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One side story. There is no comments / voice on the AA side. Read like a biased article. "become a must-have" reads like exaggeration
How long until Apple removes this app for the same reasons as The OG App? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33015769 5.2.2 Third-Party Sites/Services: If your app uses, accesses, monetizes access to, or displays content from a third-party service, ensure that you are specifically permitted to do so under the service’s terms of use. Authorization must be provided upon request.
Hmm honestly it looks like they'd be in the right to take it down too. I support the app and I think it's cool what they're(the app makers) doing, but it's not surprise that app stores might not be cool with the DIY nature of how they get the data.
Rule #1: don't start a business that depends on data owned by some other business. Rule #1-1: especially if your product adversely affects the other business. Rule #1-2: especially if the other business is much larger than yours.
Well, it's not a business, and it doesn't adversely affect the other business so this is fine. The complaint isn't really by the app developer. It's mostly that life is being made hard for the attendants through blocking the developer.
What seems unsaid in the article but seems to be the case, is that the app is logging in to American Airlines systems using the flight attendant credentials and then scraping. If this is the case, I think American Airlines is justified in trying to block them. An app storing/using credentials for a different service is a data breach waiting to happen.
It is like argung they should make everyone wear mittens 24/7 so they can't write their passwords down.
I'm sad that this is happening to an app that's useful to its users, but the reality is that scraping is legal, always possible, but difficult. This particular case is a bit harder since it's not purely using public data, but may still qualify since it's likely scraping with legally-obtained credentials. I know of businesses (scraping for ride-sharing, scraping for business intelligence for retailers, scraping from L…
> The key is: you must make enough profit to justify dedicating engineering and legal techniques to defend your scraping. It also works if you have philanthropic, non profit, or unconventional backing to pay for these defensive resources. If this app is providing substantial benefits to the AA crew around scheduling and QoL, their union might consider providing some backstop/support. https://www.apfa.org/
Putting on my cynical prick hat for a moment, I would guess the union as an institution is far more willing to throw the app-oriented concerns of the junior members under the bus than the health care and pension concerns of the senior ones.
What seems unsaid in the article but seems to be the case, is that the app is logging in to American Airlines systems using the flight attendant credentials and then scraping. If this is the case, I think American Airlines is justified in trying to block them. An app storing/using credentials for a different service is a data breach waiting to happen.
Any evidence that the app is storing/using credentials, or if it is, storing them insecurely? How about AA's own apps? Do they store credentials or do you have to log in every time?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Two thoughts: 1. Wow, that looks like an extremely useful app if you're a flight attendant! 2. How is their employer not providing this functionality? I guess maybe they are, but only parts, or it's a shittier version. But still.
The critical bit is probably the "legality checker". Absolutely no way an employer would offer one of those. Reading between the lines, flight attendant scheduling is probably quite .. adversarial, as shift scheduling at restaurants can be. The employer would like employees to have the minimum information so they meekly accept the shifts they're given.
Rule #1: don't start a business that depends on data owned by some other business. Rule #1-1: especially if your product adversely affects the other business. Rule #1-2: especially if the other business is much larger than yours.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Two thoughts: 1. Wow, that looks like an extremely useful app if you're a flight attendant! 2. How is their employer not providing this functionality? I guess maybe they are, but only parts, or it's a shittier version. But still.
The critical bit is probably the "legality checker". Absolutely no way an employer would offer one of those. Reading between the lines, flight attendant scheduling is probably quite .. adversarial, as shift scheduling at restaurants can be. The employer would like employees to have the minimum information so they meekly accept the shifts they're given.