[HN Gopher] The Beggar Barons
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       The Beggar Barons
        
       Author : adamc
       Score  : 16 points
       Date   : 2024-10-23 18:46 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (zedshaw.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (zedshaw.com)
        
       | avazhi wrote:
       | Regardless of its veracity, that was a painful read. I'm sure Zed
       | could convey his disgust far more forcefully than by repeatedly
       | engaging in prepubescent (and intellectually lazy) sarcasm that
       | itself is a straw man of what Apple's and Microsoft's employees
       | would even be thinking when making any requests.
       | 
       | This article reflects more poorly on Zed than on the companies
       | he's trying to criticise.
        
         | pimlottc wrote:
         | Zed being kinda snarky is worse than billion dollar companies
         | asking for free labor?
         | 
         | Regardless of how you feel about his tone, what he's
         | complaining about does happen quite a lot. He has a valid point
         | that's worth debating.
        
           | avazhi wrote:
           | I agree it's a legitimate point and a debate worth having,
           | but rule 1 of any genuine attempt at persuading others is to
           | avoid alienating the very audience you want to persuade by
           | coming across as jealous and vindictive.
        
             | AtlasBarfed wrote:
             | How cute.
             | 
             | You and I both know that corporations only respond to
             | 
             | 1)lawsuits that they lose (and only sometimes)
             | 
             | 2) profit motive
             | 
             | 3) really bad publicity
        
               | avazhi wrote:
               | Sorry, just to be clear: I assume Zed is trying to
               | convince me and other non-corporations of a particular
               | position. I don't think Zed is trying to influence any
               | corporations directly, and he'd probably say any attempt
               | to so is a lost cause, whereas influencing consumers as a
               | class is a roundabout way of influencing the corporation
               | because it goes directly to your #2.
        
       | AtlasBarfed wrote:
       | Keep the same attitude in mind when your college comes. Asking
       | for a donations.....
       | 
       | Ask yourself if you feel comfortable giving a billionaire some of
       | your hard-earned money.
        
         | ElevenLathe wrote:
         | I have the same thought when my alumni foundation hits me up
         | for a donation: I already paid you many tens of thousands of
         | dollars more than my education actually cost you, so why should
         | I give you more? Aren't you already the worldwide #1 recipient
         | of my "charitable donations"? I imagine many of my generation
         | feel similarly, and wonder if it is making an impact on alumni
         | donations in aggregate. I can imagine being a lot freer with my
         | checkbook during those calls if I had been able to pay for my
         | whole education with a summer job like a boomer.
        
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       (page generated 2024-10-23 23:01 UTC)