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I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

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Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#51

Post by picometer »

purduekenny wrote: post #17
roncesvalles wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TFA's point isn't that Discord shouldn't be monetized - it's that the monetization model is based on creating visible class differences. A different monetization model is easily conceivable that gives paid users better functionality instead of (what the author calls) "aesthetic perks" that only serve to evoke class envy, as if like jewelry. I don't have a strong position on the author's point. Just making sure the ri…

What's the difference between functionality and aesthetic perks? Isn't the fact that one good is held by a group that is not you what evokes the envy? It doesn't matter if it's themes or if it's the ability to send larger messages. I find the distinction useless.

Straight from the article

> this post is mostly about the aesthetic perks. the things that cost discord exactly nothing

I presume the second sentence is shorthand for: no marginal cost for Discord, after the development is done.

So, two distinctions going on, which happen to be correlated:

1. Things that cost Discord extra resources (eg bandwidth/ storage space for larger uploads) vs things that don’t (extra emoji)

2. Things that allow you do more with Discord (upload large files with any type of content) vs things that allow you to express yourself more (use certain emoji)

The second distinction might not matter to everyone, but it certainly has a specific social component.

Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#52

Post by strken »

kgwxd wrote: post #29

My first kid had some struggles with understanding why it was absolutely ridiculous to spend hundreds of real dollars to e.g. get a particular Dominus in Roblox. It caused a lot of fights for about a year, but it finally sank in. When my second kid started playing he started down the same path. Caused a few arguments for a little while but, one day my first told him it was pretty stupid to spend real money on fake st…

Nitro, or at least server boosting, gives you some non-status benefits. The obvious ones are upload size and stream + audio quality.

The article doesn't mention server boosting, but that's where the real desperation and social pressure comes in. Nobody I've met cares if you've got nitro, but admins definitely do pressure members into boosting.

Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#54

Post by adamnemecek »

squirtlebonflow wrote: post #53
adamnemecek wrote: post #3

Discord is arguably the smoothest experience there is, like bar none. How do you suppose it should be paid for? Discord Nitro is the least obtrusive way.

They make a massive amount of money selling user data.

Do you have a source on that?

Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#56

Post by nperez »

A bar is giving away free beer, but if you pay $10.00, you get a party hat. So you grab a free beer and notice a group of people wearing party hats.

Idk, still seems like a pretty good deal to me. Wouldn't hurt to support the joint either.

Interesting read, though. Some communities really are full of people who judge the worth of others from little status symbols, and I can understand wanting to stay away from that. But it's not Discord's fault if people can't just be adults about it.

Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#57

Post by HKH2 »

robocat wrote: post #39
kashkhan wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah except the capitalists killed it. napster, bitorrent etc... being tried now with mastodon et al...

> except the capitalists The article is about monetising social status, and I think the majority of criticisms about capitalism are actually thinly veiled complaints about social status (often complaints about how others get more, rarely mentioning someone’s benefits compared against those that get less). However social status exists independent of capitalism. Replace capitalism, and you just end up with similar prob…

Right. It seems it's very rare, even among so-called egalitarians, to find someone that defies cliques, defies the urge to be offended, and lays down their weapons, all for an open conversation.

Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#58

Post by vore »

cf100clunk wrote: post #48
cortesoft wrote: post #40

I am sure people in actual caste systems would be pretty excited if they could join a higher caste for $3 a month.

You are taking the person's use of the term ''caste'' too literally.

They should have picked a word without these connotations then.

Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#59

Post by kgwxd »

strken wrote: post #52
kgwxd wrote: post #29

My first kid had some struggles with understanding why it was absolutely ridiculous to spend hundreds of real dollars to e.g. get a particular Dominus in Roblox. It caused a lot of fights for about a year, but it finally sank in. When my second kid started playing he started down the same path. Caused a few arguments for a little while but, one day my first told him it was pretty stupid to spend real money on fake st…

Nitro, or at least server boosting, gives you some non-status benefits. The obvious ones are upload size and stream + audio quality. The article doesn't mention server boosting, but that's where the real desperation and social pressure comes in. Nobody I've met cares if you've got nitro, but admins definitely do pressure members into boosting.

Does that pressure go much beyond every YT channel with a Patreon mentioning it in every video? I really don't mind that kind of thing compared to "relevant" ads and all the tracking involved in that industry.

Re: I will never participate in weird internet caste systems

#60

Post by thefz »

roncesvalles wrote: post #11
chrisco255 wrote: post #2

Man there's plenty of amazing examples of caste systems on the internet, but Discord Nitro ain't it. Discord is a free app without ads. Nitro is a reasonable monetization strategy for a chat app that works incredibly well and fosters probably millions of communities.

TFA's point isn't that Discord shouldn't be monetized - it's that the monetization model is based on creating visible class differences. A different monetization model is easily conceivable that gives paid users better functionality instead of (what the author calls) "aesthetic perks" that only serve to evoke class envy, as if like jewelry. I don't have a strong position on the author's point. Just making sure the ri…

> A different monetization model is easily conceivable that gives paid users better functionality instead of (what the author calls) "aesthetic perks" that only serve to evoke class envy, as if like jewelry.

With a group of friends we subscribed to Nitro to boost our private server's capabilities, which we use almost every day so the "better functionality" is definitely there.

Quite tired of this particular author/blog on HN and their edgy take on everything.

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