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Why Lichess will always be free

lichess.org

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421–430 of 477 posts

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#421

Post by musicale »

> There is absolutely nothing positive about advertisements on websites from the perspective of their users. They eat up valuable screen space and bandwidth for something that nobody wants to see. They often manipulate and misinform. They have even been the source of security vulnerabilities many times in the past.

It's weird that web advertising is utterly terrible and toxic but I am actually nostalgic for print ads from Fry's Electronics (rip). They were one of my favorite parts of print newspapers.

Old computer magazines also had great advertisements.

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#423

Post by gjs278 »

agustif wrote: post #115
matsemann wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not talking about entitlement. But this guy is really good at multiple things. SRE, frontend, backend, project management etc. He could probably earn twice as much working a normal job, and even more for the right company. He don't want to. And maybe don't want/need to earn more. And that is completely fine. But his impact is huuuge. I'd wish more people did like him. But I don't think many will, because those sk…

If he keeps 100% of ownership, that 58k can become 500k in a few years?

no. why does it have to expand? it will only get worse if he optimized for money.

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#424

Post by andrepd »

eloisant wrote: post #236

Thibault Duplessis is actually an ex co-worker of mine, and this guy is truly impressive. Not only he is a very talented developer, he really sticks to his beliefs and made what Lichess is today. He used to take up a job for a year or so, save money, and travel the world for a year or so until money runs out. Then he would come back to France and take up a new job. All working on Lichess during his free time. For a f…

> We need more people like Thibault.

What we need is a system that incenctivises people like Thibault, rather than incentivise people to develop nastier ways to make people click on ads :)

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#425

Post by andrepd »

hellbannedguy wrote: post #420
beebmam wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A way to have more people like Thibault is to make it so the cost of living is extremely cheap, if not totally guaranteed. A society creates its people.

I do agree, but most people want a lot of money. They might say they just want some protein in their noodles, but deep down they are a Zuck. It seems like every financially successful developer out there came from a middle/upper class enviornment. Once they smell money, it's always more, more, and more. If the get big enough they blame it on their shareholders? Guys like Thibault are a different breed. They are rare.…

I don't think so. If there's one thing history shows is that the vast majority of people just want to live a serene life with comforts, but not necessarily luxury.

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#426

Post by thisiswater »

ineedasername wrote: post #416

They'll never get to unicorn status with that attitude. Heck, they have no moat! Anyone can just walk in, use their source code, and set up their own free chess site! I'm sure this is all great for chess lovers and the game of chess as a whole, but what about all of the investors who will never have the thrill of a 10% IPO pop? It just seems kind of selfish to make such an amazing site and then not try to cash in on…

Psychopathic not to extract value for shareholders indeed.

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#427

Post by sssilver »

brainwad wrote: post #295
kthejoker2 wrote: post #180

In a simple 2x2x2 matrix of * product aimed at specific audience / general audience * product is "one big idea" / a lot of little ideas * product requires long term engagement / short term engagement Only "specific audience" / "one big idea" / "long term engagement" can expect to - indeed, must - thrive on patronage. The 7 other boxes are beholden to their users' fickleness.

Wikipedia would seem to be general audience / big idea / short-term but survives on patronage.

How much of Wikipedia’s annual budget is actually paid for by companies like Google?

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#429

Post by LordDragonfang »

hellbannedguy wrote: post #420
beebmam wrote: post #378

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A way to have more people like Thibault is to make it so the cost of living is extremely cheap, if not totally guaranteed. A society creates its people.

I do agree, but most people want a lot of money. They might say they just want some protein in their noodles, but deep down they are a Zuck. It seems like every financially successful developer out there came from a middle/upper class enviornment. Once they smell money, it's always more, more, and more. If the get big enough they blame it on their shareholders? Guys like Thibault are a different breed. They are rare.…

>It seems like every financially successful developer out there came from a middle/upper class enviornment.

I think this is more likely evidence of how many advantages being brought up in those environments gives in becoming financially successful. Not having to worry about paying for college, for example, leading to having more seed funding to be able to start working on your own projects, and potentially even having relatives provide that funding directly.

Even then, only the greedy find major success. Make the cost of living lower, and you see more successful people, specifically more guys like Thibault who are willing to do thinks the right way.

Re: Why Lichess will always be free

#430

Post by reedjosh »

mey wrote: post #418
reedjosh wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

/s ?

As someone living in Portland metro right now, either it's /s or misinformed. Portland hasn't been cheap since maybe 2010, maybe earlier depending on your definition. It may be cheaper than San Francisco, but certainly not cheap.

Same.
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