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Don't Be a Free User (2011)

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Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#71

Post by bluedino »

sireat wrote: post #70
akjainaj wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how I'm trolling here. For example, I run Spotify with an ad blocker, so I don't have to pay for it. And years ago, when they limited the amount of minutes of music you could listen to every month, I made tons of accounts to bypass that limitation. Why? Because, in the unlikely case they go out of business, by then some other service would've appeared, run by someone who thinks he won't commit the same mi…

You do have a point, shipping 50lbs of pet food for free was not sustainable for pets.com in 2000 but one could hardly fault customers for taking advantage of such foolishness. Let's set aside any moral/ethical implications of ab/using free services for a moment. The problem for you as a customer is that once the service closes it might take some time to find a new service. Second, your time is valuable too. Making m…

At what point is it not acceptable to use free accounts or discounts?

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#72

Post by TAForObvReasons »

edp wrote: post #39
user5994461 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Windows has terrific backwards compatibility Windows is most backward compatible software in existence.

I think that's what danieldk meant. Terrific != terrible (english is not my primary language so I might be wrong)

I think user5994461 meant that calling windows backwards compatibility "terrific" doesn't do it justice. My dad wrote software more than 2 decades ago that, amazingly enough, still runs on Windows 10 and he still uses it.

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#73

Post by Grue3 »

Meh. I don't like the subscription model. I have to pay for too many things monthly. Every silly web service is probably not worth the headache of trusting them my credit card details. So I will subscribe to as few services as possible. If there's a lifetime subscription option, I will consider it.

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#74

Post by a3n »

freehunter wrote: post #53
a3n wrote: post #37

I pay for pinboard, for exactly this reason. I like it enough that I want it to be there tomorrow. Same with LastPass, Fastmail (don't know if they still have free accounts), The Guardian and The NYT. There is much, much more of the web that I use for free, either because they have their own reasons for for not charging at all, or they appear to have enough of a paying base that I'm merely small-guilty but not worrie…

I agree with what you're saying, but I stopped paying for the NYT for similar reasons. My subscription isn't enough to keep them in business, so either I'm not paying enough or they're wasting my money. If I pay for something that I could have easily and legally gotten for free and then it's plastered in ads, either charge me more or revisit your business model. I want to see them stay around, yes, but I wasn't getti…

Agreed, my sub fee doesn't pay for the NYT's existence. And worse, I block ads. I'm sure I wouldn't pay the actual fee required to support their current operations.

I think, or at least hope, that we're in a transition period for large operations that are currently ad supported. If ads didn't suck up so much of my resources, and were benign and didn't track me, then I'd relent. But as it is, ads don't just buy space, they buy people and any information the ad networks can get away from collecting, gleaning or stealing. "Homey don't play dat."

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#75

Post by pmoriarty »

There's a glut of information on the internet. Great information, even. Free great information. The scarcity of free, great information is over.

If some of these sources dry up because of lack of money, that's too bad, but no great loss, because many other sources of free, great information will arise to take their place.

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#76

Post by OskarS »

TAForObvReasons wrote: post #72
edp wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's what danieldk meant. Terrific != terrible (english is not my primary language so I might be wrong)

I think user5994461 meant that calling windows backwards compatibility "terrific" doesn't do it justice. My dad wrote software more than 2 decades ago that, amazingly enough, still runs on Windows 10 and he still uses it.

Out of curiosity, what is that software?

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#77

Post by kiba »

wiredfool wrote: post #44
gregmac wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree: it seems like the author is completely unaware of the "free-as-in-freedom" definition, and all usages of "free software" refer to free-as-in-beer web services.

I'd not take any bet that maciej is unaware of any major tech movement. Look in the third paragraph from the end: > I love free software and could not have built my site without it. But free web services are not like free software. If your free software project suddenly gets popular, you gain resources: testers, developers and people willing to pitch in. If your free website takes off, you lose resources. Your time i…

Can we live in a world where we get paid for writing free software?

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#78

Post by rini17 »

kiba wrote: post #77
wiredfool wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd not take any bet that maciej is unaware of any major tech movement. Look in the third paragraph from the end: > I love free software and could not have built my site without it. But free web services are not like free software. If your free software project suddenly gets popular, you gain resources: testers, developers and people willing to pitch in. If your free website takes off, you lose resources. Your time i…

Can we live in a world where we get paid for writing free software?

Yes we do. You can double-license, you can offer consultancy services, there are options.

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#79

Post by Michie »

akjainaj wrote: post #58
Michie wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@devoply, I think the best term to describe akjainaj is a parasite. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense. Based from his response here, I think he is just a troll.

I don't see how I'm trolling here. For example, I run Spotify with an ad blocker, so I don't have to pay for it. And years ago, when they limited the amount of minutes of music you could listen to every month, I made tons of accounts to bypass that limitation. Why? Because, in the unlikely case they go out of business, by then some other service would've appeared, run by someone who thinks he won't commit the same mi…

Ok let me correct that. I thought you were just trolling. But you're really a parasite.

As defined: a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return.

It's ok to use free services, to abuse them, especially if you are not capable of paying. It's understandable. A lot of people do that. But to be honest in saying that you don't really care about the company failing or if they go bankrupt for whatever reason even if you are an avid user because a new service will pop up that is free. Seems to be morally wrong.

Your reasoning also shows that you don't have your own company or you're not a developer creating or selling softwares. Because if you are, you would be afraid of people like you who will abuse your company the way you are abusing it now. This is just an assumption. I might be wrong.

Re: Don't Be a Free User (2011)

#80

Post by mrob »

hedora wrote: post #59
dkyc wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience running a project/company like you describe: 1) Not the geeks, but the big multinational companies with disposable developer time end up using your open-source solution. Exactly the types of users I don't feel sorry for and would rather extract money from. 2) The "payback" in the form of bug reports and patches is negligible, because nobody likes to do work if they're not being compensated (either throu…

I think the Busines Source License has cleanly solved this dilemma: http://monty-says.blogspot.com/2016/08/applying-business-sou... Free as in Freedom but not free as in beer. You get to use the software for free subect to limitations (can't have more than N users, can't resell hosted access, etc), until N years from now, when the license reverts to GPL. Point releases restart the clock (so you have to fork the N yea…

The Business Source License is not Free as in Freedom. The FSF states the first requirement for software to qualify as Free (https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) is:

"The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose."

Any limitations on use make the software non-Free.

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