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I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

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Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#41

Post by mskvsk »

mildbow wrote: post #40
mskvsk wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, I accept the responsibility to some degree, and I'm open about it. Second, it's not "a tool for stealing stuff". I just somewhat dislike people shouting moral slogans, that's all. Especially people that have little understanding of the ecosystem in general. Sorry.

You saw a niche and exploited it. That's a good thing. Morality/ethics/blah blah is always based on local customs. As people were fine with doing this anyway, then there is no need to import/impose "American" morality. Don't let any of these high-horse/armchair quarterbacks tell you any different. Thanks for taking the time to write an article. Hope this doesn't introduce a bunch of competitors into your market!

Thank you, I wish more people had your mindset.

Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#42

Post by staticautomatic »

humanrebar wrote: post #30
jeffehobbs wrote: post #28

"Anyway, I always hated manual labor and decided to make a little tool to help me scrape the posts of my competitors and publish them to my group on a regular basis.” Other things you must hate: morality and ethics.

> I’d also removed the posts that were obviously copyrighted. I'm not a lawyer, but in American copyright law, anything published is assumed copyrighted by someone , though it may not be clear exactly who. I'm especially not an international copyright lawyer, so I can't say how typical that is. Point being, you'll get in legal trouble for doing this. You might win a lawsuit if what you are scraping is not copyrightab…

I believe that in the US you don't have to register the copyright, but if you don't, then you can only recover statutory infringement damages in a lawsuit.

Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#43

Post by happy-go-lucky »

mskvsk wrote: post #34
rayalez wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue here is not with your country but with your personal behavior. People in this thread are criticising you for actively contributing to the problem (building a tool for stealing stuff), and you're brushing it off, blaming it on your "market". Instead of warping your mind with a set of rationalizations that excuse your behavior, maybe try to accept the responsibility.

First, I accept the responsibility to some degree, and I'm open about it. Second, it's not "a tool for stealing stuff". I just somewhat dislike people shouting moral slogans, that's all. Especially people that have little understanding of the ecosystem in general. Sorry.

What's wrong with moral slogans? I don't know where the GP got "This is just how we do things in Russia" from, but you don't represent Russia, do you? When you make a Show HN here, it's open for discussion on what's good and what's not about your thing, based on which you may want to improve the thing. By the way, most of us feel concern for other posters.

Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#44

Post by happy-go-lucky »

jsumrall wrote: post #26

Plagiarizing and stealing content is immoral and unethical. "This is just how we do things in Russia" is not an excuse. We shouldn't be promoting this behavior. Anyone with half a brain can make money stealing stuff and serving it via an API.

The other day I was following this thread:

Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware [video] (2016) (youtube.com) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13605599

I'm reproducing a part of a comment from there:

> One could say the evolutionary process is based on this principle.

> Copy. Paste. Improve. Repeat.

What have I just done? In no way am I supporting or suggesting that plagiarism or content theft is a model to follow, but I do believe that people learn from what others do and build on that.

Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#46

Post by xiaoma »

asadlionpk wrote: post #45

Please don't listen to the naysayers here. You saw an opportunity and acted on it. The problem of copyright here is of Facebook itself, they deliberately allow this to happen to increase their engagement numbers. It is well-documented at many places.

The OP was on VK, a Russian platform where full downloads of copyrighted movies and songs were available until very recently (much as was the case in China with Baidu and Youku/Tudou). Actually I think Baidu still offers copyrighted MP3s and PDFs and charges for it.

It's true that FB (and previously YouTube) played fast and loose with US copyright laws, but it doesn't even come close to what is standard in Russia or China.

I don't think it's any fairer to pile on and attack a person playing within the rules of their local culture that it would be to attack westerners for how most of their meat is produced or how many cars they own. So many things in the world beg for moral outrage—I'd rather save mine for actual suffering rather than Russian social media marketing getting scraped.

Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#47

Post by mskvsk »

happy-go-lucky wrote: post #44
jsumrall wrote: post #26

Plagiarizing and stealing content is immoral and unethical. "This is just how we do things in Russia" is not an excuse. We shouldn't be promoting this behavior. Anyone with half a brain can make money stealing stuff and serving it via an API.

The other day I was following this thread: Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware [video] (2016) (youtube.com) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13605599 I'm reproducing a part of a comment from there: > One could say the evolutionary process is based on this principle. > Copy. Paste. Improve. Repeat. What have I just done? In no way am I supporting or suggesting that plagiarism or content theft is a model to fo…

Very true.

Running this SaaS lead me to the idea of launching a service where authors can sell their content for social networks. It's going to be super hard doing this in Russia but it's worth the try.

But some people simply can't understand the incremental evolution. They demand turning a desert into a garden at once.

Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#48

Post by mskvsk »

happy-go-lucky wrote: post #43
mskvsk wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First, I accept the responsibility to some degree, and I'm open about it. Second, it's not "a tool for stealing stuff". I just somewhat dislike people shouting moral slogans, that's all. Especially people that have little understanding of the ecosystem in general. Sorry.

What's wrong with moral slogans? I don't know where the GP got "This is just how we do things in Russia" from, but you don't represent Russia, do you? When you make a Show HN here, it's open for discussion on what's good and what's not about your thing, based on which you may want to improve the thing. By the way, most of us feel concern for other posters.

Moral slogans are good per se, indeed. But I have zero patience for black and white conclusions without understanding the context, irrespective of the topic. Especially when the topic is about making a SaaS, not the moral grounds.

Re: I used LAMP to make a SaaS app with $3700/month profit

#50

Post by wopwopwop »

jeffehobbs wrote: post #28

"Anyway, I always hated manual labor and decided to make a little tool to help me scrape the posts of my competitors and publish them to my group on a regular basis.” Other things you must hate: morality and ethics.

Some people talk, some people do.
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