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Could this be a state-sponsored attack? Or an attack by nationalists who are against people bypassing the anti-everything-speech-related laws?
by brobinson 11y ago
Could this be a state-sponsored attack? Or an attack by nationalists who are against people bypassing the anti-everything-speech-related laws?
- kijin 11y agoAn attack sponsored by the South Korean government sounds unlikely. South Korea isn't exactly a bastion of free speech, but it isn't China, either. If by "nationalists" you mean the notorious online community known as ilbe, that's definitely possible. They're a weird amalgam of political ideology and lulz, basically the neocon counterpart to /b/. But it could just as well have been a shady competitor who got pissed off with Telegram for whatever reason. The social networking market in Korea is cutthroat. Almost everyone treats it as a zero-sum game where you have to destroy all the others in order to succeed. Maybe this competitor was planning to launch what it considered a killer feature and Telegram launched it first. Stickers?
- Laforet 11y agoThe linked post seems to point blame at LINE. Stickers (large animated emoticons) are a major source of revenue for LINE; if Telegram were to offer it for free then it will really hit their bottom line.
- brobinson 11y agoThe majority of LINE users are in Japan and Taiwan. It's the biggest program in both of those countries. LINE is owned by a Korean company, though.
- brobinson 11y agoInteresting, I hadn't heard of "iibe". Here's an article I found in case anyone else is interested: http://www.koreabang.com/2012/features/netizen-explains-roots-of-korean-conservative-online-community.html http://www.koreabang.com/2012/features/netizen-explains-root...