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Are we the baddies?

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Re: Are we the baddies?

#311

Post by Y-bar »

jen20 wrote: post #285
Y-bar wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember the time before Uber arrived here, where ”here” obviously is not USA. I don’t mind the old ways. Taxis had apps before Uber arrived here, they had geolocation with ETA, contactless payment, up-front pricing, and never refused service (because they were required by law to offer service to anyone anywhere). The problem probably never was incumbent taxis, it was how they were regulated (or not).

Taxis in the US are one of the most regulated services around, and they were still utterly atrocious. Sure, they’re mandated to not refuse service, but you try getting picked up in Manhattan with a suitcase mid afternoon (when it’s obvious you’ll be taking the fixed fare to JFK in heavy traffic). To this day, the meter being “broken” is a tactic used in taxi strongholds like Las Vegas, even with this regulation. The…

> most regulated

As in most rules on the books, not in actually enforced rules I presume?

Re: Are we the baddies?

#312

Post by carlosjobim »

GardenLetter27 wrote: post #196

The issue is the market. These things are possible because of the skewed market. There are far more men than women on dating apps, women don't buy the boosts, etc. So you are paying for exposure in that skewed market. If it were a complete free-for-all then women would get thousands of messages a day and not use the apps at all.

Sperms outnumber eggs by millions to one.

Re: Are we the baddies?

#313

Post by jordanb »

jen20 wrote: post #286
specproc wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm really not sure old school taxis are actually that bad. I had two incidents in the UK recently where my app of choice failed me and I was quickly bailed out cheaper by googling "taxi $TOWN" and having a one minute conversation with an operator.

They are better than they used to be because of the competition. I remember a time not that long ago where getting a minicab was nigh on impossible, and one miraculously did show up, it would be primary so the driver could try to scam you.

Not my experience using taxi call services in Chicago. Whenever I called them (before Uber) the taxi was prompt and courteous.

The apps did three things that the call services did not do:

1) subsidize drivers with vc money for many years making drivers plentiful and fares cheap

2) use unlicensed cabs so they could saturate areas like Manhattan that had previously limited the amount of cabs that could operate

3) Deprive drivers of info they might use to reject fares they don't want (like destination).

Re: Are we the baddies?

#314

Post by tempodox »

CuriouslyC wrote: post #275
nilamo wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now that tips are tax free in the USA, they are unlikely to be going away.

Sadly, like Steve Buscemi, I'm going to have to look like an asshole to stand up for my principles. Mostly it means I'm not going to eat out.

Sometimes you do have to have the courage to look like an asshole. But eating out is maybe not worth it.

Re: Are we the baddies?

#315

Post by Y-bar »

nilamo wrote: post #244
rr808 wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My fellow Australians all feel a bit shit about the introduction of tipping in paywave and food service. That's unaustralian. We have legally enforced minimum wages and penalty rates. Turn that feature off. I think non-Americans need to take a stand against this. Refuse all tipping. Its a slippery slope - I know these guys are underpaid but if you start tipping the wages will just drop and we're all worse off.

Now that tips are tax free in the USA, they are unlikely to be going away.

If tips are no longer taxed, does that mean that they no longer count towards medicare, sick pay, pensions and such?

Re: Are we the baddies?

#316

Post by mikewarot »

ggm wrote: post #2

For some people, paying the premium to jump the queue is the point. What they didn't forsee is what happens when everyone has wound up paying the premium, and the queue is now with you again. This is mostly Australian frequent flyers, when it was a high barrier to entry it conferred advantages and now Fly in Fly out work has commoditised club status, there is next to no boarding advantage, and no points flight availa…

I thought the name of Uber was all you needed to know, what kind of company names themselves after "Deutschland über alles", or Übermensch? The smug superiority was all the clue I needed.

Re: Are we the baddies?

#317

Post by paleotrope »

Y-bar wrote: post #311
jen20 wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxis in the US are one of the most regulated services around, and they were still utterly atrocious. Sure, they’re mandated to not refuse service, but you try getting picked up in Manhattan with a suitcase mid afternoon (when it’s obvious you’ll be taking the fixed fare to JFK in heavy traffic). To this day, the meter being “broken” is a tactic used in taxi strongholds like Las Vegas, even with this regulation. The…

> most regulated As in most rules on the books, not in actually enforced rules I presume?

Enforced when corrupt politicos wanted to squeeze medallion owners.

Re: Are we the baddies?

#318

Post by __MatrixMan__ »

alganet wrote: post #36
afiodorov wrote: post #13

We should not underestimate the timeless human response to being manipulated: disengagement. This isn't theoretical, it's happening right now. The boom in digital detoxes, the dumbphone revival among young people, the shift from public feeds to private DMs, and the "Do Not Disturb" generation are all symptoms of the same thing. People are feeling the manipulation and are choosing to opt out, one notification at a tim…

> disengagement. That disengagement metric is valuable, I'm not gonna give it away for free anymore. I'll engage and disengage randomly, so no one knows what works. > The boom in digital detoxes, the dumbphone revival among young people That's a market now. It doesn't mean shit. It's a "lifestyle". > People are feeling the manipulation They don't. Even manipulation awareness is a market now. I'm sure there are YouTub…

> How far can you game a profiling algorithm?

I think pretty far. I expect the future involves nonsense layer full of AI slop being read and written by AI's. Mapping it onto the actual humans will be difficult unless you have a preexisting trust relationship with those humans such that they can decrypt the slop into your actual communications.

Re: Are we the baddies?

#319

Post by 9dev »

whilenot-dev wrote: post #157
afiodorov wrote: post #13

We should not underestimate the timeless human response to being manipulated: disengagement. This isn't theoretical, it's happening right now. The boom in digital detoxes, the dumbphone revival among young people, the shift from public feeds to private DMs, and the "Do Not Disturb" generation are all symptoms of the same thing. People are feeling the manipulation and are choosing to opt out, one notification at a tim…

> We should not underestimate the timeless human response to being manipulated: disengagement. It's worth adding that "disengagement" does not mean "not giving a f*ck", and I worry that it isn't a good human response either. So what's the difference between "not giving a f*ck" and "disengagement"? I think where the former works on the individual level, the latter is supposed to work on the collective level. I'm no sc…

You can spell out "fuck" here, we’re all adults. And the president does it on live TV too!

Re: Are we the baddies?

#320

Post by tempodox »

> Will mass starvation fix this? Or will the attitude of thinking it’s okay to manipulate others at scale persist even past that?

As long as everyone is OK with the losers losing big so the winners can win big, it will persist. As long as the “I've got mine, screw you” attitude keeps being culturally ingrained, it will persist.

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