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Comment by HotVector | Hacker News Reader

I used to think Google was the "good guy" by providing so many resources for free, but I've realized how they've exploited their market dominance by essentially manipulating the masses with their ad service. We need to move away from conglomerates and start using software that doesn't sell your soul to the devil.

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I thought I was helping the world by fixing things on google maps. That will be a perpetual reminder for how naive I can be.

You were helping google, but you were also helping everyone who used their maps from that day into the future. Your comment gives off the air of someone upset they helped the wrong party in a zero-sum game. IMO, this is clearly a positive sum one, and you shouldn’t despair at improving little corners of the world just because actors you don’t like will also benefit.

I DO see it as zero sum. OSM and Google maps compete for a limited supply of users. It's the "wrong" team because when Google gets users, they make money. When OSM gets users, the map gets better and people are freer from abuse and manipulation.

Apple and Facebook both use OSM data, so contributing to OSM helps them make money.

don't forget Amazon (for shipping).

You need to start paying for software because if you don't then you're the product.

Payment might include leasing out your infrastructure to the project until cryptos become viable for something other than ponzi schemes.

Are you aware of software developed as a hobby or as part of the actual product (without making the user a product) or as a limited version demonstrating full product?

There is a reason why we don't visit surgeons who do it as a hobby.

I don't see anyone asking for professional knitters on Etsy

There is a fallacy in that conclusion though.

When you pay, you may still be a product. There is no (economic) law that dictates that when you pay, your data may not be sold.

Paying customers might dissapear if they find out you make additional profit through datamining or -sales. So there is more incentive not to sell or mine data, but it is no guarantee.

The only guarantee is when technology ensures the service provider does not have the data at all. E.g. through e2e encryption.

Exactly. It is more lucrative to provide a product for free and make money mining data rather than providing a paid product, and this is even making it harder for competitors to enter the market and not die instantly. The next logical step is not paid products, but rather open source ones with distribued data storage.

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