This problem has arised in nearly all the sites that I know that have ever tolerated it. Eventually, someone learns that it's allowed and exploits that. Actually, you're that person because that link sounded to me like a sales pitch, but I can't prove that this was your intention.
In all cases, I'd rather prevent it from happening by disapproving it than "dealing with it" after the deed is done.
>To the actual end user, it makes no difference at all.
Bullshiiiiit. It makes the difference that this shit gets spammed all over the Internet eventually. Boo.
(as a side note, you can't prove they'd have gone to Bezos rather than contribute to an Amazon commission decrease if no one used these referrals)
You make a very good point, and I apologise for my part in this meta-sub-thread.
Some off-site META discussion place would be useful. It needn't be just for HN, it could be for all online communities. Sort of like Meatball wiki was, but for everything. And not a wiki.
People have all sorts of ideas about moderation and karma and banning and etc.
In this case, "this shit" was a book I happened to read and enjoy and was highly relevant to the discussion at hand and decided to share with people here. They seem to have appreciated the link. I know I'm always on the lookout for good books to read myself, and have found more than a few via this site.
It's not a PR coup, they want to discourage possible whistleblowers by telling them: "if you reveal big stuff about us, we'll hunt you anywhere you go and eventually we'll find you and you'll pay".
You know what's more important to me than to do whatever I wish to with your code? Doing whatever I wish to do the code of every single person using your code.
Of course, the chain can't end with me and I'll have to publish my own changes. But it's worth it, I'm not a proprietary software asshole, and in the end I'll benefit from other people's changes and insert it back in my own code and improve my sales that way. You, me, the other programmers, Stallman, the users, everybody wins!
That's how I see it anyway. In the end, you have your own priorities and if you like to give without always receiving, that's understandable too. Ah, tradeoffs...
Google's statement, "to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful," doesn't describe any of their plans to achieve that goal either.
I actually care more about having competition and choices than just openness. Open source softwares suffer from stagnation just like the closed ones when they are left with no competition. Which is why I am actively rooting for Ubuntu Mobile and Firefox OS. I am also hoping with more Mobile OSes, we will start seeing standards to interact and share data between them.
Windows Phone is more open than iOS in the sense that you have multiple OEMs making multiple types of phones targeting different markets unlike the iPhone. For example, the Lumia 521 is just $130 off contract in the US. Also the walled garden prevents the malware problem that Android has. So it can be considered as a happy medium between iOS and Android.
Yup, I managed to grab a new one at a Microsoft store for $86 (had a gift card and they had in store promos I abused). Most bang for the buck consumer product I have ever purchased.
Have you even seen the slides leaked by Snowden? They tracking everyone. Of course no one has a problem about using FISA requests. The very problem that started this is that they disregard the constitution and track people regardless of their history.
