Comment by say_it_as_it_is | Hacker News Reader

Comment by say_it_as_it_is | Hacker News Reader

say_it_as_it_is

There are a lot of jaded people here who refuse to accept the way the world is working. The reason these organizations exist is because people are receiving sufficient value at their cost. If you don't see the value in their services, then they are not for you. Since they exist, however, indicates that they are for others unlike you. These organizations will not exist otherwise.

I couldn't fathom spending money on skins for weapons and armor inside a video game. Yet, it's one of the primary ways that the producer of Fortnight mints a fortune. It seems insane to me, but that's because I don't spend my life in an online world socializing and having fun. If I did, paying for customization may be worthwhile. Also, customers aren't rubes. They rebelled against Electronic Arts not too long ago for trying to milk the Star Wars Battlefront game. EA may have learned its limits from that.

What does it even mean for communities to be pumped for as much money as possible? Does it mean valuable products and services are being sold? People don't pay for what they can't afford. Companies aren't shaking down anyone. Customers decide for themselves what is worth the cost. Give people what they want or need.

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> There are a lot of jaded people here who refuse to accept the way the world is working.

This is HN. Quite a few people here know how the world is working in favor of these things because there's a good chance they built it themselves, or at least know a few people who have.

Of course these products are not for me, and I very much understand that there's a market for the things they sell. Music might be a private matter for me, but it is definitely part of the social lives of a lot of people I know; they derive a lot of enjoyment from comparing different bands/partying/recommending new things. But looking at what the past years (and even before that!) have taught us about the so-called social aspects of technology, it is very difficult for me to believe that communities aren't being pumped for money. Every facebook action (for pure profit motives with no heed to possible harmful consequences of their actions), political agendas festering on social networks, and attempts and successes of being able to manipulate minds of people using such platforms has definitely left a sour taste in the minds of most tech people.

What angered me specifically was the tone-deafness of the article; it didn't mention any of these issues at all, but talked about the topic in a way that it was the best, unbeatable thing ever, and any company not following the mandate would be doomed to irrelevance, which is completely false as quite a few replies here have pointed out.

You make it sound like there is no ethical component to business decisions and that all customers will act rationally in their own best interest. I don't think either is true and that people take part in economic transactions isn't a sufficient defense of those transactions as an intrinsic good.

Of course ethics plays a role in business. I don't agree with the rational actor argument either. I understand the exploits and know how they're applied. The truth is that most of these organizations aren't exploiting customers. There's a voluntary exchange in good faith. You make it sound as if integrating a community with a product is unethical. It isn't.

I'm just disagreeing with the argument you put forth (and stating why) not saying that integrating a social component to a product is unethical. Please don't put words I clearly didn't say into my mouth.

> The truth is that most of these organizations aren't exploiting customers. There's a voluntary exchange in good faith.

That's your own very nebulous value judgement rather than a 'truth'.

If companies do act unethically (sometimes through ignorance) and people do not always act in their best interests it pays to be somewhat skeptical of the new whizz-bang idea for extracting more money for similar products from people. Particularly if you are working on them!

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