up and say, "Hello, surprise! Give us your money or we will shut you down!" Screw them. Seriously, screw them. You can quote me on that." -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushed-the-shopping-cart-patent-and-saved-online-retail/2/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushe...
larrys 14y ago
"thereby earning genuine trust with current and prospective customers" I don't disagree with that in general but I will raise the issue that you would need to know the percentage of current and future customers that really care about things like this to know the effect that it will have on their business in dollars. Consumers and business are fickle. Good will has a value but people will drop you in a dime if the next shiny ball comes along with a better product and/or lower pricing. My guess is that the community that cares about this relative to their sales volume is not as significant as your statement suggests. As an similar example, people on HN regularly hate on godaddy but they are still a giant in the domain business and end users that use them (I deal with those end users since gd is a competitor of ours) don't care about any of the shenanigans. And the "tech guys" that feed business to gd in general seem to be pretty happy with the relationship judging by transfer rates.
- hkmurakami 14y ago
  I think this will positively affect potential applicants to the company much more than potential customers. All things being equal, we all want to do good with our time and support organizations that do good.
- zabramow 14y ago
  Funny that you mention domains, because, while there might be some public good in patents, it's much harder to say about domain name squatters. Why have we not put adequate regs in place to eliminate squatters? I liked a particular domain name for a new startup. I approached the domain name owner -- a FB engineer no less -- who had bought the domain, and I offered him a price that would have yielded him 7500 in profit. He turned us down and continues to squat on the domain and do nothing with it. We ended up going with a dotme domain, which isn't ideal. Now, as a lean startup we probably shouldn't have been looking for an expensive domain name in the first place. But ineffective squatter rules (10K for an arbitration!) are preventing the marketplace from making the most of attractive, catchy domain names, and instead we're settling on domains that do not adequately describe the business.
  - larrys 14y ago
takluyver 14y ago
Actually, there's another similarity to biology. This also advertises to any other patent trolls thinking of suing them 'We are willing and able to fight back'. So patent trolls will pick on some other company that's more likely to pay up. Some species of antelope, when pursued by a predator, will suddenly leap high into the air, jumping from all four feet at once. This is called stotting, and the best theory for why they do it is to signal to the predator: 'look, I can afford to waste energy doing this while you're chasing me; better focus on something a bit slower and weaker'.
- hkmurakami 14y ago
  Your fantastic description/imagery prompted me to look this up :) "A chance to see springbok antelopes, the most successful grazing animals in the Southern African Kalahari desert as they attempt to ward off a family of hungry cheetahs by jumping up to two metres into the air. " https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5Sru8gGSk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5Sru8gGSk
- m12k 14y ago
  That sounds very cool! Although the rationalization for it sounds rather contrived - to me at least any of these explanation would sound at least as plausible: 1) The sudden vertical movement may cause a predator that is used to tracking its prey horizontally to lose sight of the specific animal in the flock, thus making it harder to run it down. 2) Statistically, the jump may prove to evade a certain percentage of pounces from the predator, that happen to coincide with it. 3) The split second of "rest" while in the air allows the muscles to "recharge" enough energy to enable another small sprint, thus giving the antelope a lifeline. 4) "Look, I could just as well be kicking you in the head if you get too close"
  - takluyver 14y ago
    Other details suggest 1 & 2 are unlikely - they tend to make this manoeuvre when the predator is still some way off, and at least one species (Thomson's Gazelle) won't stot when a predator is within about 40 metres. It seems unlikely that the rest would outweigh the effort needed to jump 2 metres in the air (3), and I doubt a lion is worried about a kick from a gazelle (4). But yes, other explanations have been proposed. There's a list on Wikipedia if you look up Stotting.
CamperBob2 14y ago
The problem with getting rid of patents also has a biological analogue, unfortunately. Particularly beyond a certain age/career rank, patents are used to "signal" one's merit as an engineer. Obviously it's a false signal from a technical perspective but the social aspect is ironclad. There is a pecking order among old-school engineers, and the first number they pull out in any discussion from a polite professional argument to a Usenet dick-waving contest is the number of patents they hold. Put bluntly, a lot of old farts are going to have to retire and/or die before we come to our senses and stop granting monopolies on ideas.
- SoftwareMaven 14y ago
  Nowhere in the article (unless my reading skills have gone to pot...which is possible) did Rackspace propose destroying the patent system. They are talking about invalidating a particular patent, thereby de-clawing a particular troll. It's also interesting that, in my nearly 20 years in the industry, I've never met anybody who actively bragged about their patents. I think there might be a little agism coming through in your comment...
  - knappe 14y ago
    I have, but they're also 25. They're slightly sheepish about the number of patents that they hold, but only to a degree. It is still a point of pride as well. I've also worked for a large telecom that had each and every patent granted at each office up on the wall so that you could see it as you walked in.
    - thisisrobv 14y ago
      It's a complicated issue, but glad that a company like Rackspace is taking a strong stance against patent trolls. It's not necessarily the patents that are the problem, but the companies leeching off of and taking advantage of the system. There's nothing wrong with invention and although it would be a great world if we were all altruistic and willing to share these ideas with one another for free, it's not that wrong to believe that inventors should be rewarded for their efforts. Unfortunately the current system is broken, and needs fixing.

by lukifer 14y ago

charonn0 14y ago

Right. Even if they are doing it solely to look good, it's heartening to their customers (and potential customers) that they understand that it does make them look good, and why.

mark212 14y ago

the signalling isn't primarily to current and prospective customers, it's to other trolls out there. The $75k (negotiable) offer of compromise is on the low end of such demands and the signal to other NPEs thinking about suing Rackspace is Be Prepared for War. That customers think this is a good thing and burnishes Rackspace's reputation for being on the side of developers, etc. is a nice bonus.

cwp 14y ago
Exactly. And further, if you go to war with us and lose, it'll cost you, because we'll go after your patents.
hkmurakami 14y ago
In that light, the strongest anti-patent-troll signaler has got to be Newegg and their legal team: "Then they pop up and say, "Hello, surprise! Give us your money or we will shut you down!" Screw them. Seriously, screw them. You can quote me on that." -- Newegg Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushed-the-shopping-cart-patent-and-saved-online-retail/2/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushe...

larrys 14y ago

"thereby earning genuine trust with current and prospective customers" I don't disagree with that in general but I will raise the issue that you would need to know the percentage of current and future customers that really care about things like this to know the effect that it will have on their business in dollars. Consumers and business are fickle. Good will has a value but people will drop you in a dime if the next shiny ball comes along with a better product and/or lower pricing. My guess is that the community that cares about this relative to their sales volume is not as significant as your statement suggests. As an similar example, people on HN regularly hate on godaddy but they are still a giant in the domain business and end users that use them (I deal with those end users since gd is a competitor of ours) don't care about any of the shenanigans. And the "tech guys" that feed business to gd in general seem to be pretty happy with the relationship judging by transfer rates.

hkmurakami 14y ago
I think this will positively affect potential applicants to the company much more than potential customers. All things being equal, we all want to do good with our time and support organizations that do good.
zabramow 14y ago
Funny that you mention domains, because, while there might be some public good in patents, it's much harder to say about domain name squatters. Why have we not put adequate regs in place to eliminate squatters? I liked a particular domain name for a new startup. I approached the domain name owner -- a FB engineer no less -- who had bought the domain, and I offered him a price that would have yielded him 7500 in profit. He turned us down and continues to squat on the domain and do nothing with it. We ended up going with a dotme domain, which isn't ideal. Now, as a lean startup we probably shouldn't have been looking for an expensive domain name in the first place. But ineffective squatter rules (10K for an arbitration!) are preventing the marketplace from making the most of attractive, catchy domain names, and instead we're settling on domains that do not adequately describe the business.
- larrys 14y ago

takluyver 14y ago

Actually, there's another similarity to biology. This also advertises to any other patent trolls thinking of suing them 'We are willing and able to fight back'. So patent trolls will pick on some other company that's more likely to pay up. Some species of antelope, when pursued by a predator, will suddenly leap high into the air, jumping from all four feet at once. This is called stotting, and the best theory for why they do it is to signal to the predator: 'look, I can afford to waste energy doing this while you're chasing me; better focus on something a bit slower and weaker'.

hkmurakami 14y ago
Your fantastic description/imagery prompted me to look this up :) "A chance to see springbok antelopes, the most successful grazing animals in the Southern African Kalahari desert as they attempt to ward off a family of hungry cheetahs by jumping up to two metres into the air. " https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5Sru8gGSk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr5Sru8gGSk
m12k 14y ago
That sounds very cool! Although the rationalization for it sounds rather contrived - to me at least any of these explanation would sound at least as plausible: 1) The sudden vertical movement may cause a predator that is used to tracking its prey horizontally to lose sight of the specific animal in the flock, thus making it harder to run it down. 2) Statistically, the jump may prove to evade a certain percentage of pounces from the predator, that happen to coincide with it. 3) The split second of "rest" while in the air allows the muscles to "recharge" enough energy to enable another small sprint, thus giving the antelope a lifeline. 4) "Look, I could just as well be kicking you in the head if you get too close"
- takluyver 14y ago
  Other details suggest 1 & 2 are unlikely - they tend to make this manoeuvre when the predator is still some way off, and at least one species (Thomson's Gazelle) won't stot when a predator is within about 40 metres. It seems unlikely that the rest would outweigh the effort needed to jump 2 metres in the air (3), and I doubt a lion is worried about a kick from a gazelle (4). But yes, other explanations have been proposed. There's a list on Wikipedia if you look up Stotting.

CamperBob2 14y ago

The problem with getting rid of patents also has a biological analogue, unfortunately. Particularly beyond a certain age/career rank, patents are used to "signal" one's merit as an engineer. Obviously it's a false signal from a technical perspective but the social aspect is ironclad. There is a pecking order among old-school engineers, and the first number they pull out in any discussion from a polite professional argument to a Usenet dick-waving contest is the number of patents they hold. Put bluntly, a lot of old farts are going to have to retire and/or die before we come to our senses and stop granting monopolies on ideas.

SoftwareMaven 14y ago
Nowhere in the article (unless my reading skills have gone to pot...which is possible) did Rackspace propose destroying the patent system. They are talking about invalidating a particular patent, thereby de-clawing a particular troll. It's also interesting that, in my nearly 20 years in the industry, I've never met anybody who actively bragged about their patents. I think there might be a little agism coming through in your comment...
- knappe 14y ago
  I have, but they're also 25. They're slightly sheepish about the number of patents that they hold, but only to a degree. It is still a point of pride as well. I've also worked for a large telecom that had each and every patent granted at each office up on the wall so that you could see it as you walked in.
  - thisisrobv 14y ago
    It's a complicated issue, but glad that a company like Rackspace is taking a strong stance against patent trolls. It's not necessarily the patents that are the problem, but the companies leeching off of and taking advantage of the system. There's nothing wrong with invention and although it would be a great world if we were all altruistic and willing to share these ideas with one another for free, it's not that wrong to believe that inventors should be rewarded for their efforts. Unfortunately the current system is broken, and needs fixing.